AMP Energy 500

AMP Energy 500

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Race 30 of 36

ABC 1:00 PM

Talladega Superspeedway

Talladega, AL

TRACK FACTS

Banking/Turns: 33

Distance: 2.66 miles

Shape: Tri-oval

Talladega Superspeedway is the biggest, fastest, most competitive motorsports facility in the world. Records for both speed and competition have been established at Talladega. Built at a cost of more than $4 million, the track opened as Alabama International Motor Speedway in 1969

CONTACT INFORMATION

PO Box 777

Talladega, AL 35161

(256) 362-7223

CHASSIS NOTES:

PRS-573: The Talladega primary car is a brand new No. 12 Alltel Dodge. It will turn its first laps on a race track on Friday afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway. Newman also ran a new car at Talladega in the spring race.

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 and the April race at Talladega.

STATS

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

April 2008

21

8

188/188

$149,500

STARTS:

POLES:

TOP 5s:

TOP 10s:

WINS:

LAPS COMPLETED:

MONEY WON:

13

0

3

6

0

2,083/2,456

$1,525,759

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PIT CREW

Crew Chief

Roy McCauley

Davidsonville, Md.

Team Engineer

Ben Atkins

Abingdon, Va.

Car Chief

Bryan Dilly

Ringwood, N.J.

Front Tire Carrier

Scott Reiniger

Salisbury, N.C.

Front Tire Changer

Ben Brown

Charlotte, N.C.

Jackman

Bryan White

Knoxville, Tenn.

Rear Tire Carrier

Trent Cherry

Charlotte, N.C.

Rear Tire Changer

Joe Piette

Wausaw, Wis.

Gasman

George Whitley

Chocowinity, N.C.

Catch Can

Britt Goodrich

Gastonia, N.C.

ENGINE FAILURE RELEGATES NEWMAN TO 43rd-PLACE FINISH AT TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY

Superspeedways have been a strong suit for Ryan Newman and the No. 12 Penske Racing Alltel Dodge throughout the 2008 season, beginning with a season-opening victory in the Daytona 500 in February. However, Newman suffered engine problems early in the AMP Energy 500 and ended the final superspeedway race of the season at Talladega Superspeedway with a 43rd-place finish.

With six races remaining in the NASCAR Cup Series season, Newman is 15th in the NASCAR Cup Series driver point standings.

"Something broke in the motor, and that was it for the Alltel Dodge," Newman said after the No. 12 machine was retired for the day. "The car just shut off on pit road, and when we finally got it re-fired, I knew there was a problem.

"It's really a shame. We have had some really good superspeedway races this season. I was trying to just hang out back there and stay out of trouble so we would have a shot at the end of the race."

Newman started in 24th place for the AMP Energy 500 on Sunday afternoon at the 2.66-mile superspeedway. With the drop of the green flag, the high-speed jockeying for position began. Newman raced in three and four-wide packs of cars in the draft early on in the race, moving as high as 15th place and as low as 38th place.

The first caution of the day waved at lap 34 for debris. Newman came down pit road in 38th place for four fresh tires and fuel.

"I'm really just riding around out there right now," Newman said after the pit stop. "There really hasn't been anywhere to go." Newman went on to tell the crew that he was trying to stay out of trouble early in the race.

Newman returned to the track for the restart in 28th place at lap 38. Again, he battled with the field of cars to find the fastest line on the race track.

Just seven laps later, the caution flag waved again and that is when trouble struck for Newman.

As Newman came down pit road, he had to brake to avoid teammate Kurt Busch, who was leaving his pit stall. Newman got to his pit stall and the Alltel crew quickly fueled the No. 12 Dodge, but when it was time to return to the track, Newman could not re-fire the car.

The pit crew tried to help Newman get the car re-started by pushing him down pit road a couple of times. On the third try, Newman's Alltel Dodge finally re-fired. But as he exited pit road, he reported that he had lost a cylinder in the engine.

Newman returned to pit road where the team looked under the hood before sending the car behind the wall for more examination. After working under the hood, the team diagnosed the problem to be terminal.

Penske Racing teammate Busch finished the race 21st.

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to action at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Saturday, October 11, for the Bank of America 500. The race can be seen on ABC television at 7 p.m. ET and heard on the PRN radio network at 7:25 p.m. ET.

NEWMAN STARTS 24th AT TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY

Ryan Newman, driver of the Penske Racing No.12 Alltel Dodge Charger, qualified 24th today for the AMP Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Newman turned a quick lap of 185.945 miles per hour (51.499 seconds) at the 2.66-mile track. Travis Kvapil, driver of the No. 28 Academy Sports and Outdoors Ford qualified on the pole with a fast lap of 187.364 miles per hour (51.109 seconds).

"It was an uneventful lap for us, but it was about what I expected out of the car in qualifying compared to where we were yesterday," Newman said. "We wanted to go out there and get a good temperature reading for our teammates and help them out with their qualifying runs - just kind of returning the favor for them that they have done for us in the past.

"The Alltel Dodge doesn't feel super strong, but I think we have a fairly good car for tomorrow. We have had really good cars at the superspeedways this season - we won the Daytona 500, had a solid car at Talladega in the spring and had a great car at Daytona in July before we got caught up in a wreck. You can't predict how the race will go, but I am looking forward to it."

In 13 previous starts at Talladega, Newman has three top-five and six top-10 finishes. Newman, who scored Penske Racing's first superspeedway victory in the season-opening Daytona 500 in February, also has three consecutive top 10s at the Alabama speedway. Newman is currently 15th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings.

Live coverage of the AMP Energy 500 begins on the ABC television network on Sunday, October 5 p.m. EDT. The race can also be heard on the MRN Radio Network at 1:15 p.m.

DRIVER: Ryan Newman

STARTING POSITION: 24

POLE: Travis Kvapil

PENSKE RACING TEAMMATES

33. Kurt Busch

DNQ. Sam Hornish Jr.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

GOING ON NOW:  Ryan Newman fans can place bids for unique autographed items in the Alltel Racing online charity auction at www.alltelracing.com. Net proceeds will benefit the Ryan Newman Foundation.

12/13:  The Ryan Newman Foundation Charity Fishing Tournament will be held at Queen's Landing in Mooresville, N.C. Fans are invited to join NASCAR stars, musical artists and professional fisherman for the charity event.  Registration in the tournament for a team of two competitors is $150 on or before November 13 or $200 after November 13. Fishermen may also enter a Big Fish Contest for $40 per team.  The maximum is 250 teams. For complete event details, tournament rules, to download a flier and registration form, or to register online, visit www.ryannewmanfoundation.org.

MY CIRLE GRIDIRON GETAWAY

From August 30 through November 8, Alltel Wireless is bringing football fans the trip of a lifetime with the Alltel "My Circle Gridiron Getaway." Five lucky fans and their "circles" of 10 friends will take off on a private jet to a regular-season NFL or college football game of their choice.  Fans can text JET to 57533 or log onto alltelfootball.com to enter for the chance to win. Hall of Fame Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders will join one lucky fan and their Circle of Friends at a special tailgate prior to the game as part of their ultimate VIP gameday experience.

Prizes for the five lucky fans and their "circle" include a round-trip flight on a private jet to a regular season game (NFL or college) of their choice; VIP treatment; spending cash and the new MOTO QTM 9c. For more information, visit http://www.alltelfootball.com/.

Notes & Quotes:

  • Ryan Newman, driver of the Penske Racing No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger, has three top-five and six top-10 finishes in 13 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).
  • In the spring Talladega race, Newman led five laps en route to an eighth place finish. In the closing laps of the 188-lap event, Newman moved into third and was poised to make a run for the lead. But without a drafting partner, he was shuffled back to the eighth spot. The caution flag waved on the final lap, preventing Newman from having one more run at the race leaders. He took the checkered flag in eighth place.
  • Newman has two top-10 finishes on restrictor plate tracks this season. He scored his and Penske Racing's first victory on a restrictor plate track at Daytona International Speedway in the 50th Running of the Daytona 500.  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.
  • In the last three races at Talladega Superspeedway, Newman has not finished outside of the top 10. In addition to his eight place effort at the Alabama track in April, he has a ninth (spring 2007) and fifth (fall 2007) place finish.
  • The state to Alabama has long been known as a football powerhouse. Four members of the No. 12 Alltel Dodge team are former college football athletes. Bryan White (jackman) was a linebacker at the University of Virginia; Britt Goodrich (catch can) was a linebacker for N.C. State University; Trent Cherry (rear tire carrier) was a  quarterback at Lenoir Rhyne College in  Hickory, N.C.; and Ben Brown (front tire changer) was a receiver and cornerback at Davidson College in Davidson, N.C.
  • This weekend at Talladega, Dodge is celebrating NASCAR's 60th anniversary with the ‘Dodge 60 to Go' program, which awards one prize per lap in the final 60 laps of the AMP Energy 500. To register, visit www.nascar.com/Dodge60togo.

RYAN NEWMAN QUOTES ON:

RACING AT TALLADEGA: "If you can walk out of a track like Talladega with the fenders on the race car, then you've had a good day. You have to have a fast race car at Talladega. But one of the biggest keys to doing well there is patience. You have to understand and learn to wait your turn if you are not in the main group, like the group that is not in the top five. You have to stay calm in the driver's seat and don't overreact. And you have to be able to predict the unpredictable. It's extremely difficult to predict that there might be a three-car wreck in front of you, but it can be done."

THE TEAMWORK FACTOR: "At Talladega, your teammates are your best friends. Kurt (Busch) and I have worked really well together on multiple occasions at    Talladega and of course at the Daytona 500 this year. He was my best friend there. You never know what is going to happen - pit strategy, who may have damage, where they are on the track-or who is still in the race. But my intention is to have Kurt Busch and Sam Hornish Jr. behind me, around me, close to me so that we can help each other in the final three laps of the race."

ROY MCCAULEY QUOTES ON:

THE 12 TEAM ENJOYING SUCCESS AT RESTRICTOR PLATE TRACKS: "The 12 team has performed very well this year on restrictor plate tracks, but for    different reasons.  Daytona is more of a handling track and we worked really hard on ‘staying in the gas' in race trim when we were testing. Talladega is more about the driver and track position. Ryan has become one of the premier plate drivers in the series, and because of his talent, other drivers want to work with him. Penske Racing has also put a lot of time into the restrictor plate program with dedicated fabricators and use of the test team for large oval testing and it shows."

TEAMWORK KEY AT TALLADEGA: "Ryan and Kurt (Busch) work extremely well together at restrictor plate tracks, and we have seen that several times-in particular at Daytona. The key is they trust one another to race calmly and smartly. Being able to have that relationship and work well with your teammates is crucial at Talladega - your teammate is your wingman."