It had been a long, long time since Ryan Newman last touched down in Victory Lane and celebrated a win in a major race. But that all changed on Saturday night in Stafford Springs, Conn., as the Rocketman proved that he's both back and very much a force to be reckoned with in the race for the SRX championship.
After biding his time and making his way up to third in the closing laps, Ryan Newman passed Marco Andretti for the lead with six laps to go and drove away to win at Stafford Motor Speedway. Newman's win was not only his first SRX victory, but it also marked his first win in a major race since his last NASCAR Cup Series win at Phoenix in March 2017.
SRX at Stafford results
- #39 - Ryan Newman
- #98 - Marco Andretti
- #3 - Paul Tracy
- #14 - Tony Stewart
- #18 - Bobby Labonte
- #5 - Hailie Deegan
- #1 - Ryan Hunter-Reay
- #60 - Matt Hirschman
- #99 - Justin Marks
- #69 - Greg Biffle
- #9 - Bill Elliott
- #15 - Michael Waltrip
A new full-time driver in the Camping World SRX Series for 2022, Newman had come to SRX after several trying years at the tail end of his NASCAR career. Newman declined statistically over his last few seasons, which have become best remembered for him surviving a near-death experience coming to the finish of the 2020 Daytona 500.
With that considered, Newman's victory was an emotional one for both the 44-year old from South Bend, Ind., and his two daughters at his side.
"To have these two girls right here, nobody knows what that means to me," Newman told CBS Sports. "I got choked up the last couple of laps, and then seeing the smile on their faces kind of took the tears away. But they're still there. It's so special.
"So proud to be a part of driving with the best drivers in the world, and to be victorious is extremely special."
Newman spent much of the 75-lap main event lurking toward the front of the field as much of the race turned into a battle between Marco Andretti and Tony Stewart. Finally getting an opportunity to restart on the inside row for the final 10-lap run to the finish, Newman made his way past Stewart on the final restart before making a power move to the inside of Andretti for the lead, holding his ground even as Andretti tried to pinch the bottom groove away.
For Andretti, it marked the second week in a row that he came up short despite contending for the win. However, the third-generation Andretti's performances both at South Boston and Stafford have left him feeling confident about the second half of the season.
"I'm just learning so much from these Cup guys. They're just too good in these types of cars," Andretti told CBS Sports. "I'm slowly learning, slowly putting it together. I think if I can just keep finishing where I'm at in the heats, it gives me good enough track position to run at the front in these races.
"Hopefully I can put one together before the end of the year and try to win the championship."
After a race filled with crashes and hot tempers at South Boston, Stafford proved to be a much tamer affair, though beating and banging was in great supply all throughout the field. Paul Tracy was once again active, as he made contact with Michael Waltrip, tearing Waltrip's left front fender off before sending Greg Biffle for a ride through the infield grass and out of a chance to win. Tracy ended up finishing third.
Ryan Hunter-Reay and Bobby Labonte won the two heats before finishing seventh and fifth, respectively in the main event. Matt Hirschman represented the local All-Stars of Stafford and the Northeast, nearly cracking the top five at race's end before fading to eighth at the finish.
The Camping World SRX Series moves on next Saturday night to Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, Tenn. Coverage will begin at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
