Roush Fenway Racing has called upon Ross Chastain to substitute for Ryan Newman as driver of the #6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford in the NASCAR Cup Series, beginning with Sunday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Newman was injured in a last-lap crash in the Daytona 500 on Monday. It is unknown how long Newman will be out of the car.
“First and foremost, our focus remains with Ryan and his family as he continues to recover,” Roush Fenway president Steve Newmark said. “We also want to express our sincere gratitude to all of those who have offered support and taken the time to send their thoughts and prayers to Ryan, his family and everyone at Roush Fenway Racing. The NASCAR community has long prided itself on being a close-knit family. That is never more evident than during these types of moments, and we want to express our appreciation to everyone at Chip Ganassi Racing as well as Kaulig Racing for allowing Ross to fill in for Ryan in the #6 on such short notice.”
Newman was leading the Daytona 500 when he received a push from Ryan Blaney. Newman’s car, hit the wall, got airborne, flipped and landed on its roof. Corey LaJoie’s car, then, hit Newman’s upside-down car in the driver-side window. After being in serious condition with non-life-threatening injuries Monday night, Newman was released from Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Wednesday.
“All of us at Fenway Sports Group are thankful for the wonderful news about Ryan’s progress and his release from the hospital,” Fenway Sports Group Principal Owner John Henry said. “Ryan is one tough hombre, and we wish him a full recovery. We look forward to seeing Ryan and his family at the track again soon. We would also like to acknowledge the dedication and efforts of NASCAR over the years to protect drivers at speeds of over 200 mph.”
Chastain’s task as a substitute makes the LVMS weekend a tripleheader weekend for Chastain, as he’ll also contest Friday night’s NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race for Niece Motorsports and Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race for Kaulig Racing.
Chastain is a full-time driver in the Xfinity Series for Kaulig Racing this year. In 2019, he contended for the Truck Series championship for Niece Motorsports. He is a two-time winner in the Xfinity Series and has three wins in the Truck Series, with all three of those Truck Series wins coming last season.
Chastain has 72-career Cup Series starts, including all but one race in 2019 and all but two in 2018. His has one-career top-10 race finish.
“No one could ever take the place of Ryan Newman on the track, and I can’t wait to have him back,” Chastain [@RossChastain] tweeted. “As we continue to pray for a full and speedy recovery, I’ll do my best to make him and everyone at Roush Fenway Racing proud.”
