KANSAS CITY (Oct. 18, 2020) – With a fresh Hy-Vee scheme on board his Ford Mustang, Ryan Newman and his team utilized smart pit strategy to get to the front of the field before a chaotic final stage resulted in a 22nd-place finish at Kansas Speedway Sunday afternoon.
Newman began the day from the 28th spot – and as teams cautiously tracked handling amidst lower than expected temperatures – maintained his track position to finish 29th at the conclusion of the opening 80-lap stage. He steadily worked his way forward from there, as the team put him in position for a strong finish in the closing laps of stage two. As most teams hit pit road with less than 20 laps to go in the stage Newman stayed on track, and the strategy paid off as a caution was displayed at lap 143 with Newman running second.
Following his scheduled service under the yellow – and a subsequent restart – the 2003 race winner ended the stage in 18th. A strong pit stop to change tires and adjust the handling of the car set Newman up to fire off 16th for the final stage. With under 75 to go as another yellow came out, Newman reported he had the best balance of the day and continued to battle the 1.5-mile track.
The final restart came at lap 225 with just over 40 to go, as Newman fired off 24th. From there, he picked off a pair of positions to finish 22nd in the Hy-Vee Ford Mustang.
Newman and the No. 6 team return to the track next weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Race coverage on Sunday begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Coverage can also be heard on MRN and SiriusXM Channel 90.
