Newman Posts All-Star Performance at New Hampshire
NASCAR Sprint Cup Veteran Claims Whelen All-Star Shootout
LOUDON, N.H. (July 11, 2014) — Twice before, Ryan Newman drove the venerable 7NY Modified to Victory Lane in a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver did it again Friday. This time, the win came in the non-points inaugural Whelen All-Star Shootout. The latest victory came with the familiar frantic swapping of the lead synonymous with the open-wheeled cars on the 1.058-mile.
Newman lost the lead to Justin Bonsignore into Turn 1 of the white-flag lap, but got it back in Turn 3 and won the drag-race to the checkered flag.
“I didn’t know if he was going to have somebody follow him; I didn’t know if he was getting pushed or what,” said Newman. “I really can’t see that. I could see someone showing their nose and my spotter’s talking to me, but it’s kind of hard to process all that at once. So once he slid by, I knew I was going to get some kind of tow off him. I didn’t know if I was going to have somebody pushing me or if he was going to shove me into Turn 3 way faster than I wanted to go, or what it was going to turn out to be. And it turned out good.”
Bonsignore held on for second, followed by Mike Stefanik, Ron Silk and Bobby Santos.
“We really haven’t been in position to win up here,” said Bonsignore. “I tried to throw the block, but he had a good head of steam and we do have to run these cars (Saturday).”
Newman has run 14 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races for the 7NY Modified team put together by Gary Putnam and NASCAR Sprint Cup crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion. He also has a pair of wins at Bristol Motor Speedway.
“Just a good effort by everybody at Gary Putnam Racing,” said Newman, “and Bono and Slugger (Labbe) and all the guys that volunteer their time to do what they do in North Carolina so we can come up here and play.
“It’s awesome what Whelen does for this series. I’ve always been a big fan of the Modifieds and getting to come up here and race them is still a big honor for me. So to win the all-star race is pretty cool.”
For Bonsignore, it was the second time he’s finished second to Newman. But he welcomed the Sprint Cup driver’s presence in the tour races.
“He’s in the exact same equipment as everybody else out here,” Bonsignore said. “He’s at that level for a reason. He knew what move to make at the end. And he was in position.”
Stefanik, the nine-time NASCAR champion, was making his second appearance of the season after cutting back his racing schedule.
“I had a lot of fun,” Stefanik said. “I’ve been missing out on this. It was a good time, I enjoyed it.”
Ryan Preece, Chuck Hossfeld, Todd Szegedy, Ted Christopher and JR Bertuccio rounded out the top 10.
Silk held the lead over Patrick Emerling and Ryan Preece into the halfway break at Lap 20. A random draw determined a 10-car invert and put Doug Coby and Bonsignore on the front row, with Newman restarting fifth. The race featured six official lead changes and Newman was credited with leading the final 16 laps.
“We were way off when we unloaded. And we weren’t great during the race, but we were good enough,” Newman said.
The event was called after 37 laps when it reached its 30-minute time limit.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour was be back on track Saturday with its championship points race at New Hampshire.
The Whelen All-Star Shootout will air on FOX Sports 1 on Sunday, July 20 at 2 p.m. The Sunoco 100 will air on FOX Sports 1 on Friday, July 18 at noon.
Sources: Tom Bryant/NASCAR PR
NASCAR Whelen Modified – Whelen All-Star Shootout Results
Friday
At New Hampshire International Speedway
Loudon, N.H.
Lap length: 1.058 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (14) Ryan Newman, South Bend, In., Chevrolet, 37 laps, 74.712 mph.
2. (12) Justin Bonsignore, Holtsville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 37.
3. (17) Mike Stefanik, Coventry, R.I., Ford, 37.
4. (8) Ron Silk, Norwalk, Conn., Chevrolet, 37.
5. (2) Bobby Santos, Franklin, Mass., Chevrolet, 37.
6. (6) Ryan Preece, Berlin, Conn., Ford, 37.
7. (7) Chuck Hossfeld, Ransomville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 37.
8. (18) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn., Chevrolet, 37.
9. (19) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn., Chevrolet, 37.
10. (1) JR Bertuccio, Centerreach, N.Y., Chevrolet, 37.
11. (13) Cole Powell, Mount Brydges, Ont., Chevrolet, 37.
12. (20) Doug Coby, Milford, Conn., Chevrolet, 36.
13. (10) Andy Seuss, Hampstead, N.H., Chevrolet, 36.
14. (9) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Chevrolet, 36.
15. (11) Matt Hirschman, Northampton, Pa., Chevrolet, 29, engine.
16. (15) Patrick Emerling, Orchard Park, N.Y., Chevrolet, 27, accident.
17. (4) Donny Lia, Jericho, N.Y., Dodge, 26, accident.
18. (3) Ken Heagy, Calverton, N.Y., Ford, 11, handling.
19. (5) Glen Reen, Wilbraham, Mass., Chevrolet, 8, handling.
20. (16) Jamie Tomaino, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 6, electrical.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 31 minutes 12 seconds
Margin of Victory: 0.151 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: . ( mph, seconds)
Caution Flags: 1 for 8 laps.
Lead Changes: 6 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders: J. Bertuccio 1; R. Preece 2-3; R. Silk 4-16; R. Preece 17; R. Silk 18-20; M. Stefanik 21; R. Newman 22-37.