Ryan Newman – Talladega Advance
Team: No. 6 Castrol Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Twitter: @Roush6Team, @RoushFenway and @RyanJNewman
Geico 500 – Sunday, April 25 at 2 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
ADVANCE NOTES
Newman at Talladega Superspeedway
· Newman makes his 39th Cup start at Talladega this weekend where he has 16 top-10s and seven top fives with an average finish of 18.5
· Since joining Roush Fenway in 2019, Newman has been in the mix in every event at the 2.66-mile Superspeedway, finishing seventh in the 2019 spring race, second that fall, and sixth last fall. Overall, five of his top-10s at the track have come in the last seven races, and he was just outside the top-10 prior to the final restart of last spring’s event before running out of fuel in the final laps to finish 24th.
· Last time out at Talladega a record 13 cautions flew with Newman surviving the late chaos to ultimately cross the line fifth. After controversial post-race reviews that saw NASCAR penalize his teammate, Chris Buescher, and advance other drivers up in position, he was officially credited with a sixth-place finish.
· In addition to his Cup results, Newman also made one Xfinity start at Talladega in 2009, finishing second after qualifying on the pole.
Scott Graves at Talladega Superspeedway
· Talladega stands as Graves’ best track statistically with an average finish of 11th. In nine starts at the track, Graves has five top-10s including two results inside the top five.
· Graves led Ricky Stenhouse Jr., to a third-place run in the 2013 fall race, and most recently has led Newman to three top-10s in the past four outings.
· Graves also called three Xfinity Series races at Talladega, all of which were top-10s. He led Chris Buescher to a runner-up result in 2014 and followed that with a sixth-place finish a year later, before finishing seventh with Suarez in 2016.
QUOTE WORTHY
Newman on racing at Talladega:
“There’s no doubt we’ve shown what our capabilities are at tracks like Talladega and Daytona the last few years, and that credit goes to Jimmy and his guys in the shop for bringing fast cars to Superspeedways each year. We’ve been so close as of late, just need the luck to go our way a time or two and be there late, and we’ll have a shot come Sunday in our Castrol Ford.”
Last Time Out
Newman was the victim of a spin midway through Sunday’s race at Richmond and went on to finish 30th in a race that featured only two non-stage caution flags.
Where They Rank
Newman is 19th in points entering Talladega.
On the Car
Castrol, the official oil partner of Roush Fenway and primary partner on both Newman and Buescher’s Mustangs this season, will be on Newman’s No. 6 machine Sunday at Talladega. It marks the second primary race for Castrol in 2021, but first in the all-color scheme as their first appearance came back on the Daytona Road Course in the all-white car that highlighted the brand and RFR’s sustainability efforts.
About Castrol
Castrol, a global leader in lubricant technology, serves consumers in over 140 countries. Our leadership brands include Castrol® GTX® — a premium conventional motor oil; Castrol® GTX® High–Mileage™ – a premium synthetic blend designed for vehicles with over 75,000 miles; the Castrol® EDGE ® line of advanced full-synthetic super premium motor oils that offer unsurpassed strength and performance; as well as our range of commercial transport lubricants. To find out more about Castrol products and programs, please call 1–888–CASTROL or visit www.castrol.com/us