RICHMOND, Va. (April 30, 2011) Ryan Newman said he was intentionally crashed in Saturday night’s Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway.
The incident with the No. 42 driver Juan Pablo Montoya on Lap 238 of 400 spoiled a top-10 or better result for Newman, who limped home to a 20th-place finish in the Crown Royal presents the Matthew & Daniel Hansen 400.
Newman’s No. 39 U.S. Army Medicine Chevrolet was running in eighth place when it got hit by the No. 42 car. The contact in Turn 3 of the .75-mile oval caused Newman’s car to spin out and crash into the concrete barrier. When the spinning Army car came to a halt, it was hit again, but unintentionally by the No. 22 machine of Kurt Busch.
Following the accident, Newman came down pit road four times to have repairs made to the severely damaged right-rear of the car.
“We were running solidly in the top 10, but when Ryan got hit that doomed any chance of a top-10 or top-five finish,” said crew chief Tony Gibson. “It was an unnecessary hit and we’re not happy about what happened. We will battle on and get the results that we deserve for our Army Strong Soldiers.”
Gibson and Newman voluntarily went to the NASCAR trailer after the race to discuss the incident with NASCAR officials.
“I was intentionally crashed and it ruined our day,” said a frustrated Newman to a gathering of media as he was leaving the NASCAR trailer.
Newman started the race from the 13th position and quickly moved into the top 10 where he stayed until the incident with Montoya.
The 20th-place finish resulted in Newman dropping one spot — from seventh to eighth — in the driver point standings. His teammate, Tony Stewart, finished ninth in the race and is 10th in driver points.
The winner of the race was Kyle Busch. Rounding out the top-five in order were Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, David Ragan and Carl Edwards.
The next stop for the Sprint Cup Series is Saturday night (May 7) at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
