NASCAR: Ross Chastain to replace Ryan Newman at Las Vegas

Ross Chastain is set to replace Ryan Newman at Roush Fenway Racing in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Less than two days after he was admitted to Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Florida in serious condition with non-life threatening injuries following a horrific last-lap crash in the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, Roush Fenway Racing NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Newman was released.

While the 42-year-old South Bend, Indiana native was miraculously able to walk away from the hospital with his two daughters less than 48 hours after the terrifying crash, he will still be taking at least this weekend to recover.

Ross Chastain, who drives full-time for Kaulig Racing in the Xfinity Series and is tied to Spire Motorsports and Chip Ganassi Racing in the Cup Series as a part-time driver, is set to replace him behind the wheel of the #6 Ford for Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Here is what team president Steve Newmark had to say in a press release.

"“First and foremost, our focus remains with Ryan and his family as he continues to recover. 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 No. 6 on such short notice.”"

Chastain took to Twitter to address the news.

As for when Newman will be back behind the wheel of the #6 Ford, that remains unknown.

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Chastain has been dubbed the “Busiest Driver in NASCAR” for his involvement across all three of NASCAR’s top three series in recent years. Last year, he competed in 77 of the 92 races across the Cup Series (35 of 36), Xfinity Series (19 of 33) and Truck Series (23 of 23).

He competed in this year’s Daytona 500 in a Spire Motorsports entry prepared by Chip Ganassi Racing and ran toward the front during the latter stages of the race before a late multi-car wreck relegated him to a 25th place finish.

Chastain has competed in 72 Cup Series races over the course of four seasons, including 34 in 2018 and 35 in 2019 for Premium Motorsports effectively as a full-time driver. He finished in a career-high 10th place in the 2019 Daytona 500.

In quality equipment, Chastain is a threat to win anywhere, as he proved in his limited time driving for Chip Ganassi Racing in the Xfinity Series in 2018 and his limited time driving for Kaulig Racing in the series last year. He secured his first series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2018 before winning at Daytona International Speedway in 2019.

In the Truck Series, he won three races and finished in second place in the championship standings last year driving for Niece Motorsports, a team that really had not had any success in the series prior to the 2019 season.

Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is set to be broadcast live on Fox beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET. Be sure to tune in to the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube.