Team: No. 6 Acronis Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Twitter: @Roush6Team, @RoushFenway and @RyanJNewman
Race Format: 400 miles, 267 laps, Stage Lengths: 80-80-107
Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart – Sunday, July 12 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
ADVANCE NOTES
NASCAR Headed to Kentucky Speedway
· NASCAR heads to Kentucky Speedway this weekend for the 17th race of the season, where the Cup Series will tackle the 1.5-mile speedway for 400 miles.
· Kentucky held its original weekend on the schedule, but the Cup Series event switched from a Saturday night race to a Sunday event once schedule changes were announced due to COVID-19.
· The lineup for Sunday’s race will again be determined by a random draw based on teams’ order in owners’ points. Newman and the No. 6 team are 23rd in points, and will draw for a starting spot in the 13-24 group.
· Four weeks of NASCAR action were completed prior to the COVID-19 hiatus with races at Atlanta, Homestead, Texas, Bristol, Richmond, Talladega, Dover and Martinsville postponed.
Newman Historically at Kentucky Speedway
· Newman will make his 10th Cup start at Kentucky Speedway on Sunday. In nine prior events, Newman has an average finish of 14.4 with three top-fives.
· Most recently, Newman earned a ninth-place finish last July at the 1.5-mile track after leading 15 laps. He also has a pair of third-place results, the first in 2014 and again in 2016. He also crossed the line fourth in the first-ever Cup series race back in 2011.
· Newman’s average starting position at the track is 16.8 with four top-10 starts.
· Newman has visited victory lane at Kentucky in the past, as one of the first-ever winners at the track in 2000. He started on the pole in the August 2000 ARCA event, and went on to lead 83 laps en route to one of his four ARCA wins.
Scott Graves at Kentucky Speedway
· Graves will be atop the pit box for his fifth Cup event at Kentucky on Sunday. In four prior starts, he has an average finish of 14.8 with a best finish of ninth last season with Newman.
· He also called a pair of races with Daniel Suarez in 2017-18, and finished 17th with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., in 2013.
· Graves also called six Xfinity Series events at Kentucky – four with Chris Buescher and two with Suarez – recording four top-10s, two of which were top-five results. He finished runner-up with Suarez in the second race at the track in 2016 and third in the first race that year.
QUOTE WORTHY
Newman on racing at Kentucky:
“We’re looking for a big bounce back this weekend to get some positive momentum rolling as the summer months click away. Kentucky is an interesting track in that its still new to the NASCAR circuit, but brings a lot of character with it. We found some speed there last year and earned a top-10 result, so we’re looking forward to much of the same with Acronis on board for the first time this season.”
Last Time Out
Newman had a tire go down in stage one of the Brickyard 400, ultimately causing damage too severe to continue as he finished 34th.
Where They Rank
Newman is 26th in driver points after 13 races in his 2020 campaign. In owners’ points, the No. 6 is 23rd.
On the Car
Acronis makes its 2020 debut aboard Ryan Newman’s machine this weekend in Kentucky. Acronis was the primary for select races in the 2019 campaign and was set to make its season debut at Atlanta in March, but adjusted its schedule due to implications from COVID-19.
Roush Fenway Racing utilizes Acronis solutions to enhance its racing operations. Acronis designs its solutions to address the Five Vectors of Cyber Protection – ensuring the safety, accessibility, privacy, authenticity, and security of data (SAPAS). This unique approach allows Acronis to deliver easy, efficient, and secure cyber protection.
About Acronis
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