50 Days 'Til Daytona - Today's Featured Driver: Ryan Newman

In case you missed it, StatChat is counting down the days ‘til the 2021 Daytona 500.  Every two days, we will have a new article featuring one of the Top 30 Drivers of 2020. 

 

25th Place – Ryan Newman – 566 pts

 

By the Numbers:

 

15:40 – Ryan Newman suffered one of the most horrific crashes in recent memory at the Daytona 500.  Ryan spent 15 minutes and 40 seconds stuck in his car before being removed from it, though there was a trauma doctor at the car with him within 33 seconds. 

 

12 Less Top 10s – A speedy health-related recovery for Newman after his crash didn’t necessarily translate to a return to form on the track.  In 2020, Ryan Newman scored only 2 Top 10s, and one of those was his 9thplace at the Daytona 500 where he crossed the finish line upside down – compare this to 14 Top 10s in 2019.

 

24.3% Laps in the Top 15 – Of the 8,976 laps that Ryan Newman ran in 2020, 2,206 of them were spent in the Top 15.  Compared to some of the premiere drivers (Elliott – 84.8%, Harvick – 82.4%, etc), that just isn’t enough time spent near the front of the pack to get good results.

 

1428 Days – When the 2021 Daytona 500 starts on February 14th, that’s how many days it will have been since Ryan Newman’s last win.  His last win came at the Camping World 500, the 4th race of the 2017 season at what was then called ISM Raceway, now simply known as Phoenix.

 

18 Years – Until Ryan Newman missed 3 races while recovering from his big wreck at the start of the year, he had not missed a single race in his entire career as a full-time racer – dating back to his first full-time season in 2002.  That amounts to 649 consecutive starts without missing a race.

 

At 43 years old, Ryan Newman is likely passed the prime of his career.  Since his best statistical season in 2014, his averages have been trending in the wrong direction. However, a fully healthy season next year may be just what he needs to get back to form.  He will return to Roush-Fenway Racing’s No. 6 Ford in 2021.

 

Coming up in two days – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Jr.

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