Ryan Newman drives the No. 39 U.S. Army Chevy NASCAR.
The disappointment was evident in the faces of the No. 39 U.S. Army⁄Haas Automation team after Ryan Newman finished 20th in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway.
‘‘We squandered a great opportunity today due to a couple of pit road problems,” said crew chief Tony Gibson.
‘‘No question we were in good shape early and looked like we had the muscle to eventually run with the leaders,” Newman said. ‘‘But then a chain of problems, stemming from pit road issues, took our momentum away.”
The slow stops cost Newman track position on the one-mile oval, and while running in the high teens, his car got damaged during a multicar accident on Lap 172.
‘‘We were in a position on the track that we never should have been in and it cost us dearly,” said Gibson. ‘‘That hit pretty much ended any hopes of getting back up front. We had damage to the splitter and the left-front fender and all we could do was band-aid the problem. Ryan did the best he could from that point on.”
Newman remained ninth in the Chase point standings. Newman’s teammate, Tony Stewart, finished 25th and remained fifth in points.
The race winner was Jimmie Johnson, who enjoys a comfortable 108-point lead over Mark Martin for the championship heading into the season finale Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Army Racing)
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