During the five years Rusty Wallace and Ryan Newman spent bickering at Penske Racing, there were two prevailing questions:
How could a champion car owner -- and Roger Penske certainly is that -- allow such shenanigans on his watch?
More important, what would The Captain do to right his ship?
Nothing, really. Despite the 25-year friendship between Penske and Wallace, his star in the No. 2 car, there was no stopping the ego that roared. Even someone of Penske's stature couldn't expect Wallace, the 1989 Cup champion, to play nice with Newman, a younger, formidable opponent who Wallace claimed didn't respect him. Of course, Newman's early success exacerbated the problem.
The relationship became more caustic over time to the point that the Nos. 2 and 12 didn't communicate with each other. Headlines coming from Penske Racing focused more on the squabbles between Wallace and Newman than on the teams' performances.
Although fans miss Wallace on the racetrack, his retirement after the 2005 season was necessary for Penske Racing to move forward. Even so, remnants from the feud remained going into 2006. But over time the arrival of Kurt Busch provided a fresh start and allowed teamwork to be more than a foreign word for the employees of the Nos. 2 and 12 teams.
Had the teams gotten up to speed on the track last year, the recovery process would have accelerated, but progress was stalled by the organization's inability to let go of the Intrepid and embrace the Charger. That had irrevocable repercussions on the teams' intermediate programs and hampered any chance of either car qualifying for the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup. Busch won six poles in 36 races, which shows his cars were competitive in qualifying, but driving in traffic was another matter. Busch and crew chief Roy McCauley worked tirelessly last season on setups, so now each knows what the other is looking for in the car. And the new Dodge nose introduced for 2007 promises better balance for the Chargers and a better ride for the drivers.
I spoke with Newman and Busch during Daytona testing, and it appears the camaraderie between the Penske drivers has reached a new height and that they are forging a working relationship that will benefit everyone.
"At the Memphis test with the Car of Tomorrow (December 13 and 14), it was the first time we'd ever switched drivers in cars," Newman says. "I'd driven Rusty's cars before, but he never drove mine.
"When Kurt feels like he's happy with his car and it's a little bit loose, that's drivable for me. It was a great opportunity to get an understanding of our language and our definitions of loose and tight and things like that."
Busch says success will come from "playing nice together." He thought "having a big group of teammates (the case at Roush Racing) would pay dividends," but there was no communication among the drivers. That's not the way it is now at Penske Racing.
Penske president Don Miller says he is convinced the operation will flourish with Mike Nelson, Newman's former engineer and new crew chief, and McCauley leading the teams. With Newman and Busch on the same page, I agree. The most improved organization for 2007 will be Penske Racing -- hands down.
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Newman Excited To Get Back To Racing And Prove 2006 Was Just A Bad Year
Newman Excited To Get Back To Racing And Prove 2006 Was Just A Bad Year
Penske Racing South, Inc., Press Release
NNCS Notes:
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 12 Alltel Dodge, will be making his sixth appearance in the annual Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway. The Bud Shootout is a pre-season, non-points-paying race that includes every driver who earned at least one Bud Pole Award during the previous season and any past winners.
Newman has been a competitor in the Bud Shootout every year since his rookie season in 2002. He earned his first Bud Pole at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in just his second-ever Cup start back on May 27, 2001. Seven seems to have been a good number for Newman the past two years as that is the number he drew for his starting spots in 2005 and 2006 and the position he will be making his draw this year as well. The number he draws in Thursday night’s Bud Shootout drawing (televised live on SPEED-TV at 8:00 p.m. ET) will determine where he starts in the field for Saturday night’s 175-mile race (that features coverage by FOX-TV and MRN Radio beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET.) Newman has an average starting position of 10.6 for the Shootout.
In 2005, Newman came in second to Jimmie Johnson at the Bud Shootout, earning his highest finish to date. Newman has two top-five finishes in his five attempts in the Shootout, giving him an average finish of 10.8.
Newman has led four laps in the Bud Shootout – occurring during his 2005 second-place run – and has completed 347 or 352 laps, earning Newman a 98.6 percent completion rate for the event.
Mike Nelson, crew chief of the No. 12 Alltel Dodge, and the Alltel team will race chassis PRS-65 in the 2007 Budweiser Shootout. This is the same chassis that was used during the 2006 Shootout in which Newman started seventh and finished 17th.
Newman on the Bud Shootout:
“This is a fun event for all the drivers. It’s a nice reward for winning a pole in the previous season and it gives a lot of drivers the chance to get out on the track early and see how the cars will run.”
“The chassis we’re taking for the Shootout isn’t our primary for the 500, but it is our backup, so if the car feels really good in the Shootout, there’s always a possibility of using it for the race the following weekend.”
“I’m looking forward to being back on the track in a race setting. 2006 was a tough season for everyone at Penske Racing and I think both teams are ready to get back out there and show everyone that we just had a bad season, that’s all. This team is still strong and still capable of winning races and championships and we’re all anxious to get out there and show that to everyone else.”
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I thought that I would start a new version of the Newman Nation News for the 2007 season.
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 10, 2007) - The No. 12 Alltel My Circle 500 Dodge Charger was nearly perfect for Saturday night's 29th-annual Budweiser Shootout with driver Ryan Newman behind the wheel, but perfect wasn't the word on lap 47 when the engine expired.
"The car was good," Newman said after heading back to the Alltel hauler, "The balance was great. We had to make very minor adjustments on the car during the mandatory pit stop and that was only to try to make a good car even better."
Newman, who started ninth, fell to the rear of the field early when he was unable to get any drafting help. It wasn't until the race's second segment began that Newman was able to maneuver his Alltel machine into the top 10.
"It's frustrating when you have such a good car and no one will work with you," Newman said. "The same thing happened last October in Talladega. We had a great car, but no one would work with us and I believe we finished 13th when we had a car that could win."
Newman was able to get some help once he cracked the top 10, but only for short bursts of time. Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick spent a few laps giving Newman a couple of good pushes, but both drivers never remained with Newman long enough to push him to the front.
"At restrictor-plate tracks, you have to have help. I believe I've helped a lot of drivers in the last six years, but for some reason, I don't get the same help in return. I'm not sure what else we can do," Newman said.
As the race neared the halfway point, Newman made his way to the third position - his highest of the night - and maintained a top-10 spot until he thought the engine was going sour, sending Newman straight to the back.
"It's blowing up!" Newman relayed to his crew over the radio.
Newman told his crew he would stick it out since the oil pressure was fine, but it only took 10 more laps for Newman to realize the engine would not make it to the finish. On lap 47, Newman informed his team that he was taking the car to the garage. "It's done," he called over the radio.
"The car was really good. I was hoping it was a plug wire or something else that we could fix," Newman told the reporters that gathered outside the hauler after he returned to the garage. "We were hoping to get this debris caution that just came out in order to come onto pit road and check it out, but it just didn't work out that way for us."
The finish was Newman's lowest in the pre-season race that he has participated in for the last six years.
Sunday, Newman and the No. 12 Alltel Dodge team will turn their focus to the Daytona 500 and preparing for the season's biggest race. Pole qualifying for the Daytona 500 begins Sunday at 2:10 p.m., ET, at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. Only the front row is locked in Sunday, with the remainder of the field determining the starting lineup for Thursday's Gatorade Duels at 2 p.m., ET. The Duels set the starting field for the Feb. 18 Daytona 500, also known as the "Great American Race." SPEED Channel and MRN Radio will broadcast the Duels live on Thursday, while FOX will televise the Daytona 500. MRN Radio will air the Daytona 500 as well.
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Ryan Newman will join teammate Kurt Busch in the second Gatorade Duel on Thursday afternoon. Newman will start 13th in the race, while Busch will lineup 18th.
"We knew we weren't going to get the pole today," Newman said. "We tried some things in an effort to learn more for Sunday's race. It made more sense than going out and trying to win something we knew we wouldn't have a chance at.
"I think we have a really good car for the Duels and the Daytona 500 and I can't wait to get out on the track. For our team, we have a great race car, it's just not that great in qualifying."
Even-numbered finishers in the 2006 owners' standings will race in the second duel. Busch finished 16th and Newman was 18th.
The Gatorade Duels will air on SPEED TV beginning at 2 p.m., ET, on Thursday. MRN Radio will broadcast both races
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Radiator Malfunction Foils Newman’s Chance at Daytona 500 Win
Sunday, February 18, 2007
9:01 PM
Throughout the day, Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger, had a fast car, with only minor adjustments being needed during the team’s pit stops.
However, a leak in the radiator that appeared around lap 174 eliminated Newman from the Daytona 500 after it "cooked the engine," according to the Indiana native.
“We had a great car all day. It was fast in the draft and we were able to run up front with few balance problems,” Newman explained to the media outside his garage stall at Daytona International Speedway. “When the caution came out, I started getting a lot of smoke inside the car, so I asked the crew to look at it when I came down pit road.
“Our engine tuner found a hole in the radiator, but we didn’t think it was that bad. Unfortunately, when we put the hood down and I headed back onto the track, the engine overheated and blew up. There was nothing we could do.”
Newman started the “Great American Race” from the 16th position and quickly moved into the top 10. The car was either a little loose or a little tight for a good portion of the race's first half, but it didn’t hurt Newman much on the track. By lap 20, Newman was in the top five, where he would run until the engine problem with 26 laps remaining.
After leaving the pit stall on lap 175, Newman took the Alltel Dodge to the garage on the next lap, ending what could have been a very prosperous day.
“It’s disappointing for sure,” crew chief Mike Nelson said when he returned to the garage. “We had one of the best cars out there. We felt we had a car capable of winning the race, especially after the Miller Lite Dodge and the Home Depot cars crashed.
“We were getting a lot of help in the draft and felt that as soon as we got the right push, we could go to the front and stay there for the remainder of the race. Unfortunately, the radiator cracked and ended our day. We’re not sure how it happened, whether it was caused by contact on the track or some other way, but it was definitely disappointing.”
The Alltel crew did a wonderful job in the pits. All five stops were completed in less than 14 seconds with the team's third stop on lap 82 being completed in 12.92 seconds. During the race, Newman often gained positions due to the quick stops. He jumped from 11th to eighth on lap 158 after a 13.25-second stop.
“The race was really good up until the radiator problem,” Newman said. “This whole team has been working so hard over the winter months to get this team back into Victory Lane. Mike (Nelson) did a great job on top of the box today and we’re looking forward to California next week to see if our intermediate program has improved as well.”
Next week, Newman and the No. 12 Mobil 1 Dodge head to California Speedway for the Auto Club 500. FOX and MRN Radio will broadcast the race live beginning at 3 p.m., EST.
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What really horks me off is that Ryan's coverage has never been adequate, but now that he finished out of the Chase one year...he doesn't even exist!!! I heard them mention that Ryan was heading to the garage with an engine problem and that was it! Nothing else!
I know! It is so sad that he has become the invisable driver this year! Well at least the true Newmanites have not forgotten how talented he is. It will just mean everyone else will be so surprised and wonder where he came from when he gets his first win this year!
YEA NEWMAN!! GO RYAN GO!!!
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Teamwork abounds at Penske for a change
Blow Up Costs Newman a Good Finish
Newman in Second Gatorade Duel
Well at least the true Newmanites have not forgotten how talented he is. It will just mean everyone else will be so surprised and wonder where he came from when he gets his first win this year! 
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