Team: No. 6 Roush Performance Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Twitter: @Roush6Team, @RoushFenway and @RyanJNewman
Coke Zero Sugar 400 – Saturday, July 6 at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
ADVANCE NOTES
Newman at Daytona International Speedway
· Newman will make his 36th regular season start at Daytona International Speedway Saturday night. In 35 previous events between the Daytona 500 and the July race, Newman has an average finish of 18.8 with 10 top-10s and five top-fives.
· Newman is the 2008 winner of the Great American Race, driving his then-No. 12 to victory lane at the season kickoff event.
· In the last two Daytona July races, Newman finished eighth (2018) and fifth (2017). He also finished top-five at the World Center of Racing in 2013 (fifth), 2012 (fifth) and 2006 (third).
· Newman qualified seventh for last year’s Coke Zero Sugar 400. His other top qualifying efforts in the summer event came back in 2012 (2nd) and 2009 (7th).
· Newman also made a start in the July Xfinity Series race back in 2010, finishing eighth for a James Finch owned machine.
Scott Graves at Daytona International Speedway
· Graves will call his seventh MENCS race at Daytona. In six prior starts in either the Daytona 500 or July race, Graves has an average finish of 21st with a top finish of 11th.
· The 11th-place result came with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., back in 2013. Most recently he led Newman to a 14th-place finish in February’s Daytona 500.
· Graves does have a runner-up finish at Daytona in Xfinity action, leading Chris Buescher to a second-place result back in 2015 at the season kickoff event. He also finished eighth with Suarez in 2016.
QUOTE WORTHY
Newman on racing at Daytona:
“Superspeedway racing and Daytona are always full of surprises and you’re never sure what can happen. We hung around in the Daytona 500 back in February and were able to bring the car home despite a late-race wreck. We’re looking forward to the weekend in our No. 6 Ford.”
Recapping Chicago
Newman crossed the line 17th in his No. 6 Ford in a rain-delayed 400-mile race Sunday in Chicago. The team toyed with strategy in the middle portion of the race on fuel mileage, leading briefly before the stage two break.
Last Time at Daytona
Newman battled through two red flags in the final 10 laps of February’s Daytona 500, before crossing the stripe 14th. He was able to limp the No. 6 the final 10 laps with a battered right front tire and heavily-damaged front end.
