Race 2 Win: Diamond Hill Plywood 200

NASCAR Busch Series

Diamond Hill Plywood 200 - Ryan Newman Notes

Ryan Newman/Darlington Advance

Notes:

Ryan Newman, driving the No. 39 Alltel My Circle Dodge, will make his third Darlington Raceway start and the 28th of his NASCAR Busch Series career Friday night.

In his previous two starts at Darlington during the 2001 season, Newman has rolled off the grid from the pole position. His last race at Darlington, in September 2001, Newman finished fourth.

This will be Newman's fourth Busch Series race of the 2006 season. He previously ran in the Stater Bros. 300 at California Speedway; the Nicorette 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and last weekend in the Circuit City 250 presented by FUNAI at Richmond International Raceway. Newman finished second, 39th and fifth, respectively.

In 27 NBS races, Newman has posted seven victories, 10 poles, 12 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes.

Newman's crew chief for the NBS race is Matt Gimbel, who oversaw Newman's fifth-place finish last weekend at Richmond. He also directed the team when Kurt Busch scored his first-ever NBS victory at Texas and posted a fourth-place finish at Phoenix, both last month. Gimbel made his debut as the Busch Series team's crew chief with Newman at Atlanta in March.

Gimbel is taking chassis PBC-6 to Darlington. While this will be the first race of the year for this car, this same chassis was used twice last year during the October races at Lowe's Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway. At Charlotte, the car started second and finished first, providing the Busch team with its record fifth consecutive victory. At Texas, Newman rolled the car off the grid from the pole position.

Quotes:
Newman on Darlington: "This is the first time we've raced a Busch car at Darlington since 2001, and I'm really excited about it. It's no secret that I enjoy that track. In fact, I wish we raced there twice a year. Even though Friday is a long day, I think the Busch race will be a good tune-up for Saturday night."

Quick Stats:
Darlington Raceway: 2
Races Led/Laps Led: 2/? Best Starting Position: 1 (twice in 2001)
Best Finishing Position: 4 (9/2001)