Team: No. 6 Oscar Mayer / Velveeta Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Twitter: @Roush6Team, @RoushFenway and @RyanJNewman
Bojangles’ Southern 500 – Sunday, Sept. 1 at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
ADVANCE NOTES
Newman at Darlington Raceway
· Newman will make his 21st Cup start at Darlington on Sunday. In 20 prior events, Newman has an average finish of 12.1 – his best of any track on the circuit – with 13 top-10s and seven top fives.
· Newman has converted on top-10 finishes or better in 65 percent of his outings at the 1.366-mile track, including a runner-up finish in his first ever Southern 500 back in 2002. Dating back six events, Newman has only one finish outside the top-13 with an average finish of 11th since 2013.
· Newman has one career pole at ‘The Lady in Black,’ which came back in the 2003 Southern 500. Overall he has an average starting position of 9.9 with 13 top-10 starts, eight of which were inside the top five.
· Newman also made five starts at Darlington in the Xfinity Series, earning the pole in each of the first two events in 2001. He went on to finish fourth in the 2001 fall race – his best career Xfinity result – with an overall finish of 13.6 in the series at the famed track.
Scott Graves at Darlington Raceway
· Graves will call his fourth MENCS race atop the pit box on Sunday. In three prior events at Darlington, Graves has an average finish of 28.3 (two starts with Daniel Suarez, one with Ricky Stenhouse Jr.).
· In Xfinity Series action, Graves led Suarez to a third-place finish in 2016 after starting fifth. A year prior he and Chris Buescher paired up for a fifth-place result.
QUOTE WORTHY
Newman on racing at Darlington:
“Darlington is no doubt my favorite track on the circuit and a weekend I have circled every year. Winning a Southern 500 has always been a goal of mine and it would rank near the top of everything I’ve accomplished in my career thus far. Everyone in the industry has done such a great job in embracing the throwback theme over the last few years, which really helps us all appreciate even more the history of our sport and its heritage. We’ve got a cool throwback scheme to Mark Martin in Oscar Mayer colors and we’re ready for the weekend to get here.”
Tracking the Playoff Hunt
· With just two races to go in the regular season and hunt for the playoffs, Newman maintains his 15th-place standing entering Darlington.
· Newman has a 12-point advantage over Daniel Suarez in 16th, while just a two-point gap separates him from Clint Bowyer in 17th.
On the Car
As part of a season-long rollout celebrating Oscar Mayer’s quality meat offerings, plus combined with the Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR, Newman’s scheme will feature both the Oscar Mayer and Velveeta brands in a scheme that pays tribute to NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin.
Newman’s scheme pays homage to Martin’s 1993 scheme that scored Jack Roush’s first Southern 500 win.
Martin led 178 laps en route to his 1993 victory, and also drove the scheme to a second-place finish in the spring event at Darlington that same season. Overall Martin led 301 laps during the 1993 season at ‘The Lady in Black.’
Oscar Mayer, who first appeared on the No. 6 back in 2003, was also featured on the car during last year’s #NASCARThrowback weekend with Matt Kenseth.
About The Kraft Heinz Company
The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ: KHC) is one of the largest food and beverage companies in the world. A globally trusted producer of delicious foods, The Kraft Heinz Company provides high quality, great taste and nutrition for all eating occasions, whether at home, in restaurants or on the go. The Company’s iconic brands include Kraft, Heinz, ABC, Capri Sun, Classico, Jell-O, Kool-Aid, Lunchables, Maxwell House, Ore-Ida, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Planters, Plasmon, Quero, Smart Ones and Velveeta. The Kraft Heinz Company is dedicated to the sustainable health of our people, our planet and our Company. For more information, visit www.kraftheinzcompany.com.
Recapping Bristol
Ryan Newman picked up valuable stage points with a third-place finish in stage two and went on to finish 11th at Bristol two weeks ago.
