Race 2 Win: Samsung/Radio Shack 500

Nextel Cup Series

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Samsung/Radio Shack 500 - Ryan Newman Notes

Notes:

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge, returns to Texas Motor Speedway as the race's defending champion. Newman started third and passed Dale Earnhardt, Jr. with 10 laps remaining to earn his first victory of the 2003 season.

This Sunday will mark Newman's third appearance at TMS. Newman has one top-10 finish, his 2003 victory, at the 1.5-mile oval. In his rookie season, Newman started 36th and led two laps before finishing 40th after his car suffered an engine failure.

Newman and the No. 12 ALTTEL Dodge team have moved an amazing 16 positions in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series point standings in the past three weeks. After falling to 21st following the Las Vegas event, the team has rebounded to fifth. At this point last season, Newman was 15th.

Newman earned his third pole of the 2004 season last Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway. The qualifying effort improved his starting average to 5.67 for the season, leading all drivers. He has the all-time best pole percentage, winning a pole position in 24.4 percent of his 86 starts. With 30 races remaining in 2004, Newman and the ALLTEL team are only 12 poles away from reaching their goal of 15 poles in one season.

The No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge team will take chassis No. 72 to TMS this weekend. This is a new car in the ALLTEL team's stable that has not yet been tested or raced.

Newman started first and finished seventh at Bristol Motor Speedway last Sunday. Although he led the first 25 laps, Newman quickly dropped in position to 23 rd as the handling of the No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge grew "unbelievably tight." The team battled back from a lap down to earn its fourth top-10 of the 2004 season.

The Samsung/Radio Shack 500 will air live Sunday on FOX, with pre-race beginning at 1:00 p.m., EDT. PRN Radio also will cover the event beginning at 12:15 p.m., EST.

Quotes:

Newman on TMS: "Prior to last year's race, Texas was not a good track for the ALLTEL team. We never could qualify well there and our best finish was 14th in a Busch race. Last year, everything just came together for us. We had a great car all day and our decision for two-tires on the last pit stop really won the race for us. I wouldn't say that we have this track completely figured out, and the new rule changes may affect that more this year. But, we definitely learned a lot there last season.

"That win was so important for us. We needed a morale boost to get this team rolling. I feel that this season we've been posting more consistent finishes week in and week out. We're happy with the 2004 season at this point. Las Vegas and Daytona were low points, but they could've been worse. A win at Texas this weekend would be great. We'll be good there, hopefully good enough to get to victory lane again."

Appearances:

SONY Tech Pit, Outside Gate 6, Saturday, April 2nd, approximately 1:00 p.m. CST. Must obtain a ticket from the tech pit to receive an autograph.

Autograph Session at ALLTEL Souvenir Trailer, Saturday, April 2nd, approximately 2:00 p.m. CST. Must be a Ryan Newman Fan Club member or obtain a ticket from the souvenir trailer to receive an autograph.

News and Results | Point Standings | 2004 Schedule | 2004 Teams | 2003 Schedule and Results