Ryan Newman, driver of the Penske Racing No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger, comes to California Speedway following a whirlwind media tour he embarked on Monday after winning the 50th running of the Daytona 500. After inducting his No. 12 Alltel Dodge into the Daytona 500 Experience at Daytona International Speedway, Newman traveled to New York City for various media commitments, including stops at "Late Night with David Letterman" and "Live with Regis and Kelly." Newman also traveled to ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn., and then on to California. Newman's favorite part of the week's activities was a meeting with fellow "Regis and Kelly" guest, Larry the Cable Guy. The two laughed and shared stories about a common pastime fishing.
Newman snapped an 81-race Cup winless streak with his victory at Daytona International Speedway and he comes to California Speedway as the current Cup points leader. Newman and his Penske Racing team hope to build on their momentum this weekend. Newman has one pole and three top 10s at California Speedway in his Cup career. His best finish was a third-place effort in 2004. Newman also holds the track qualifying record at California with a lap of 187.432 mph in 2002.
Newman and crew chief Roy McCauley achieved their goal on Sunday night at Daytona. The tandem, which had combined for six victories in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2005, said their goal was to pick up where they left off in victory lane. Newman and McCauley won their last Nationwide race in 2005 together at Homestead-Miami Speedway. On Sunday, they won their first points race together in the NASCAR Cup Series.
On Monday morning, Newman, team owner Roger Penske and the No. 12 Alltel road crew were on hand as the winning Alltel Dodge was inducted into the Daytona 500 Experience. The winning car, along with Newman's drivers' suit, gloves, shoes and helmet, will be on display at the museum until next year's Daytona 500. Upon induction, Newman told the fans and media that the team had decided to name PRS-521 "Buddy."
"It's named after Buddy Baker because he helped me so much throughout my career," Newman said. "And after our buddy Kurt Busch, because we wouldn't be here without friends like him. He was the push from heaven that helped us win the Daytona 500. I'm lucky to have a teammate like him."
Chassis Chatter
PRS-525: This is the car that Newman tested with at both Las Vegas Motor Speedway and California Speedway during the pre-season.
PRS-513: The back-up car is another Charger that the No. 12 Alltel Dodge team tested at California Speedway earlier this month.
Upcoming Events
February 19, 2008: Ryan Newman's first podcast will appear on www.alltelracing.com. The podcast will be a feature on the web site every other Tuesday. The podcast will offer fans the opportunity to get to know Ryan Newman and the No. 12 Alltel team.
Newman Quotes
BEING THE DAYTONA 500 CHAMPION: "I think it is still sinking in for me. I was speechless when I crossed the finish line. And I still am in some ways. It has just been an awesome experience. From victory lane, to the car induction ceremony to the media commitments-it's been a very busy week. But it's been a good busy, and I wouldn't have it any other way. It's been a whirlwind, but (wife) Krissie and I have really had fun."
RACING AT CALIFORNIA: "We've always run well at California, we just haven't gotten to victory lane. We have a pole there and several top 10s. I think we learned a lot in our test there earlier this year, so I expect our Alltel Dodge to be very competitive. We accomplished our first goal by winning the Daytona 500, now we have to look ahead to our ultimate goal and that is making the Chase and winning the Cup championship."
McCauley Quotes
WINNING THE DAYTONA 500: "It' s been a dream come true for Ryan, for me and for this entire Penske organization. Ryan drove a great race and thanks to our teammates and the team as a whole, we were able to pull one off. We were all part of something very special last weekend. But there is still work to be done, and we are looking ahead to the rest of the season. We have more goals to achieve as a team."
RACING AT CALIFORNIA: "Not to take anything away from Daytona, but California pays just as many points as winning the Daytona 500 did. We were back in the shop working after the champion's breakfast on Monday morning. We learned a lot during our two-day test at California a couple of weeks ago. I feel we have a solid car, and our goal is to work on it and keep making it better throughout the weekend."
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UAW-DODGE 400
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
March 2, 2008
News and Notes
Ryan Newman, driver of the Penske Racing No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger, scored his 100th career NASCAR Cup top 10 with a 10th-place finish at California's Auto Club Speedway on Monday afternoon. Newman has four top 10s to his credit at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in seven starts. His best finish was a fourth-place run in 2002, the year that Newman captured NASCAR Rookie-of-the-Year honors.
Newman comes to Las Vegas ranked second in the Cup Series point standings after winning the 50th running of the Daytona 500 prior to Monday's finish at California. It is the best start for Newman since 2002 when he finished seventh at Daytona followed by a 14th-place result at Rockingham in the first two races of the season.
Newman has a good qualifying history at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He¿s earned one pole (2005) and three other top-five starts at the venue.
Newman along with crew chief Roy McCauley, car chief Bryan Dilly, team engineer Travis Geisler and Penske Racing's Vice President of Operations Michael Nelson will travel to Alltel headquarters in Little Rock, Ark., on Thursday before coming to Las Vegas. The team will be part of a pep rally for Alltel employees, as well as a celebration of the No. 12 Alltel team victory at the 50th running of the Daytona 500.
Following the race at Las Vegas, the No. 12 Alltel team will travel to Phoenix International Raceway for a two-day NASCAR test.
NEWMAN QUOTES
THE START OF THE SEASON: "I couldn't wait to get home after the race at California. It has been a busy start to the season for us, and it doesn't look to be slowing down but I¿m not complaining. After winning Daytona, we did a weeklong media tour and came straight to California, so it had been two weeks since I had been home. It was nice to get home, see my dogs, hang around my house and just catch my breath. It's the little things that you miss. It's been an amazing year for me so far, and I am so honored to represent NASCAR as the Daytona 500 champion, but it was nice to just be at home for a few days and get rested.
"This has been the best start to a year in my Cup career and I hope the Alltel team can continue that this weekend at Las Vegas. We have a lot of momentum and we don¿t want to lose that. We had a good test at Las Vegas. That track is about being fast, getting the car to ride good and figuring out ways to create advantages that are becoming fewer and fewer over other teams. We learned a lot in the test and we need to keep working on it in practice so we will be at our best for the race."
MCCAULEY QUOTES
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY: "The test was good for us. I think the big question mark as we go into Las Vegas is the tire. It's a very hard tire, so I think that this race will require a lot of pit strategy."
THE IMPORTANCE OF TOP-10 FINISHES EARLY ON: "The first five races of the year, you want to win as many as you can. You don¿t want to finish poorly because you want to be able to build a points cushion. I'm not saying that you can't have problems and recover from them, I just think you want as many top 10s as you can get to set yourself up for that summer stretch before the Chase. History has shown that that's important."
THE HECTIC SCHEDULE: "We were well-prepared logistically, but I worry about the wear and tear on the team. We have to remember it's the people that make the cars go around, so we have to take care of them. Our goal is to make sure that our guys stay well-rested and we'll make sure that we are logistically prepared."
CHASSIS NOTES
PRS-552: This is a brand new car for Newman and the No. 12 Alltel Dodge team. It will turn its first laps at Las Vegas on Friday.
PRS-513: The backup car is the same No. 12 Alltel Dodge that served as the backup at California Speedway last week. The team tested with it at Las Vegas in January.
ALLTEL "MY CIRCLE 500"
Alltel will once again sponsor the "My Circle 500" sweepstakes, a national text-to-win promotion that puts race fans in the driver's seat for a chance to win a grand prize of up to $500,000. From now until May 3, fans can enter the Alltel "My Circle 500" by texting RACE to 38229 or by logging onto www.alltelracing.com.
The 10 sweepstakes finalists and their Circle of Friends will win an all-expense-paid trip to Charlotte, N.C., May 23-26 to compete in the second annual Alltel "My Circle 500." The finalists will get in the driver's seat and take two laps around the go-kart track. Then, it's up to their "Circle of Friends" to change four tires on the No. 12 Alltel Dodge. The fastest team will be declared the winner and take home at least $200,000. The champions will receive an additional $300,000 if they beat the time of 2008 Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman and the Alltel pit crew increasing the grand prize purse to $500,000.
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Ryan Newman, driver of the Penske Racing No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger, has seven career poles at Atlanta Motor Speedway and is currently tied for the all-time pole record at the track. Newman’s friend and mentor Buddy Baker also owns seven poles at Atlanta. Newman credits Baker for teaching him how to get around the Atlanta race track when he first joined Penske Racing in 2000, and says it would be an honor to own the all-time pole record.
Newman scored six consecutive pole positions at the 1.54-mile quad oval from March 2003 to October 2005. He scored his seventh pole at Atlanta last March.
Newman’s qualifying prowess at Atlanta isn’t just about pole positions. In 12 starts at the track, Newman has started outside the top 10 only once — and that was in October 2006 when inclement weather forced the starting lineup to be set by points and Newman started 17th. Newman’s qualifying efforts at Atlanta include the seven poles, two outside poles and a sixth- and ninth-place starting position.
Newman’s best finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway came in March 2004, when he finished fifth. He also had three consecutive 10th-place finishes at the race track from March 2002 to March 2003.
RYAN NEWMAN QUOTES ON:
QUALIFYING AT ATLANTA: “Atlanta has always been a place where I like to qualify, and it would be an honor to get the all-time pole record there. Buddy Baker has really helped me throughout my racing career and that’s why we named the car we won the Daytona 500 with after him. Buddy would never tell me what I was doing right when he worked with me , but he would always tell me what I was doing wrong, so I could learn from my mistakes. We always drove the tracks backwards because it gives you a different perspective of entry and exit points. It lets you know how to approach those points when you are going the right way on the track. That’s something we did at Atlanta when he was teaching me about the track and I have always qualified well there.”
RACING AT ATLANTA: “My qualifying record hasn’t transferred to my racing record, and I’m not sure why. We have some top 10s, but we’ve also had some not so great runs there. I hope we learned a lot from our test there last fall that will help us out this weekend. Our Alltel team wants top fives and top 10s each weekend, so that’s our goal.”
ROY MCCAULEY QUOTES ON:
QUALIFYING AT ATLANTA: “Our first goal is that we would like to continue Ryan’s history of qualifying success at Atlanta. Just because Ryan has a solid history at the track in qualifying, it doesn’t put more pressure on us. We want to qualify well so that we can pick a good pit, which benefits the entire team and therefore benefits Ryan during the race. Our goal is to do as good as we can as a team. We know Ryan’s qualifying history at the track and we know that we have the capability of giving him a car that can qualify on the pole. ”
STRATEGY AT ATLANTA: “At Atlanta, the key is how you are on long runs. The tires there have a history of wearing out quickly, so it’s not about how fast you are during the first 10 laps, but it’s about how consistent you are over the last 30 laps of a run. So you want to focus on long runs in practice. This weekend, weather looks to be an issue, so we’re just going to have to see how much race practice we get. We’re going to have to do as much work as we can during that time to get the Alltel Dodge ready for our race runs.”
CHASSIS NOTES
PRS-519: Atlanta will be the first race for this car. The Charger was tested at Lowe’s Motor Speedway last season by the No. 12 team, and it served as a backup car at various tracks during the year.
PRS-513: The backup car is the same No. 12 Alltel Dodge that served as the backup at California and Las Vegas.
ALLTEL “MY CIRCLE 500”
Alltel will once again sponsor the “My Circle 500” sweepstakes, a national text-to-win promotion that puts race fans in the driver’s seat for a chance to win a grand prize of up to $500,000. From now until May 3, fans can enter the Alltel “My Circle 500” by texting RACE to 38229 or by logging onto www.alltelracing.com.
The 10 sweepstakes finalists and their ‘Circle of Friends’ will win an all-expense-paid trip to Charlotte, N.C., May 23-26 to compete in the second annual Alltel “My Circle 500.” The finalists will get in the driver’s seat and take one lap around the go-kart track. Then, it’s up to their ‘Circle of Friends’ to change four tires on the No. 12 Alltel Dodge. The fastest team will be declared the winner and take home at least $200,000. The champions will receive an additional $300,000 if they beat the time of 2008 Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman and the Alltel pit crew – increasing the grand prize purse to $500,000.
UPCOMING EVENTS
3/4: This week’s podcast on alltelracing.com features Trent Cherry, the rear tire carrier and pit crew coach for the No. 12 team. Cherry will talk to fans about winning the Daytona 500 and what it’s like to be on a pit crew.
3/8: Ryan Newman will be available for a Q&A session in the media center on Friday at 2 p.m. ET.
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No. 12 ALLTEL DODGE CHARGER
FOOD CITY 500 BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
March 11, 2008
Ryan Newman, driver of the Penske Racing No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger, has two poles at Bristol Motor Speedway and six top-10 finishes in his NASCAR Cup career. Newman's best result at the short track is a second-place effort, which came during the fall night race in 2004.
In six starts at Bristol in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS), Newman has one pole, one win and five top-10 finishes.
Newman holds the qualifying record at Bristol Motor Speedway. He established the all-time track mark in March 2003, when he turned a qualifying lap of 128.709 mph (14.908 seconds). It was on that qualifying run that Newman earned the nickname "Rocket Man" from the television broadcasters covering the event.
This Sunday's race at Bristol won't be the first time that crew chief Roy McCauley and Newman have tackled the high-banked track together. In 2005, the pair won the NNS race at Bristol in dominating fashion for Penske Racing. After starting third, Newman led 114 laps at the .533-mile bullring. It was one of six races the Newman-McCauley duo won in NNS competition in 2005.
McCauley followed up his NNS victory at Bristol Motor Speedway with another win at the short track in the spring of 2006 as the crew chief for Kurt Busch and the No. 2 Penske Racing Dodge in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Before heading to Bristol, Newman will travel to Dodge headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich., on Thursday to celebrate this season's Daytona 500 victory with Dodge employees. Newman will take the opportunity to thank Dodge for its continued support and salute the employees for all their hard work. Newman also will visit Penske Corporate Headquarters while in Michigan.
RYAN NEWMAN QUOTES ON:
GOING TO BRISTOL: "I think the people at Bristol and the speedway did a good job re-doing it. The track is better racing-wise than it ever has been. I think that a lot of the fans are disappointed in the lack of bumping and the lack of pushing that happens now compared to the way it was, but the racing from where I sit is by far better and I look forward to going there. We had a decent run in both the Nationwide and Cup cars there last year and I'm excited about going back there."
SURVIVING BRISTOL: "Bristol has always been a game of survival. Everything happens so fast there. It's really amazing. I learned that in 2003 when I won the pole there. I knew I had a good car, but I never anticipated that I could put down a lap that fast. You just don't realize how quickly everything happens at Bristol. You could have the best car out there, but it is completely out of your hands. One minute you could be running in the lead and just seconds later, you could be wrecked in the corner and out of the race and it be no fault of your own. You won't even realize what has happened to you until afterwards. Roy and I have a good history at Bristol together, and we are looking forward to running our first Cup race there together."
ROY MCCAULEY QUOTES ON:
WINNING AT BRISTOL: "Bristol is its own unique animal, and just because I have led teams that have won, that doesn't mean that I have any kind of advantage. Just look at Rusty Wallace. He won there nine times, but he also lost there about 40 times, too. My history of winning there is just that it's the past. We had the total package at the right time when we won at Bristol in the past we had a good team, a good driver and a good car. And that's what it takes to win. We're going to go to Bristol this weekend with what we think is the best package to win. But at Bristol, you also have to survive. It's a matter of keeping your nose clean and trying to survive the first 400 laps and putting yourself in position to go for the win in the last 100 laps. We have the driver and team to do that."
RACING AT BRISTOL: "The Alltel team had a very good race at Bristol last fall. What they did with the track has been really good for the cars and the teams. The drivers had more lines to race last year, which was a great change. Before there was one line, and there was a good chance you were going to get rooted out of that line and wrecked. Now, they can race. They have helped the cars in that they can survive on this race track, which is easier on the crews and the driver."
CHASSIS NOTES
PRS-527: The No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger at Bristol was first tested at Phoenix International Raceway last week. Bristol will mark the car¿s first race action.
PRS-513: The backup car is the same No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger that has served as the backup at California, Las Vegas and Atlanta already this season.
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Ryan Newman, driver of the Penske Racing No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger, has two poles at Texas Motor Speedway. Newman also has two top-five finishes at the 1.5-mile tri-oval, including a win at Texas during the 2003 season. Last fall, Newman scored a fifth-place finish at Texas.
Newman is tied with Bobby Labonte for the most NASCAR Cup pole positions at Texas Motor Speedway (two). Newman has 42 poles in his Cup career. He is still looking for his first pole position of the 2008 season.
Newman has two top-15 finishes on tracks similar to Texas Motor Speedway already this season. The No. 12 Alltel Dodge finished 14th at both Las Vegas and Atlanta.
Crew chief Roy McCauley and Newman know what it takes to get around Texas Motor Speedway. In the Nationwide Series race in November 2005, Newman started on the pole and led 122 of the 200 laps in the race. An untimely caution flag after a green flag pit stop left Newman one lap down. He finished in 16th place.
“We should have won that race,” said McCauley, who led Newman’s Nationwide team that won six races in 2005. “We had a great car that day, we just had some bad luck there at the end. It would be nice to have another day like that at Texas this weekend.”
RYAN NEWMAN QUOTES ON:
RACING AT TEXAS: “I’ve always liked Texas. It’s a smooth, fast race track and there are multiple grooves, so it is fun to race. We won there in 2003, but we haven’t been that good there since — until last fall when we finished fifth. We have a good intermediate track program with the Alltel Dodge team, and we have shown that already this year. We got a top 10 in California and a top 15 in Las Vegas and Atlanta. In Atlanta, I think we were probably a top-five car, but we were in the wrong place at the wrong time and got wrecked while we were running fifth.
“If we can keep our nose clean and stay out of other people’s problems, I think the Alltel Dodge will have a solid run this weekend at Texas and be able to make up some points. Our goal as a team is to stay in the top 12 all season and I know this team has the passion, the attitude and the ability to do that.”
ROY MCCAULEY QUOTES ON:
THE KEY TO RUNNING WELL AT TEXAS: “At Texas, you cannot get tight coming off the corners of turn two and turn four. If you get tight coming off the corners, you lose all your speed and become dead slow driving down the straightaways and that is not something you want on a track as fast at Texas.”
FINISHING WELL AT TEXAS: “Ryan likes Texas, but the results just haven’t been there for whatever reason. The Alltel team finished fifth at Texas last fall. So, we take that fifth place run and move forward another step and improve and evolve our intermediate program. We had a top-10 car at California and at Atlanta — we got the 10th place finish at California and had we not been wrecked in Atlanta, I think we would have had a top 10 there, too. We have a good intermediate program, and we’re just going to build on that, and I think we’ll have a top 10 car at Texas, too."
CHASSIS NOTES
PRS-558: The No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger serving as the primary race car at Texas is one of Penske Racing’s second generation COT cars. It has never been raced. Crew chief Roy McCauley said that more of the new cars will be worked into the rotation in the coming weeks.
PRS-552: Another brand new car will serve as the back-up No. 12 Alltel Dodge at Texas.
UPCOMING EVENTS
4/4: Ryan Newman will be available for a Q&A session with the media in the Texas Motor Speedway media center on Friday at 10:15 a.m. CDT
4/5: Newman will sign copies of his book, “Pit Road Pets,” on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CDT at the Petfinder.com tent in the Blue Ox Camp Ground at Texas Motor Speedway.
4/8: Newman will hold his bi-weekly pod cast on www.alltelracing.com at 11:30 a.m. ET.
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STARTS:
POLES:
TOP 5s:
TOP 10s:
WINS:
LAPS COMPLETED:
MONEY WON:
9
2
2
2
1
2,640/3,011
$1,441,774
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Ryan Newman, driver of the Penske Racing No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger, has three poles at Phoenix International Raceway. Newman also has three top-five finishes in 11 starts at the one-mile oval. His best finish was a second-place effort in November 2004.
Last fall, Newman scored a fifth-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway. It was one of four top-fives in the last seven races of the 2007 season. Newman credits the season-ending run in helping the No. 12 Alltel team prepare for the 2008 season.
Newman made his NASCAR Cup debut in the No. 02 Alltel Penske Racing car at Phoenix International Raceway in November 2000. Newman’s qualifying prowess was quickly noticed as he secured a 10th place starting position. Newman finished that race in 41st place.
Newman, who scored three consecutive poles (2002, 2003, 2004) at Phoenix, holds the Cup qualifying record at the Arizona race track, turning a fast lap of 135.584 mph (26.499 seconds) in 2004. He is tied for the most poles at Phoenix with Jeff Gordon and Rusty Wallace.
Penske Racing is just two wins shy of reaching the milestone of 300 victories across a variety of racing series, including NASCAR Cup, the IndyCar Series and the American Le Mans Series among others.
Newman has claimed 24 of Penske Racing’s victories (13 NASCAR Cup points races, seven in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and four in the ARCA Series).
RYAN NEWMAN QUOTES ON:
THE PENALTY FROM TEXAS: “What happened last week was a mistake and we’re moving on from it and looking forward to this week. We hate to lose points, but we have a good team and we will be able to make them up.”
RACING AT PHOENIX: “I like Phoenix, and I’ve come close to winning there a couple of times, but I haven’t been able to get that first victory. We had a really good run at Phoenix last fall and we finished fifth. The good runs we had at the end of the season last year really helped build momentum for this year’s team going into 2008. We had a good test at Phoenix, and I think we learned a lot which is going to help us this weekend. The great thing about the No. 12 Alltel team is that Roy (McCauley) and the guys have done a great job of adjusting on the car through practices and the race to give me a car each week that I can contend with.”
ROY MCCAULEY QUOTES ON:
RACING AT PHOENIX: “We hope to continue the tradition that Ryan has at Phoenix of solid qualifying runs and solid races. Ryan has a long history at Phoenix – he’s raced there in Silver Crown cars, midgets, and he made his first NASCAR Cup start at the track, too. Last year, the No. 12 Alltel Dodge finished fifth and with our test this year, we have a really good basis to start with. We learned a lot at the test, and we think we are going there with a solid top-10 car.”
DETERMINATION BREEDS RESULTS: “My motto is ‘Never give up,’ - no matter what the circumstances. I saw a lot of that at Texas in Ryan and in this team. Ryan did a great job communicating the car’s problems to me, which makes my job easier. And the crew guys just stuck with it. This team has the attitude and passion that it takes to win – and I see that each week.”
CHASSIS NOTES
PRS-509: The team tested the No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger serving as the primary race car at Phoenix in March. This car also was the backup car at Martinsville Speedway earlier this year.
PRS-519: The backup car has already seen action on the track this season, finishing 14th at Atlanta Motor Speedway last month
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Ryan Newman, driver of the Penske Racing No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger, has three top-five finishes in 12 starts at the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway. Newman's best finish was a fourth place run (during the fall races in 2003 and 2005).
Last fall, Newman notched a fifth-place effort in the first "Car of Tomorrow" race at Talladega. The car he drove in that race - PRS-521 - is the same car that Newman drove to victory in the 50th running of the Daytona 500. That car is now enshrined in the Daytona 500 Experience in Florida.
Newman scored his, and Penske Racing's, first victory on a restrictor plate track earlier this season at Daytona International Speedway. Penske Racing cars finished one-two in that race, with Kurt Busch giving teammate Newman the "push from heaven" which helped propel the No. 12 Alltel Dodge to the lead on the final lap.
Ryan Newman will join NASCAR legend Bobby Allison and The Conservation Fund to announce Racing for Wildlife's second project - the protection of 1,200 acres within Talladega National Forest. A press conference will take place on Friday, April 25, at 10:30 a.m. CDT in the Talladega Superspeedway media center.
Penske Racing is two wins shy of reaching the milestone of 300 victories across a variety of racing series. Newman has claimed 24 of Penske Racing's victories.
RYAN NEWMAN QUOTES ON:
RACING AT TALLADEGA: "I wouldn't say the cars have changed the racing other than the fact that we can bump draft a little bit more aggressively now than in the past. Talladega is a track where the driver means less than the car does. And the car can determine very easily if you're going to be capable of winning."
RESTRICTOR PLATE RACING AFTER WINNING THE 500: "Winning the Daytona 500 doesn't give me an advantage going into Talladega. I think it may give me more confidence for this race, but I don't think it makes me a favorite necessarily. We don't have our Daytona 500 car, but the guys have worked really hard on a new car and they are really happy with what they have seen so far, so we are excited. We've had some good runs at Talladega in the past. We got a top-five there in the first COT race last fall, which gives the team a lot of confidence for the weekend. Kurt (Busch) and I worked really well together in that race last year, too. Hopefully, we will be able to help each other out this weekend."
ROY MCCAULEY QUOTES ON:
NEW NO. 12 CAR DEBUTS AT TALLADEGA: "The big problem of winning the Daytona 500 is they keep your car after the race. So, after we got back from Daytona the guys went to work. They worked numerous hours in the fab shop and in the body shop to get a car ready for us that we feel is just as good, if not better than our Daytona car ready for Talladega. We've been to the wind tunnel numerous times, and we're really happy with what we have seen. We're really looking forward to the race."
TEAMWORK KEY AT TALLADEGA: "Ryan and Kurt (Busch) work extremely well together at restrictor plate tracks, and we saw that at Daytona earlier this year and even last year at Talladega. Being able to work well with your teammates is crucial at tracks like Talladega - your teammate is your wingman. Your goal is to work together to put yourself and the organization as a whole in the position to win. And after finishing 1-2 at Daytona, we know that this is a team that has the ability to work together and win."
CHASSIS NOTES
PRS-524: The Talladega primary car is a brand new No. 12 Alltel Dodge. After leaving the winning Daytona 500 car at the museum, the team went to work to perfect this car for Talladega.
PRS-515: Newman ran the backup No. 12 Alltel Dodge in the Budweiser Shootout in February at Daytona. Newman finished 17th in the Shootout. This car was also the backup for this year's Daytona 500.
UPCOMING EVENTS
4/29: Newman will hold his bi-weekly podcast on www.alltelracing.com at 11:30 a.m. ET.
2008 STATS:
STARTS: 8
WINS: 1
POLES: 1
TOP FIVES: 2
TOP 10s: 3
CURRENT POINTS: 12th
CAREER STATS:
STARTS: 232
WINS: 13
POLES: 43
TOP FIVES: 63
TOP 10s: 101
NEWMAN TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY STATISTICS
DATE
START
FINISH
LAPS COMPLETED
MONEY WON
April 2002
8
43
141/188
$58,022
Oct. 2002
7
7
188/188
$83,925
April 2003
8
39
3/188
$93,215
Oct. 2003
12
4
188/188
$113,165
April 2004
17
11
188/188
$123,592
Oct. 2004
19
16
188/188
$112,492
April 2005
5
39
135/194
$120,041
Oct. 2005
3
4
190/190
$172,041
April 2006
18
33
106/188
$122,308
Oct. 2006
11
13
188/188
$94,983
April 2007
28
9
192/192
$133,450
Oct. 2007
16
5
188/188
$149,025
STARTS:
POLES:
TOP 5s:
TOP 10s:
WINS:
LAPS COMPLETED:
MONEY WON:
12
0
3
5
0
1,895/2,268
$1,376,259
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Ryan Newman, driver of the Penske Racing No.12 Alltel Dodge Charger, will start 21st in the Aaron's 499 on Sunday afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway.
Newman, who won the season's first restrictor plate race at Daytona International Speedway in the 50th Running of the Daytona 500, posted a fast lap of 184.929 mph (51.782 seconds). Pole sitter Joe Nemechek, driver of the No. 78 National Day of Prayer Chevrolet turned a lap of 187.386 mph (51.103 seconds).
“I think we have a decent car for tomorrow's race," Newman said. "We never made a qualifying run in practice - we focused on race setup so that the Alltel Dodge is ready for tomorrow.
"I think we have a decent car, but it doesn't feel like a dominant car. But the dominant car doesn't always win here. It's all about the handling of the car, and our goal is to keep the Alltel Dodge up toward the front and stay out of trouble."
Newman has one win (Daytona), one pole and three top-10 finishes in the first eight races of the 2008 season. He is currently 12th in the NASCAR Cup points standings. He has five top-10 finishes in 12 starts at Talladega, including a fifth-place run at the 2.66-mile superspeedway last fall.
The Aaron's 499 will air live on FOX on Sunday, April 27, 2008, beginning at 1 p.m. ET. The race will also be broadcast live on MRN beginning at 2 p.m. ET.
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Ryan Newman, driver of the Penske Racing No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger, has one victory in 12 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Richmond International Raceway. The win came during the 2003 fall race.
In addition to one win at the .75-mile short track, Newman has one pole, four top-five and seven top-10 finishes. He has two runner-up finishes at Richmond, both coming in 2002. Newman also has posted two top-five and three top-10 finishes in NASCAR Nationwide competition at the Virginia track.
Newman calls Richmond his favorite short track on the Cup Series schedule, and his stats back that up. Newman has completed 97.5 percent of the laps in the 12 races he has competed in at the track, with an average starting position of 8.8 and an average finishing spot of 11.1.
This Saturday is the last chance for fans to enter to compete against Newman and the Alltel pit crew in the “My Circle 500.” Fans can enter by texting RACE to 38229 or by visiting www.alltelracing.com. Ten finalists and their ‘Circle of Friends’ will win an all-expense-paid trip to Charlotte, N.C., May 23-26 to compete in the “My Circle 500”. The finalists will get in the driver’s seat and take one lap around a go-kart track. Then it’s up to their ‘Circle of Friends’ to change four tires on the No. 12 Alltel Dodge. The fastest team will take home $200,000.
Penske Racing is just two wins shy of reaching the milestone of 300 victories across a variety of racing series. Newman has claimed 24 of Penske Racing’s win total.
RYAN NEWMAN QUOTES ON:
RACING AT RICHMOND: "Richmond is a fun race. It’s under the lights on Saturday night — it’s always exciting. I think it is probably the best short track we have on the NASCAR circuit. The key to racing at Richmond is that you have to be considerate of the entries to the corners. Turn one is sweeping and you have to be sensitive to getting loose there. Turn three is pretty much a 90 degree corner and turn four opens up, so you will see a lot of passing there. Both ends are different so it really is a driver’s race track. It’s a place where it is rewarding to be patient and smooth, but you also have to be aggressive at times, too.
"We had a really good car at Phoenix, which is a sister track to Richmond. We sat on the pole, led quite a few laps, but then we had a motor problem that knocked us out early. We’re looking forward to Richmond because we think that we have a really good car and a good setup for the race. We’re hoping to build on the start we had at Phoenix and last weekend’s top 10 at Talladega."
ROY MCCAULEY QUOTES ON:
KEYS AT RICHMOND: "At Richmond, the key is you have keep the car turning in the center—it is similar to Phoenix in that respect. You can’t get too loose getting into the corners and you have to keep it turning. Richmond is different in that there’s a little bit more of a problem with traffic there, so having good track position is key. Having track position and being able to pass is crucial."
SIMILARITIES TO PHOENIX: "Phoenix and Richmond are similar, but Richmond has its own characteristics, too. Running well at Phoenix does give us a little bit of confidence heading into this race, but I have confidence in the Alltel team and what we have been able to accomplish this season. And I have confidence in Ryan as a driver. You have to approach Richmond differently because it is an impound event, but I think we will do well there."
CHASSIS NOTES
PRS-561: The No. 12 Alltel Dodge for Richmond this weekend is a brand new car for Newman. He will turn the car’s first laps on a track on Friday morning in practice.
PRS-519: The backup Alltel Dodge for the Richmond race also served as the backup at Phoenix earlier this season.
UPCOMING EVENTS
April 29: Hear Ryan Newman talk about last week’s top 10 finish at Talladega and the upcoming race at Richmond on his podcast at www.alltelracing.com.
May 2: Ryan Newman will be available for a Q&A with the media in the Richmond International Raceway media center at 10 a.m. ET.
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Noting Newman
Noting Newman - Las Vegas
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Richmond, One of Newman's Favorites