CONCORD, N.C. (Oct. 11, 2020) – Ryan Newman finished 31st in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup event at the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Heavy moisture over much of the track created tough conditions for the field, and while Newman was able to finish the first stage in sixth he ultimately found himself on the wrong end of too much misfortune to battle back from for the No. 6 Castrol Team.
In just the third-ever Cup race at the road course, the green flag was dropped on a wet track to begin the 109-lap race with NASCAR requiring teams to begin the race on rain tires. Newman began the afternoon from the 15th spot, reporting early he lacked front turn by the competition caution at lap 10. He would pit in the first opportunity at lap 11 as the team put on slick tires, setting him up 28th for the ensuing restart. He would go for a spin at lap 14, but got his Castrol Ford back rolling.
With a large majority of the field still on rain tires the team would pit around lap 20, giving Newman back track position just prior to the stage break at lap 25. With the yellow being displayed with three to go in the segment, Newman was eighth and ultimately crossed the line sixth for the opening stage.
After staying on track under the break, Newman fired off fourth at lap 28th, but spun a few laps later from inside the top-10. Following another spin at lap 35, Newman ran 36th, but battled back to 27th at the end of stage two.
From there, he battled the handling in the No. 6 machine the remainder of the afternoon before finishing 31st in the Castrol Ford Mustang.
Newman and the No. 6 team return to the track next weekend at Kansas Speedway. Race coverage begins Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Coverage can also be heard on MRN and SiriusXM Channel 90.
