FORT WORTH, Texas (April 9, 2011) — Handling and speed issues short circuited Ryan Newman’s performance Saturday night as the U.S. Army driver claimed a 14th-place finish in the Samsung Mobile 500 Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway.
“We knew we were behind the eight ball with speed and handling and never could find the right balance in our U.S. Army Reserve Chevrolet,” said team crew chief Tony Gibson. “I feel we got everything and more out of our car tonight. Some days it’s not going to be there and you just hope you can squeeze out every ounce of possible performance. That is exactly what Ryan did — an awesome job to finish a respectable 14th.”
The finish dropped Newman one spot in the driver point standings — he is now seventh after seven races.
“This was a demanding race tonight,” stated Newman, who qualified 16th in the Army Reserve Chevy. “We worked a lot harder for a 14th-place finish than a top 10 or top five. This team is so much fun to be around because no one gives up and you know that no matter how bad things get you just work harder and some how you’re able to salvage a decent result. Our brave Soldiers do it every day and we better do it as well since it’s their team and we wear the Army colors.”
Newman’s teammate and team boss, Tony Stewart, finished 12th and is 10th in driver points.
The race winner was Matt Kenseth. Rounding out the top-five in order were: Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and Paul Menard.
The Sprint Cup Series heads to Alabama next Sunday (April 17) for the restrictor plate race at Talladega Superspeedway.
