Newman slowed by faulty engine

Ryan Newman ran solidly in the top-15 for most of Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga., but engine issues during the final 100 laps of the event slowed down his #39 Haas Automation Chevy and thwarted his team’s march to a top-10 result. Newman was relegated to a 22nd-place finish in his 15th career Sprint Cup start at AMS. “Our Haas Automation Chevy was pretty good today," said Newman after the race. “We had some handling issues, but Tony Gibson (crew chief) and the guys adjusted on the car and gave me a really competitive machine. At the end, I think we maybe had a top-10 car, but we lost a cylinder and that put us behind. We were right in cycle to be the next guy for the ‘lucky dog’ and we just lost that cylinder and that set the tone for the rest of our day." At lap 225, Newman radioed his crew that he had an engine problem, as his V-8 powerplant had missed several times as he drove down the backstretch, ultimately dropping a cylinder. Newman was able to nurse the engine and maintain a spot in the top-20 until the final caution flag of the day waved at lap 321. Under the caution, Newman reported that the motor had lost yet another cylinder. On the final restart, he couldn’t get his car up to speed quickly enough and lost four more spots, whereupon he finished 22nd, three laps down. SHR/True Speed Communication PR