The Official Ryan Newman Website

LENOX Industrial Tools 301
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Race 17 of 36
TNT 12:30 p.m.

CHASSIS NOTES

PRS-570: The No. 12 Alltel Dodge that Newman will pilot at New Hampshire is the same car that he raced in May at Lowe's Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 600. Newman finished 21st in that event.
PRS-561: The backup No. 12 Alltel Dodge this weekend is the car that Newman drove at Richmond International Raceway in May. Newman started 10th and finished sixth in that race. It was also the backup at Michigan in June.

Track Facts

New Hampshire International Speedway
Loudon, NH 
Banking/Turns: 12
Distance: 1.058 miles
Shape: Oval

The two Nextel Cup Series races at New Hampshire International Speedway are largest spectator sporting events in New England with 101,000 guests in attendance at each race. NHIS is located one hour from Boston, two hours from Portland, Maine, and Providence, R.I., and is easily accessible from Vermont and Canada

Contact Information
P.O. Box 7888
Loudon, NH 03307
(603) 783-4931

TRACK STATS

NEWMAN SCORES 15th PLACE FINISH IN RAIN-SHORTENED RACE AT NEW HAMPSHIRE
LOUDON, N.H. (June 29, 2008) - Ryan Newman and the No. 12 Penske Racing Alltel Dodge team finished 15th on Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway after heavy rain ended the race early on Sunday afternoon. Newman's top-15 finish moved him up into the 15th spot in the NASCAR Cup driver point standings, 96 points shy of the 12th place cutoff for the 2008 NASCAR Chase for the Cup.

Newman was running in ninth place at the one-mile flat track at lap 271 when the caution waved for a multi-car incident behind him. Knowing that the No.12 machine did not have fuel to go the advertised 301-lap race distance, the team elected to pit under the caution flag along with other cars also running in the top 15.

The team pitted for two seconds worth of fuel and returned to the track for the restart at lap 278 in 15th place. Just two laps later, the caution waved again for a spin on the track. Heavy rain began to fall, soaking the race track and ending the race, leaving Newman and the No. 12 Alltel team with a 15th place finish.

"It was a tough call on pit strategy at the end," Newman said. "We couldn't have made it on fuel to the end of the race (301 laps scheduled), so we pitted. It's a tough way for our day to end since we were running in the top 10."

On Friday, Newman qualified the Alltel Dodge in 16th place. As the race began on Sunday afternoon, Newman radioed his crew that the car was tight-handling in the middle and loose off the turns. By lap 20, Newman had dropped to 20th place on the race track.

At lap 69, Newman made his first green flag pit stop of the day. The Alltel pit crew changed four tires, added fuel and made track bar, wedge and tire air pressure adjustments to alleviate Newman's handling problems. By the time the green flag pit stops had cycled through, Newman was scored in 19th place.

Just 10 laps post-stop, Newman reported to Alltel team crew chief Roy McCauley that the No. 12 Dodge was still too tight. A caution at lap 85 gave the team a chance to work on Newman's car again. Newman came down pit road for two tires, fuel, and a track bar adjustment, restarting the race in 16th place.

Newman battled to gain spots on the track as two- and three-wide racing was going on around him. At lap 110, he told his crew that the No. 12 machine was still too tight in the middle and loose off of the turns, with the loose condition as the car's bigger problem.

Two more caution periods allowed the Alltel crew the opportunity to continue working on and improving Newman's car. These adjustments, as well as quick pit stop work by the team, allowed Newman to gain spots on the field. By lap 210, Newman had moved into 12th place.

As the race began to wind down and rain was spotted in the area, the team opted not to pit under the caution at lap 217, in a similar strategy as the then-top 15 cars. To keep track position, McCauley radioed to Newman that "going to the back wasn't and option and to save fuel" just in case of weather issues.

The race went green and in just a handful of laps, Newman moved into the ninth spot and continued his fight through the top 10.

At lap 271, the caution flag waved again. At that point the Alltel team knew that the fuel level in the No. 12 Dodge was six laps shy of making it to the checkered flag. After much discussion, the team, along with many of the cars in the top 15, elected to bring Newman into the pits for a quick "splash and go" of fuel.

Newman returned to the track in 15th place, but he did not get the chance to make up any ground on the field as rain ended the race just six laps later.

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to action next Saturday night, July 5 for the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, the site of Newman's win in the 50th Running of the Daytona 500 in February. The race can be seen live on the TNT network at 6:30 p.m. EDT and heard on MRN radio at 7:15 p.m. EDT.

NEWMAN STARTS 16th AT NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
LOUDON, N.H. (June 27, 2008) - Ryan Newman, driver of the Penske Racing No.12 Alltel Dodge Charger, will start 16th in the LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

Newman, who was the first driver to make a qualifying lap at New Hampshire, turned a quick lap of 128.385 miles per hour (29.667 seconds).

After 24 drivers completed their qualifying runs, the session was halted for nearly two hours due to rain. Once the session resumed, speeds picked up due to cooler temperatures. Patrick Carpentier, who had to make the field on time, scored the pole in the No. 10 Berline City Auto Group Dodge with a lap of 129.776 miles per hour (29.349 seconds).

"It was a good lap for the Alltel Dodge," Newman said. "The car wiggled a little bit in three and four, but other than that it was a solid lap. It was better than we had practiced and better than we had expected."

Newman is currently 16th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings. He is 105 points away from the cutoff for the Chase for the NASCAR Cup. Newman has two wins, five top-fives and nine top-10s in 12 starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Coverage of the LENOX Industrial Tools 301 begins on the TNT television network on Sunday, June 27 at 12:30 p.m. EDT. The race can also be heard on the MRN.

PENSKE RACING TEAMMATES

• 20. Sam Hornish Jr.
• 26. Kurt Busch

ALLTEL RACING PODCASTS

Every two weeks, fans can tune into Alltel Racing podcasts on http://www.alltelracing.com/.  The podcasts give fans the opportunity to hear No. 12 Alltel Racing driver Ryan Newman's thoughts on a variety of subjects from racing to fishing to Alltel's latest commercials. Fans can call 1-800-279-5612 to record a personalized question for Newman or you can email questions to Newman at ryannewmanmailbag@gmail.com.  By listening to the podcasts, fans also have the opportunity to win special Alltel Racing prizes.

This week's installment of the podcast features Alltel Dodge driver Ryan Newman and his father, Greg Newman. Greg also serves as Ryan's spotter. On the podcast, the Newmans discuss their relationship as father/son and spotter/driver, as well as that unforgettable Daytona 500 win. To listen to this podcast and past podcasts, visit http://www.alltelracing.com/.

Notes

• Ryan Newman, driver of the Penske Racing No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger, has two wins, four poles, five top-five and nine top-10 finishes in 12 NASCAR Cup Series starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
• Newman won his first career NASCAR Cup Series race at the Loudon, N.H. track in September 2002. He won the rain-shortened event from the pole position, leading 143 of 207 laps.
• Newman holds the track qualifying record at New Hampshire. He turned the record-setting lap in September 2003 of 133.357 miles per hour (28.561 seconds).
• Newman holds the record for most poles at the 1.058-mile flat track with four (9/02, 9/03, 7/04 and 7/06).
• In all of his Cup Series races at New Hampshire, Newman has finished outside of the top-12 only twice. His average starting position at the track is 6.2 and his average finishing position is 11.1.
• Starting July 1st, race fans can participate in the Alltel Racing online charity auction by visiting www.alltelracing.com to bid on authentic racing items autographed by Newman and other members of the No. 12 Team. All proceeds from the auction will benefit the Ryan Newman Foundation. Items up for auction include a pair of race-worn gloves, a door panel from the No. 12 Alltel Dodge and a crew shirt signed by Newman and several members of the team. Other items will be added as the auction continues.

Newman Quotes

RACING AT NEW HAMPSHIRE: "New Hampshire has always been a good track for us. They have done some great improvements there over the years. They have done a lot of things safety-wise and competitiveness-wise to make it better. So, I really do look forward to it.

"It's a fun race track. It has long straightaways and hairpin corners. You really have to drive it into the corner and focus on rolling through the center. It's one of the most symmetrical tracks we go to in that turns one and two are very similar to turns three and four. It's really important to focus on the exit of the corners. The toughest part is track position - if you get behind, it is hard to make it up. Because track position is so important, hopefully we'll be able to continue our record of solid qualifying efforts at New Hampshire this weekend.

"I got my first NASCAR Cup win at New Hampshire, so it is always going to be a special track for me. We had a good run last week in Sonoma, and we need keep that streak going this weekend."

McCauley Quotes

THE SEASON SO FAR: "We needed a good run at Sonoma, and finishing seventh was a good start for us. We have had a couple of tough breaks, but our goal continues to be to make it into this year's Chase. To make the Chase, we know that we need to score top-fives and top 10s. This is a team that has the ability and the desire to be competitive and win each and every week.

"We're going to New Hampshire this weekend, which has been a good track for Ryan and this team. It's the track where he got his first win, and the team had two top-10s in COT races there last year. Ryan has a strong history of qualifying and running well there. Our goal is to give him a car to continue his solid runs."