Sunday
Late-Race Incident Ends Ryan Newman’s Strong Run
Press Release“Relegates Team to 30th-Place Finish”
DOVER, Del. (September 27, 2009) — Ryan Newman returned to the seat of the No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) Copart Chevrolet at Dover (Del.) International Speedway and with a fast car, looked to be on his way to a solid run. Starting the Dover 200 from the sixth position, Newman ran the majority of the event in the top 10 before a late-race incident forced the team to the garage and relegated Newman to a 30th-place finish.
“The Copart Chevrolet was really good this weekend,” said Newman. “From the time the team unloaded, we were fast and just made tweaks throughout the practices. We were running good in the race and it’s unfortunate that our day ended the way it did. I have to thank Kevin and DeLana (Harvick) for giving me the opportunity to run the Copart Chevrolet.”
From the wave of the green flag, Newman fought a tight-handling car and searched for a line that would help the handling. On lap 17, continuing to run in the sixth position, Newman radioed crew chief Ernie Cope that the car was free in to the corners, but tight from the center of the corner off.
Slipping one spot, Newman was scored in the seventh position when green-flag pit stops began on lap 75. The team opted to bring Newman to pit road on lap 78 for four tires with an air-pressure adjustment to help the handling and fuel. Once pit stops cycled through the field, Newman returned to the seventh position on lap 88.
The first caution of the day waved on lap 109 for debris and race leader Kyle Busch led the field down pit road for another round of stops. Running in the sixth spot, Newman again took on four tires with another air-pressure adjustment and fuel. Should the race continue under green, the team was good on fuel until the end of the scheduled 200-lap event. Gaining one position on pit road, Newman restarted fifth on lap 115.
Under the second caution of the day on lap 119, Newman told the team the car was a little snug, but pretty good. The call was made to stay on the track and the No. 33 Copart Chevrolet restarted fifth on lap 124.
Battling for position, Newman and the No. 16 car made contact on the front straight-a-way on lap 144, sending the No. 33 spinning into the wall. Bringing the car to pit road, the team determined the damage was too severe to quickly repair on pit road and needed to go to the garage for further evaluation. Once in the garage, the team diligently worked to make repairs, but eventually determined the damage to be too severe to return to the race, relegating the team to a 30th-place finish.
Clint Bowyer and the No. 29 Richard Childress Racing team won the race followed by Mike Bliss, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards.
Next on the Nationwide Series Schedule:
Date: October 3, 2009
Track: Kansas Speedway
Event Name: Kansas Lottery 300
Driver: Kevin Harvick
Sponsor: Jimmy John’s
Broadcast Time: 3:00 p.m., ET on ESPN2 and 3:00 p.m., ET on MRN Radio
- Kevin Harvick Inc. Press Release
Article Tags: Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer, DeLana Harvick, Dover (Del.) International Speedway, Dover 200, Ernie Cope, ESPN2, Jimmy John’s, Kansas Lottery 300, Kansas Speedway, Kevin Harvick, Kevin Harvick Inc., Kyle Busch, Mike Bliss, MRN Radio, NASCAR Nationwide Series, NNS, No. 33 Copart Chevrolet Impala SS, Richard Childress Racing, Ryan Newman
