Ryan Newman ends winless drought in Phoenix thanks to late-race strategy

With the race heading into overtime in Phoenix, Ryan Newman, Ricky Stenhouse and Martin Truex Jr. stayed out on old tires to take the top three positions. Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch and a long contingent of contenders were determined to take away those spots with just two laps remaining.Newman wouldn’t allow it.After a 127-race winless streak for Richard Childress Racing, Newman captured his first checkered flag for the organization. It also happened to be Newman’s first win since 2013, his final season with Stewart-Haas Racing.”I’ve lost count; that’s how long it’s been,” Newman said with a smile in Victory Lane. “… What a gutsy call by (crew chief) Luke (Lambert). I called for two tires and he called for none. I’ve won more races no tires than I have with four. I’m just proud of these guys. We had a good car all day. We kept it out of trouble and collected in the end.”Larson, who has now finished second in three straight races, wasn’t backing down on the restart. However, contact with Ricky Stenhouse when he went low caused Larson to slip again, finishing as the bride’s maid for a third consecutive week.”Yeah, my spotter said ‘clear’ and I started turning down,” Larson said. “I guess I just didn’t anticipate him driving in as far as he did. Maybe I should have just run the middle lane there just to be safe. And dang it, I wish I wouldn’t have gotten sideways there in (Turns) 1 and 2. I would have stayed close enough to Newman and I probably would have got him down in (Turns) 3 and 4 coming to the white. “You never know though. That’s how the races play out. Maybe I made a mistake there. This one stings because I feel like I was in the best spot out of anybody there to line up fourth on two tires.”As for Newman, he never stopped looking for Larson in the closing laps.”Trust me, I went into (Turn) 3 looking at my mirror,” Newman said. “I knew he was down there; but it took my car forever to get going. I’m spent, man. I had the chills on lap 150. I’m done.”Behind Newman and Larson were Kyle Busch — who led the most laps with 114 — Stenhouse and Brad Keselowski to round out the top five. Joey Logano and Chase Elliott won stages one and two, but fell off the pace late in the race to finish 12th and 31st, respectively.Here’s a look at the final results from the Camping World 500 in Phoenix:
Ryan NewmanKyle LarsonKyle BuschRicky Stenhouse Jr.Brad KeselowskiKevin HarvickDaniel SuarezErik JonesJimmie JohnsonDenny HamlinMartin Truex Jr.Chase ElliottClint BowyerDale Earnhardt Jr.Jamie McMurrayTy DillonAric AlmirolaAustin DillonTrevor BayneKasey KahnePaul MenardDanica PatrickRyan BlaneyMichael McDowellKurt BuschA.J. AllmendingerChris BuescherLandon CassillMatt DiBenedettoReed SorensonJoey LoganoTimmy HillDerrike CopeCole WhittDavid RaganGray GauldingMatt KensethCorey LaJoieJeffrey Earnhardt