Race Highlights:
- Richard Childress Racing teammates Ryan Newman finished seventh, Paul Menard 23rd and Austin Dillon was 24th.
- Ryan Newman ranks 15th in the Sprint Cup Series championship point standings, trailing current leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. by 30 points, while Austin Dillon ranks 16th and Paul Menard 24th.
- The No. 31 Chevrolet team ranks 15th in the Sprint Cup Series owner championship point standings, with the No. 3 team 16th and the No. 27 team is 24th.
- Kevin Harvick earned his first victory of the 2014 season and was followed to the finish line by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Jeff Gordon.
- The next Sprint Cup Series race is the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 9. The third race of the 2014 season is scheduled to be televised live on FOX beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio, channel 90.
Austin Dillon Finishes 24th at Phoenix International Raceway
Paul Menard Hangs Tough for 23rd-place Finish at Phoenix
Paul Menard and the No. 27 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet SS began the 312-lap NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway in 22nd place. For the early portions of the event, the Richard Childress Racing driver radioed to crew chief Slugger Labbe and team that he was turning well in Turns 1 and 2, but loose in 3 and 4 of the one-mile oval. After the competition caution on lap 35, Menard pitted for fuel, four tires and chassis adjustments. From there, Menard would remain in and near the top-20 positions through long, green-flag runs when, at one point, there were only 18 cars on the lead lap. Two more stops under green left Menard with enough fuel to go the distance, but handling conditions of being tight into and in the center of turns remained an issue. That, combined with being loose off the turns, kept the No. 27 team from progressing up the running order and they finished where they started in 23rd place.
Start – 22nd Finish – 23rd Laps Led – 0 Points Position – 24th
PAUL MENARD QUOTE:
“We just seemed to struggle with changing track and handling conditions during the entire race. We’d make the changes to fix one part, and then the other end of the track would give us a problem. But, we never gave up, tried to race our way back onto the lead lap there at the end but we couldn’t gain on the two cars in front of us that were on our lap. The Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet crew did a good job on our pit stops.”
Ryan Newman Records Seventh-Place Finish at Phoenix International Raceway
Richard Childress Racing driver Ryan Newman drove the No. 31 Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS to a seventh-place finish in Sunday’s 312-lap NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Phoenix International Raceway. During the opening laps, the Rocket Man climbed from the 15th-starting position to ninth. As the race settled in, Newman drove comfortably in the top 15 while the Luke Lambert-led team focused on tightening up the No. 31 Chevrolet during several pit stops. A service stop on lap 188 helped Newman break into the top 10 at lap 211. Then on lap 243, he was scored the leader and held the top spot for six circuits before pitting one final time with 60 laps to go. When he returned to the track, Newman kept up a fast pace and, with one final nine-lap dash to the finish, Newman recorded a seventh-place finish. Next Sunday, Newman and the No. 31 team will compete at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
RYAN NEWMAN QUOTE:
“It was a good team effort for our Quicken Loans Chevrolet. The guys did a good job in the pits. We caught a good break with the debris caution, which was a good thing for the team. It feels good to have run up front, lead laps and earn a top-10 finish with my new team.”
RCR PR