Ryan Newman makes 30th Sprint Cup start at Michigan (2 wins)

Ryan Newman is 80/1 to win at Michigan. 

This Week’s Grainger Chevrolet SS at Michigan … Ryan Newman will pilot a brand new car, No. 551, at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday. All three Richard Childress Racing teams will field brand new Chevrolets for the Firekeepers Casino 400.

Newman at MIS … Newman will make his 526th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start when the Series returns to the Irish Hills of Michigan this weekend. In 29 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events at MIS, Newman scored back-to-back victories in the fall 2003 and spring 2004 events. The “Rocket Man” also owns a pole award. In total, he’s recorded five top-five and eight top-10 finishes. He has led 111 laps in competition. The South Bend, Ind., native has an average start of 13.6 and average finish of 16.9. And in four NASCAR XFINITY Series starts at the speedway, he visited victory lane two times (2001, 2005).

Journey to Safety Excellence … Safety is a concern for every organization, regardless of the industry and Grainger has decades of experience in helping customers, regardless of the safety challenge. The company has a strong line of safety products and solutions, and partners with customers to help them save time and money, and most importantly, help their employees go home in the same condition they came to work. June is National Safety Month, which enables Grainger to highlight how it partners with customers every day to help keep their people safe and operate safer facilities. Visit Grainger.com/Safety for more information.

RYAN NEWMAN QUOTES:

What is the key to success at Michigan International Speedway?
“Momentum is the key at Michigan. If you slip at all, I mean just a little bit, it takes forever to recover. You lose a big chunk of time in one little slip up. Keeping your car underneath you and keeping that momentum up and having a fast car is necessary. Once small slip up can cost you eight to 10 spots pretty easily.”

What’s the toughest part for you to figure out?
“It seems to me just the difference in Turns 1 and 2 versus Turns 3 and 4. Typically you are pretty loose getting into Turn 3 so if you can get a car that is good turning down into Turn 3 and has a good balance running the rest of the track, you are ahead of most people.”

What do you think of the new rule change they are implementing with downforce?
“I haven’t heard a whole lot about it other than it’s fast at the end of the straightaways. I think it all depends on how the conditions are when we go back there from what they tested when it was really cool and had damp conditions. If we go back there and it’s 90 degrees, it could be slower or it could be faster.”

- Richard Childress Racing