NEWS ARTICLE
NEWMAN 'QUICK' ENOUGH FOR FOURTH-PLACE AT LAS VEGAS
LAS VEGAS, NV. (Mar. 12, 2012) -- Ryan Newman drove from eighth to fourth in the final four laps of the Kobalt Tools 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, scoring his first top-five finish of 2012.
Newman, driver of the No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), lined up eighth on the race's final restart on lap 264 and then benefited from contact between Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne as the field entered the backstretch. As both cars slowed to avoid an accident, Newman shot past and moved to sixth and then quickly managed to gain two more spots to score his sixth top-10 finish in 12 career starts at Las Vegas.
"We peaked at the right time because we finished fourth, and that was the highest we ran all day," Newman said. "It was a great run for the Quicken Loans Chevrolet. We're really proud to be able to get them a top-five in their first race. We were in the right place at the right time on that last restart. We restarted eighth, and the 17 (Matt Kenseth) had his little issue there, and I just kept the pedal to the metal there and drove it up to fourth."
While Newman was only in the top-five at the end of the day, he spent much of his afternoon in the top-10 thanks to a series of two-tire pit stops and timely wedge and tire pressure adjustments called for by crew chief Tony Gibson. The adjustments helped cure and the tight-handling racecar, while the two-tire pit stops gave Newman much-needed track position.
"The guys gave me a good Quicken Loans Chevrolet," Newman said. "Gibson made some great calls, and we put ourselves in a position for a top-five at the end."
Newman's SHR teammate, Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala, led three times for a race-high 127 laps en route to winning the Kobalt Tools 400.
It was his 45th Sprint Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his first at Las Vegas. He has now won a Sprint Cup Series race at every track on the circuit except for Darlington (S.C) Raceway and Kentucky Speedway, the latter of which conducted its first race just last season.
Stewart is now just one victory behind 1956 and 1957 Sprint Cup Series champion Buck Baker for 14th on the all-time series win list.
The last time both SHR cars finished in the top-10 was last November at Phoenix International Raceway, where Stewart was third and Newman was fifth.
"It was an awesome day for Stewart-Haas," Newman said. "Tony and the guys did a great job."
Jimmie Johnson finished .461 of a second behind Stewart in the runner-up spot, while Greg Biffle, Newman and Carl Edwards rounded out the top-five. Clint Bowyer, Paul Menard, Jamie McMurray, Trevor Bayne and Dale Earnhardt Jr. comprised the remainder of the top-10.
There were eight caution periods for 33 laps, with eight drivers failing to finish the 267-lap race.
With round three of 36 complete, Stewart leads the SHR contingent in the championship point standings. He is seventh, 25 points behind series leader Biffle. Newman is 13th, 39 points out of first.
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Food City 500 on Sunday, March 18 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. The race starts at 1 p.m. EDT, with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at 12:30 p.m.
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