The Official Ryan Newman Website

Sylvania 300
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Race 27 of 36
ABC 1:00 p.m.

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

CHASSIS NOTES

PRS-525: The No. 12 Kodak Dodge that Newman will pilot at New Hampshire last ran at California Speedway in February (finished 10th). Newman was also behind the wheel of the car at Phoenix International Raceway last November (finished fifth).
PRS-580: The backup Kodak Dodge for the New Hampshire race is the same car Newman competed with at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July. Newman started third and finished 13th in that race.

TRACK STATS

PIT CREW

NEWMAN FINISHES 36TH AT NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
LOUDON, N.H. (September 14, 2008) - Ryan Newman and the No. 12 Penske Racing Kodak Dodge team suffered engine problems midway through the running of the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon. Despite the problems, Newman continued to battle on the track but was unable to continue at lap 288, causing Newman to finish the race in 36th place.

"It just wasn't our day today," Newman said following the race.

Newman is now 17th in the NASCAR Cup Series points standings, 269 points out of 13th place, with nine races left in the 2008 Cup Series season.

Due to rain, Friday's qualifying session was cancelled and the field was set by the 2008 NASCAR Cup Series owner point standings. Newman started 17th on Sunday afternoon.

Early in the 300-lap race, Newman radioed crew chief Roy McCauley that the No. 12 machine was very loose-handling, and by lap five, Newman had dropped six spots to 23rd place. As the race continued under green flag conditions, Newman reported that the No. 12 Kodak Dodge was tightening up, especially from the center of the turn through the exit.

The Kodak pit crew had their first opportunity to work on the race car when NASCAR threw a competition caution at lap 35 due to heavy rains at the track on Sunday morning. Under the yellow flag, the team pitted for right side tires in hopes of making up lost track position. The team also made track bar and air pressure adjustments and added fuel.

The quick pit stop put Newman out on the track in seventh place, but NASCAR penalized Newman for exiting pit road too quickly. The penalty placed the No. 12 Dodge at the tail end of the longest line, and Newman restarted in 41st place on lap 40.

With ground to make up due to the speeding penalty, Newman tried to gain track position, but he reported that the No. 12 continued to have handling issues. Again, Newman said the car was "horribly loose" in the early stages of a run but became "just as tight as he had been loose" as a green-flag run progressed.

By lap 80, Newman had moved up to 32nd place. A caution flag three laps later gave the team another opportunity to assist the ill-handling race car and the Kodak pit crew changed four tires, added fuel and made wedge and air pressure adjustments.

Following the pit stop, Newman returned to the track for the restart at lap 88 in 27th place. Over the course of the next 80 laps Newman held his spot and battled to stay on the lead lap. Although the handling of his car had improved, at about lap 190 Newman reported to his crew that the No. 12 had engine issues and was down on power.

With less power, Newman slowly began dropping through the field, and had fallen back to 34th place, two laps down to the leader, when the caution flag waved at lap 213. Under the caution flag, Newman's crew looked under the hood of the No. 12 Kodak Dodge and confirmed Newman's diagnosis.

Despite the engine issue, Newman continued to battle on the race track and with just a handful of laps remaining in the race, Newman's engine failed. He finished 36th, 15 laps down to the leaders.

Penske Racing teammates Kurt Busch and Sam Hornish Jr. finished sixth and 30th, respectively.

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to action next Sunday, September 21, at the Dover International Speedway with the Camping World RV 400. The race can be seen live on the ABC television network at 1 p.m. EDT and heard on the MRN radio network at 1:15 p.m. EDT.

NEWMAN STARTS 17th AT NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY AFTER RAIN WASHES OUT QUALIFYING
LOUDON, N.H. (Sept. 12, 2008) - Ryan Newman, driver of the Penske Racing No.12 Kodak Dodge Charger, will start 17th in the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon after rain washed out qualifying today. It is the seventh time that qualifying has been rained out in the NASCAR Cup Series this season.

Per the NASCAR Rule Book, the field was set by the 2008 owner points. The No. 12 Kodak Dodge team is currently 17th in NASCAR Cup Series owner points.

"New Hampshire has always been a good track for me and a good track for this team," said Newman, who was fifth in practice on Friday afternoon. "I think we have a good car for Sunday's race, we just need to work on it a little bit more in the two practices we have tomorrow so that we have a car that can pass well and get up to the front."

Newman has two wins, five top-five and nine top-10 finishes in 13 starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Newman finished 15th at New Hampshire in June.

Coverage of the Sylvania 300 begins on the ABC television network on Sunday, Sept. 14 at 1 p.m. EDT. The race can also be heard on PRN beginning at 1:15 p.m. EDT.

PENSKE RACING TEAMMATES

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

MY CIRCLE GRIDIRON GETAWAY

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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 www.Kodaklfootball.com

 Notes

• Ryan Newman, driver of the Penske Racing No. 12 Kodak Dodge Charger, has two wins, four poles, five top-five and nine top-10 finishes in 13 NASCAR Cup Series starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS).
• 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 NHMS. 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 his 13 Cup Series races at NHMS, Newman has finished outside of the top 10 only four times and out of the top 15 only twice. His average starting position at the track is 7.0 and his average finishing position is 11.4.
• Newman will have a busy weekend at New Hampshire. In addition to Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race, Newman will also compete in two other events this weekend. On Friday night, he will race in the Northeastern Midget Association event at Lee USA Speedway in Lee, N.H. On Saturday afternoon, he will race in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at NHMS. It will be Newman's modified debut.
• With football season in full swing, four members of the No. 12 Kodak Dodge over-the-wall team pay special attention to the weekend scores. 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.

Newman Quotes

RACING AT NHMS: "New Hampshire has always been a good track for us, and it has been a special place for me over the years. I got my first Cup win there in 2002, so I have always enjoyed the track. We had a decent Kodak Dodge there in June, but the rain kept us from the finish that we could have gotten. We got caught like a lot of other guys did so we ended up 15th. I'd like to think we can go back there this time and get that top 10. It's a fun race track. You really have to drive it into the corner and focus on rolling through the center. 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, so we want to start by qualifying well."

MAKING HIS MODIFIED DEBUT: (Newman will be driving the 7NY, owned by NASCAR Cup crew chief Kevin "Bono" Manion.) "I've never driven a modified before, so I'm excited to get in the car for the first time on Thursday. I'm a racer, and I like to race. This was something I hadn't tried before, but I had always thought about doing it. When the opportunity came my way, I jumped at the chance. I know I am getting in good equipment, so I think its going to be fun, and I'm looking forward to having a shot at the win."

McCauley Quotes

RACING AT NEW HAMPSHIRE: "We had a decent car the first race at Loudon. We were running in the top 10, and we ended up being one of the cars that got caught by the rain at the end. We want to improve our Kodak Dodge for this weekend's race. The key is just to have the car turn better in the center and not be so loose coming off the corners. If we can make the package better, I think we will have a good run at Loudon this weekend. It has been a good track for Ryan and the No. 12 team, and we would like to continue that trend."

ON RACING FOR 13th: "We didn't make the Chase, so now we have to focus on finishing 13th in the points-that's what we want to do. With how we have been running the past few races, I don't know why we can't achieve that. We have had decent cars and decent runs, we just need to execute."