Michigan II: Ryan Newman race report

LATE-RACE SPIN COSTS NEWMAN POTENTIAL TOP-10
Tornados Driver Finishes Disappointing 23rd at Michigan

Ryan Newman saw the possibility of a top-10 finish disappear in a cloud of smoke after a late-race spin caused him to finish a disappointing 23rd in Sunday's CARFAX 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.

Newman, driver of the No. 39 Tornados Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), was in 14th and battling for position with Joey Logano on lap 148 of the 200-lap event when Logano's car got loose in turn three and the right front of his No. 20 Toyota made contact with the left-rear of Newman's machine.

The nudge caused Newman to spin halfway around in turns three and four, and he managed to keep the Tornados Chevy off the wall. Nonetheless, Newman's car still suffered damage on its left-rear from the contact with Logano, which had to be repaired throughout two pits stops while the race was under caution on laps 149 and 150.

Newman restarted in 30th and one lap down to the leaders due to the spin and subsequent pit stops.

Newman and the Tornados team didn't give up, as they rose to 28th and became the first car one lap down, putting them in position to get their lap back if the race went under caution again. Sure enough, the yellow caution flag waved again on lap 167 for debris, and just like that, Newman was back on the lead lap.

When the green flag flew for the final time on lap 172, Newman was able to move from 28th to 23rd by the time the 200th and final lap clicked off the board. However, Newman and the Tornados team were left to wonder what might have been as they departed the 2-mile oval, where their SHR teammate, Tony Stewart, finished sixth.

Stewart jumped four spots to fourth in the Sprint Cup championship standings after round 23 of 36 at Michigan. He now has 3,020 points and is 380 markers behind series leader Kevin Harvick and 300 points ahead of 13th-place Mark Martin, the first driver on the outside looking in at the 12-driver Chase for the Championship, which will be decided in the next three races. Newman remained 14th in the standings. He has 2,652 points and is 103 points back of 12th-place Clint Bowyer, who holds the final spot in the Chase.

Harvick bolstered his championship lead by winning the CARFAX 400. It was his 14th career Sprint Cup victory, his third of the season and his first at Michigan.

Denny Hamlin finished 1.731 seconds behind Harvick in the runner-up spot, while Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top-five. Stewart, Juan Pablo Montoya, Martin Truex Jr., Elliott Sadler and Logano comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were five caution periods for 25 laps, with seven drivers failing to finish.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Aug. 21 Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

-source: shr