Saturday, May 03, 2008
Race 10 of 36
FOX 7:00 p.m.

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.

Richmond International Raceway

Richmond, VA

Track Facts

Banking/Turns: 14
Distance: 0.75 miles
Shape: Oval
The present facility was built on the site of a half-mile track that first hosted dirt auto races in the 1940s. The original track was paved in 1968. RIR was redesigned in 1988 between the spring and fall races. Recent renovations have made it one of the most modern speedways on the tour.

Contact Information

P.O. Box 9257
Richmond, VA 23227
(804) 345-7223

Track Stats

RYAN NEWMAN BATTLES TO SIXTH PLACE FINISH AT RICHMOND

RICHMOND, Va. (May 2, 2008) – Ryan Newman and the No. 12 Penske Racing Alltel Dodge were hampered by handling issues for much of the Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday night, but determination and a key pit call near the end of the race led to a hard-earned sixth place finish.

"That's the perfect example of never giving up," Newman said after the race. "Each week in our team meeting, we talk about the big picture and not giving up. We struggled with the handling on the Alltel Dodge today, but we stuck with it. At the end Roy (McCauley – crew chief) made a good call to take two tires with just ten laps to go. We were able to pick up some valuable spots in the pits and then on the track.

"It didn't look like it was going to be a good night for the Alltel Dodge team, but we are happy with our finish."

With ten races completed in the NASCAR Cup Series, the Daytona 500 champion is 11th in the 2008 NASCAR Cup driver point standings, 283 points behind leader Kyle Busch. Newman has five top-ten finishes this season.

Newman started tenth on Saturday night at the .75-mile short track. By lap 10, Newman had radioed his crew that the Alltel Dodge was experiencing handling issues - the race car was tight in center and loose coming off the corners.

When the first caution of the day waved at lap 65, Newman had fallen to 12th place. The team pitted for four tires and fuel. They also made a track bar adjustment to help Newman in the center of the turn and a wedge adjustment to help him get off the corners better. Newman returned to the track in 11th place.

It only took a handful of laps before Newman told McCauley that the car was still tight in the center and loose getting off the corners. Although the car was handling better than in the first run, the team prepared to make more changes to help Newman's issues. Newman was able to stay in the top ten, but he was not happy with the car's handling.

Under the caution at lap 128, Newman came in for four tires, fuel, track bar and air pressure adjustments. He returned to the track in ninth place.

However, the changes the team made to the car didn't help Newman's problem. As the green flag run progressed, Newman told his team that the car was the tightest it had been all night and he continued to be loose going into and coming off of the corners.

Newman dropped to 13th before the caution flag waved at lap 201. McCauley brought Newman down pit road to reverse the previous changes in hopes of helping the handling problems.

The Alltel Dodge's handling problems persisted throughout the race, but Newman battled to stay near the front. McCauley and the pit crew tried a variety of adjustments on a series of pit stops, but Newman continued to struggle with the car's drivability. Despite never falling out of the top 15, the car wasn't to Newman's liking.

A caution with just ten laps remaining in the race set up Newman's fifth top-10 of the season. McCauley brought Newman, who was running in the 14th place, down pit road under the caution flag for fresh right side tires. The quick pit stop sent Newman back on track in ninth place.

By lap 398, Newman had picked up three spots and was seventh on the track when the caution flag waved – setting up a green-white-checkered finish.

Newman was able to pick up one more spot over the final two laps, finishing in sixth place.

"That's the way to get something out of it," McCauley told Newman after the checkered flag waved.

"The Alltel Dodge wasn't what we expected to be," said Newman. "We were in the right place at the right time and capitalized late in the race. The guys never gave up."

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to action next Saturday night at the Darlington Raceway. The race can be seen live on the FOX television network at 7 p.m. EDT and heard on the MRN radio network at 7:20 p.m. EDT.

NEWMAN QUALIFIES 10th AT RIR

RICHMOND, Va. (May 2, 2008) - Ryan Newman, driver of the Penske Racing No.12 Alltel Dodge Charger, will start 10th in the Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400 on Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway.

Newman posted a fast lap of 125.348 mph (21.540 seconds). Pole sitter Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota turned a lap of 126.198 mph (21.395 seconds).

"We made some improvements on the car during practice today, and I was pretty happy with it," Newman said. "I think we will end up with a good starting position, and I'm pretty sure the Alltel Dodge will have a better finishing position.

"I look forward to tomorrow night. It's a track that we've done well at in the past. It's short-track racing, so we enjoy coming here and enjoy racing."

Newman has one win (Daytona), one pole and four top-10 finishes in the first nine races of the 2008 season. He is currently 11th in the NASCAR Cup points standings. At Richmond International Raceway, he has one win (2003), four top-fives and seven top-10 finishes at the .75-mile short track in 12 Cup starts.

The Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400 will air live on FOX on Saturday, May 3, 2008, beginning at 7 p.m. ET. The race will also be broadcast live on MRN beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.

PENSKE RACING TEAMMATES

• 21 Kurt Busch
• 35 Sam Hornish Jr.

ALLTEL "MY CIRCLE 500"

Alltel is once again sponsoring 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.

Notes

• 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.

Newman Quotes

• 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."

McCauley Quotes

• 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."