Ryan Newman found the chink in Jimmie Johnson’s armor on Sunday -- and it wasn’t on the race track.
Ryan Newman wins the 2013 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indiana native Ryan Newman gets much-needed win at the Brickyard.
Patrick Smith
Taking advantage of Johnson’s glitch on pit road during an exchange of green-flag stops late in the race, Newman (the pole-sitter) found himself with a three-second lead when pit stops cycled through the field on Lap 149 of 160, holding on to win Sunday’s Crown Royal presents the Samuel Deeds 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The victory was Newman’s first at the Brickyard, in his native state’s only NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. It’s the 17th victory in his career and his first since April 2012 at Martinsville.
Johnson ran second, 2.657 seconds back. Kasey Kahne came home third, followed by Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Joey Logano, Juan Pablo Montoya and Kyle Busch completed the top 10.
A slow pit stop on Lap 133 due to a problem with the left rear tire cost Johnson his edge over Newman. With a quick stop one lap later, Newman was back on track with a five-second advantage over the No. 48 Chevrolet as the drivers waited for pit stops to cycle through.
Johnson couldn’t make a significant dent in Newman’s margin over the remaining laps.
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