Aaron's 499
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Race 9 of 36
1:30 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-524:
The Talladega primary car is a brand new
No. 12 Alltel Dodge. After leaving the
winning Daytona 500 car at the museum,
the team went to work to perfect this
car for Talladega.
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. |
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 Talladega
Superspeedway
Talladega, AL
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Talladega Superspeedway
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.
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Appearance
Schedule |
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| DATE |
START |
FINISH |
LAPS
COMPLETED |
MONEY
WON |
| Apr-02 |
8 |
43 |
141/188 |
$58,022.00 |
| Oct-02 |
7 |
7 |
188/188 |
$83,925.00 |
| Apr-03 |
8 |
39 |
3/188 |
$93,215.00 |
| Oct-03 |
12 |
4 |
188/188 |
$113,165.00 |
| Apr-04 |
17 |
11 |
188/188 |
$123,592.00 |
| Oct-04 |
19 |
16 |
188/188 |
$112,492.00 |
| Apr-05 |
5 |
39 |
135/194 |
$120,041.00 |
| Oct-05 |
3 |
4 |
190/190 |
$172,041.00 |
| Apr-06 |
18 |
33 |
106/188 |
$122,308.00 |
| Oct-06 |
11 |
13 |
188/188 |
$94,983.00 |
| Apr-07 |
28 |
9 |
192/192 |
$133,450.00 |
| Oct-07 |
16 |
5 |
188/188 |
$149,025.00 |
| STARTS: |
POLES: |
TOP 5s: |
TOP 10s: |
WINS: |
LAPS
COMPLETED: |
MONEY
WON: |
| 12 |
0 |
3 |
5 |
0 |
1,895/2,268 |
$1,376,259.00 |
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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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 NEWMAN TAKES EIGHTH PLACE
AT TALLADEGA
TALLADEGA, Ala. (April 27, 2008) – Ryan Newman and
the No. 12 Penske Racing Alltel Dodge tackled the Aaron’s 499 at
Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday afternoon and scored an eighth
place finish, the team’s second top-ten finish at a restrictor
plate track this season and fourth top-ten of 2008.
“I think we had a top-five car, but we were just at the wrong
place at the wrong time there at the end,” said Newman, who was
up to third place with two laps to go in the race and poised for
a win. “I knew the move I wanted to make, but when I made it no
one went with me. We just didn’t get the chance to try it again
because of the caution on the final lap.
“It’s not the finish we wanted, but overall it was a good points
day for the Alltel Dodge.”
With nine races completed in the 2008 NASCAR Cup Series
season, the 2008 Daytona 500 champion is 11th in the 2008 NASCAR
Cup driver point standings, 285 points behind leader Jeff
Burton.
Newman qualified in the 21st position at the 2.66-mile
superspeedway. When the green flag dropped for the 188-lap
event, a high speed chess match began as Newman immediately
jockeyed for position on the track.
The first caution flag of the day waved at lap 19 and Newman
reported to his pit crew that his car was a little too tight.
The No. 12 team pitted under the caution for four tires, fuel
and a wedge adjustment to alleviate Newman’s tight handling
condition. He restarted in 21st place.
Newman broke into the top 10 by lap 38, and throughout the
course of the next 20 laps, the No. 12 Alltel Dodge maintained a
top-15 position. On lap 56, Newman led his first lap of the day,
but quickly fell back when he had no drafting help from behind.
The team made a green flag pit stop at lap 63 for two right
side tires and fuel, returning Newman to the track in 20th
place. Over the course of the post-stop run, Newman was again
able to make his way to the front of the field. By lap 100,
Newman was sitting sixth.
This long spell of clean racing led to another green flag pit
stop at lap 106. The team once again elected to take two right
side tires and fuel. Newman returned to the track in fifth place
and held various top-seven positions for the following 10 laps.
At lap 116, the second caution flag of the day waved. Crew
chief Roy McCauley elected to bring Newman down pit road for two
left side tires and fuel. Newman returned to the track in eighth
place.
After the green flag flew again, dramatic three- and
four-wide racing changed the Alltel Dodge’s position on the
track on every lap, running as high as second and as low as 17th
during a 20-lap run.
A caution flag at lap 143 gave the team one final opportunity
to pit. Newman’s team once again changed right side tires and
added fuel. A quick pit stop returned Newman to the track in
second place.
Once back on track, Newman didn’t fall out of the top 10 for
the remaining 45 laps of the race. Newman even returned to the
top spot to lead four laps before losing his drafting partner at
lap 173.
“You’re doing a great job here,” McCauley told Newman. “Just
stay calm and lets get a top-10 out of this.”
As the race wound down, Newman had moved into third and was
poised to make a run for the lead in hopes of repeating his
Daytona 500 victory. He moved to the track’s high side, but
without a drafting partner, Newman was shuffled back to the
eighth spot.
On the final lap, the caution flag waved, preventing Newman
from having one more run at the race leaders. He took the
checkered flag in eighth place.
“Wrong place, wrong time,” Newman said after the race,
referring to the unfortunate timing of the yellow. “The guys did
a great job in the pits. It was just a solid day for us
overall.”
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to action on Saturday night,
May 3, at Richmond International Raceway. The Crown Royal
presents the Dan Lowry 400 will air live on FOX at 7 p.m. EDT
and will be broadcast live on MRN Radio at 7:30 p.m. EDT.
 NEWMAN TO START 21st IN
AARON'S 499
TALLADEGA, Ala. (April 26, 2008) - Ryan Newman,
driver of the Penske Racing No.12 Alltel Dodge Charger, will
start 21st in the Aaron's 499 on Sunday afternoon at Talladega
Superspeedway.
Newman, who won the season's first restrictor plate race at
Daytona International Speedway in the 50th Running of the
Daytona 500, posted a fast lap of 184.929 mph (51.782 seconds).
Pole sitter Joe Nemechek, driver of the No. 78 National Day of
Prayer Chevrolet turned a lap of 187.386 mph (51.103 seconds).
“I think we have a decent car for tomorrow's race," Newman said.
"We never made a qualifying run in practice - we focused on race
setup so that the Alltel Dodge is ready for tomorrow.
"I think we have a decent car, but it doesn't feel like a
dominant car. But the dominant car doesn't always win here. It's
all about the handling of the car, and our goal is to keep the
Alltel Dodge up toward the front and stay out of trouble."
Newman has one win (Daytona), one pole and three top-10 finishes
in the first eight races of the 2008 season. He is currently
12th in the NASCAR Cup points standings. He has five top-10
finishes in 12 starts at Talladega, including a fifth-place run
at the 2.66-mile superspeedway last fall.
The Aaron's 499 will air live on FOX on Sunday, April 27, 2008,
beginning at 1 p.m. ET. The race will also be broadcast live on
MRN beginning at 2 p.m. ET.
PENSKE RACING TEAMMATES
- 23. Kurt Busch
- 37. 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 three top-five finishes in 12 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).
- Last fall, Newman notched a fifth-place effort in the
first “Car of Tomorrow” race at Talladega. The car he drove
in that race — PRS-521 — is the same car that Newman drove
to victory in the 50th running of the Daytona 500. That car
is now enshrined in the Daytona 500 Experience in Florida.
- Newman scored his, and Penske Racing’s, first victory on
a restrictor plate track earlier this season at Daytona
International Speedway. 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.
- Ryan Newman will join NASCAR legend Bobby Allison and
The Conservation Fund to announce Racing for Wildlife’s
second project — the protection of 1,200 acres within
Talladega National Forest. A press conference will take
place on Friday, April 25, at 10:30 a.m. CDT in the
Talladega Superspeedway media center.
- Penske Racing is two wins shy of reaching the milestone
of 300 victories across a variety of racing series. Newman
has claimed 24 of Penske Racing’s victories.
RACING AT TALLADEGA: “I wouldn’t say the cars have
changed the racing other than the fact that we can bump draft a
little bit more aggressively now than in the past. Talladega is
a track where the driver means less than the car does. And the
car can determine very easily if you’re going to be capable of
winning.”
RESTRICTOR PLATE RACING AFTER WINNING THE 500:
“Winning the Daytona 500 doesn’t give me an advantage going into
Talladega. I think it may give me more confidence for this race,
but I don’t think it makes me a favorite necessarily. We don’t
have our Daytona 500 car, but the guys have worked really hard
on a new car and they are really happy with what they have seen
so far, so we are excited. We’ve had some good runs at Talladega
in the past. We got a top-five there in the first COT race last
fall, which gives the team a lot of confidence for the weekend.
Kurt (Busch) and I worked really well together in that race last
year, too. Hopefully, we will be able to help each other out
this weekend.”
NEW NO. 12 CAR DEBUTS AT TALLADEGA: “The big
problem of winning the Daytona 500 is they keep your car
after the race. So, after we got back from Daytona the guys
went to work. They worked numerous hours in the fab shop and
in the body shop to get a car ready for us that we feel is
just as good, if not better than our Daytona car ready for
Talladega. We’ve been to the wind tunnel numerous times, and
we’re really happy with what we have seen. We’re really
looking forward to the race.”
TEAMWORK KEY AT TALLADEGA: “Ryan and Kurt (Busch)
work extremely well together at restrictor plate tracks, and
we saw that at Daytona earlier this year and even last year
at Talladega. Being able to work well with your teammates is
crucial at tracks like Talladega — your teammate is your
wingman. Your goal is to work together to put yourself and
the organization as a whole in the position to win. And
after finishing 1-2 at Daytona, we know that this is a team
that has the ability to work together and win.”
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special events visit
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