CONCORD, N.C.: A mistake on the next-to-last lap in Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway cost the opportunity for Ryan Newman and his Roush Fenway Racing team the chance to advance in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Newman, driver of the No. 6 Performance Plus Ford Mustang had a competitive day on the hottest day on record in Charlotte, but the usually calm and resilient Newman made a mistake when missed the backstretch chicane while battling Stewart-Haas Racing driver Aric Almirola in the closing laps in the second-ever race at the ROVAL.
While under pressure from Almirola on newer tires, Newman got aggressive entering the backstretch chicane and missed its layout. Because he blew the layout of the track, Newman should have come to a complete stop on the frontstretch, but Newman didn’t yield to the penalty and was later docked a 30-second penalty at the end of the race, placing him 32nd and 16 points out of the cutoff position earned by second-place runner Alex Bowman.
“I felt like I made a lot of mistakes trying too hard,” Newman said after the race. “We did not have the race car and that’s what I had to do. I felt like we were in a position at one point and then just kept trying too hard trying to keep the 10 car behind us and missed the curbs.”
Newman admitted that he didn’t have the best race on Sunday, but aggressive strategy by his team and a cautiously aggressive driving style kept him afloat but confessed mistakes ultimately decided the outcome.
“Yeah, we just didn’t have it,” spoke Newman. “I screwed up several times. We didn’t have a great race car, struggled all weekend, didn’t qualify good, just nothing went our way, but that’s racing, and those other guys did a better job. Obviously, the Hendrick guys had a great road course package and we didn’t, and we just didn’t do a good enough job, period.”
Although Newman failed to advance out of the opening round of the Playoffs, the South Bend, Ind. native still feels optimistic about the rest of his 2019 campaign in his first season aboard the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Mustang.
“I’m proud of everybody at Roush Fenway for the fight and the opportunity that they’ve given me,” he added. “I didn’t carry the team on my back. We worked together. They carried me. I carried them at times and it’s a team effort. It was a team effort today that failed, but it’s still a team effort and I’m just really proud of everybody’s hard work.
We’re not done, we’re just out at this point. We’re gonna keep digging. We’ve got some stuff up our sleeve for later in this Playoff and we’ll do what we can to try to get to fifth.”
Follow Zach Grafe on Twitter @z_grafe83.
CATCHFENCE.com editor Chris Knight contributed to this report.
