Ryan Newman inches closer to Chase spot with ninth place finish at Darlington Raceway

Solid pit stops and a good qualifying effort helped Ryan Newman bring the Haas Automation Chevrolet home in ninth place Saturday night in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Newman continued his slow but steady rise in the points standings as he left Darlington in 14th place, only 38 points outside the top-12.

Newman started sixth in the 61st running of the legendary Southern 500.  "It wasn't the finish we had hoped to get, but it was a solid points night for us and that is a credit to what our team did in the pits tonight," Newman said after the race. 

Newman battled a variety of handling issues during the race but the Stewart-Haas Racing crew made the necessary adjustments during the quick pit stops that kept the No. 39 car competitive through the long night. 

Denny Hamlin scored the win in the Showtime Southern 500.  It was his 11th career Sprint Cup victory, his third of the season and his first at Darlington.

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Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR