Ryan Newman gearing for charge to make the Chase

As for being on the outside of the Chase looking in when two drivers who have not won a race are locked in (Truex and Harvick), Newman wasn’t complaining.

“The points system rewards a lot of consistency and over 36 races for a series championship is important,” Newman said. “You just don’t want to go out there and have three good races and say you’re a championship contender or a championship winner. The guy that wins the most races doesn’t mean he’s the champion.

“I think it builds excitement. It’s just a part of our sport. You never know when you can get that hot streak. We need to start one this weekend.”

Newman said no announcement about his future at SHR was planned but was confident he would be staying put next year: “We pretty much have everything wrapped up,” he said.

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