Subway Fresh Fit 500
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Race 8 of 36
8:00 p.m.
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NEWS
LINKS |
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PHOTO GALLERIES ARE AVAILABLE FOR
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CHASSIS NOTES
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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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 Phoenix
International Raceway
Avondale, AZ
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Set at the base of the Estrella
Mountains, near the Salt and Gila Rivers, PIR is as much
a fixture of the local landscape as its natural
counterparts. PIR first opened its gates in 1964 and
since that time has earned a reputation as one of the
top facilities of its kind in the nation.
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Appearance
Schedule |
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| DATE |
START |
FINISH |
LAPS
COMPLETED |
MONEY
WON |
| November-00 |
10 |
41 |
176/312 |
$37,825.00 |
| October-01 |
25 |
40 |
253/312 |
$38,125.00 |
| November-02 |
1 |
18 |
311/312 |
$69,950.00 |
| November-03 |
1 |
3 |
312/312 |
$156,625.00 |
| November-04 |
1 |
2 |
315/315 |
$181,167.00 |
| April-05 |
7 |
14 |
312/312 |
$119,541.00 |
| November-05 |
11 |
12 |
312/312 |
$112,866.00 |
| April-06 |
13 |
39 |
221/312 |
$106,258.00 |
| November-06 |
7 |
15 |
312/312 |
$83,125.00 |
| April-07 |
19 |
38 |
301/312 |
$94,200.00 |
| November-07 |
13 |
5 |
312/312 |
$141,125.00 |
| STARTS: |
POLES: |
TOP 5s: |
TOP 10s: |
WINS: |
LAPS
COMPLETED: |
MONEY WON: |
| 11 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
3,137/3,435 |
$1,136,807.00 |
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PIT
CREW |
| Crew Chief |
Roy McCauley |
Davidsonville, Md. |
| Team Engineer |
Travis Geisler |
Pittsburgh, Penn. |
| 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. |
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 ENGINE FAILURE
RELEGATES POLE SITTER RYAN NEWMAN TO 43rd
AVONDALE, Ariz. (April 12, 2008) – Ryan Newman and
the No. 12 Penske Racing Alltel Dodge started on the pole
position and looked to have a car that would contend for victory
on Saturday night in the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix
International Raceway, but an engine failure at lap 134
relegated the team to a 43rd place finish.
“Tonight was really unfortunate because we had an Alltel Dodge
that was a top-10 car at worst, and I think it was better than
that,” Newman said. “It’s just really disappointing. I was
hoping that it was a power steering problem and we could get
back out there, but it was an engine.”
With eight races completed in the NASCAR Cup Series, Newman is
12th in the 2008 NASCAR Cup driver point standings, 300 points
behind leader Jeff Burton.
On Thursday, Newman scored his first pole of the 2008 season at
Phoenix, the 43rd pole position of his career. After two strong
practices on Friday, Newman and the Alltel team were confident
heading into Saturday’s race.
When the green flag dropped on Saturday night, Newman led the
first 30 laps of the Subway Fresh Fit 500. At lap 31, after
losing the lead to eventual race winner Jimmie Johnson, Newman
told his crew that the Alltel Dodge was handling a little loose
in general but tight in the center of turn three and four. By
lap 40, Newman had fallen to third.
When the caution waved at lap 41, Newman came down pit road for
four tires, fuel and track bar and air pressure adjustments. A
quick pit stop by the Alltel crew sent Newman back on track in
the lead, however, Newman couldn’t hold on to the lead as the
changes hampered the car’s handling. Newman lost the lead at lap
50.
“It doesn’t feel good,” Newman said over the radio at lap 60.
“It’s too tight in the center (of the turns) and too loose off.
We’re getting killed in the center (of the turns).
The difficult handling condition caused Newman to lose spots. By
lap 75, Newman had dropped to 12th-place. “We need pretty big
changes the next time we come in,” Newman said.
At lap 113, the caution flag waved and the Alltel pit crew got
the opportunity to help Newman’s handling issues. The team
elected to make track bar and wedge adjustments as well as a
tire air pressure adjustment. The team also changed four tires
and added fuel.
Newman restarted the event in 10th place at lap 121. It appeared
that the adjustments had helped Newman as he quickly began
making his way through the pack of cars. But at lap 133, trouble
struck for Newman and the No. 12 Alltel Dodge. Smoke began
pouring from the No. 12 machine, the caution flag waved and
Newman came down pit road.
After looking under the hood, the crew diagnosed the problem to
be terminal. Newman and the Alltel team were out of the race.
After a week off, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to action at the
2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, April 27, 2008 for
the Aaron’s 499. The ace can be seen live on the FOX television
network at 1:30 p.m. EDT and heard on the MRN radio network at 2
p.m. EDT.
 RYAN NEWMAN CLINCHES
FIRST POLE OF YEAR
AVONDALE, Ariz. (April 10, 2008) - Ryan Newman,
driver of the Penske Racing No.12 Alltel Dodge Charger, will
start from the pole position on Saturday, April 12’s NASCAR Cup
event, to lead the field to the green flag at Phoenix
International Raceway for the Subway Fresh Fit 500.
Newman, who was fastest in practice on Thursday, turned the
quickest lap of the qualifying session with a time of 26.975
seconds (133.457 mph). It is Newman’s first pole position of the
2008 season, and it makes him eligible for the 2009 Shootout at
Daytona International Speedway.
This pole is the 43rd of Newman’s career, tying him for 10th on
the all-time pole winner’s list with legendary driver Buck
Baker. It is also Newman’s fourth pole at Phoenix, where he has
previously won poles in 2002, 2003 and 2004. Newman’s pole run
set a new track record as he became the only driver with four
pole positions at Phoenix.
“It wasn’t a perfect lap,” Newman said after setting his fast
time. “I was a bit conservative out there, but obviously I
wasn’t too conservative. I wanted to back up our effort in
practice, and we were able to do that.”
Newman, who has three top-fives at Phoenix International
Raceway, is still looking for his first win at the one-mile
oval. His best finish came in 2003, when he finished second.
“It’s been a while since I have felt a car this good around this
race track,” Newman said after qualifying. “The Alltel Dodge
team has gotten off on a good foot here at Phoenix, and we are
excited about the race on Saturday night. I feel like we are
very competitive.”
The Subway Fresh Fit 500 will air live on FOX on Saturday, April
12, 2008, beginning at 8 p.m. EDT. The race will also be
broadcast live on MRN beginning at 8:30 p.m. EDT.
PENSKE RACING TEAMMATES
- 31. Sam Hornish Jr.
- 40. Kurt Busch
Notes
- 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).
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.”
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.”
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