By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
It’s not the first time Ryan Newman has been labeled a “bubble driver” heading into a regular-season finale in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
Through a quiet and steady regular season to date, Newman and his No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing team are in a tie with Daniel Suarez for the 16th and final spot entering Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Due to the tight no-cushion circumstances, Newman will be looking out for his competition (being Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson and Suarez) while also enjoying the weekend.
“There are a lot that would love to be fighting for a playoff berth,” Newman said Saturday at Indy. “We will do what we can to be the best we can with the Acorns Ford and enjoy the race.”
However, it is business as usual for Newman.
“To me, this is no different than when the green flag dropped for the Daytona 500,” he said. “You have just as many opportunities and points to gain as you do to lose, and it is the same for everybody. You can’t try to make up for in one race what you didn’t accomplish in the first 25.”
Newman will be asking for updates throughout the race as to where Suarez and other bubble drivers are running.
“It just is something that slides in your consciousness,” he said. “If I can’t get to them, then I can’t get to them. If I have them behind me, I want to keep them behind me. That is the facts of it.
“I think you kind of subconsciously want to know those things but in the end, you can’t do anything about it, otherwise you would lap the field 22 times.”
And what better place to race for a postseason spot than at Newman’s home track?
“There are guys that have been here but never got a chance to race,” he said. “I understood more so the history and relevance and everything about the speedway. I watched Indy races here and had a better understand for myself of what to expect. I think it is totally different when you get out on the racetrack.
Winning this race in 2013, Newman has compiled three top-five and five top-10 finishes through 18 Brickyard starts.
“Not only have I been around the sport a long time, but I have experienced the pushes and pulls and ups and downs of the playoffs and racing your way in and not making it,” he said. “It is home for me. Lots of friends and family and I get a chance to run the Silver Crown car tonight at IRP. There is a lot going on. That is just part of it. I definitely enjoy it.”
With one top five and eight top 10s in 2019, Newman will race for his ninth playoff appearance and his first with RFR on Sunday.