Race 2 Win: Aaron’s 499 - Ryan Newman Notes

Nextel Cup Series

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Aaron’s 499 - Ryan Newman Notes

Ryan Newman/Talladega Advance

Notes:

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge will make his fifth start at Talladega Superspeedway this Sunday. Newman has one top-five and two top-10 finishes at the restrictor-plate track.

While Newman has yet to win a pole at a restrictor-plate track, he has an impressive qualifying record at Talladega. In four attempts, Newman has qualified outside the top-10 only once, when he qualified 12th last September.

In the Aaron's 499 last season, Newman suffered a cut left rear tire on lap three that ended his day, and left him in 39th place. Last fall, Newman was forced to start at the tail of the field after an engine change. He charged through the field to post a fourth-place finish, his best ever at Talladega.

The No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge team will take chassis No. 56 to Talladega this weekend. This car competed in both the 2004 and 2003 Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway where it finished 16th and fourth, respectively.

Newman will receive the SPEED Channel Driver of the Year Award Thursday night at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Don Miller, President of Penske Racing South and Buddy Baker, a mentor to Newman, will present him with the award. The ceremony will air live on SPEED Channel, beginning at 9:00 p.m., EDT.

Newman will be available for an open question and answer session with the media at 2:20 p.m., CDT at the back of the ALLTEL transporter on Friday, April 23rd.

Crew Chief, Matt Borland made the call for two critical two-tire pit stops during last Sunday's Advance Auto Parts 500 at Martinsville Speedway to help Newman and the ALLTEL team score their third top-five finish of the season. Newman, who started third, had fallen as far back as 15th during the 500-lap event. The pit stop strategy helped him to gain valuable track position and hold on to fifth-place at the checkered flag.

The Aaron's 499 at Talladega will air live Sunday on FOX, with pre-race beginning at 1 p.m., EDT. MRN Radio also will cover the event beginning at 12:30 p.m., EDT.

Quotes:

Newman on Talladega: "My strategy at Talladega is always just to hang on. Talladega has some of the wildest racing of the year. It's great if you're out front, but back in the mix, running four-wide at 190 miles per hour, it's wild. The car can get to be quite a handful. I just know I have to go in there, white-knuckle it and hang on for 188 laps.

"This team has been a part of the "Big One" in a couple of restrictor-plate races last season, including Talladega. We came back and finished fourth in the fall. Hopefully we can avoid it again this weekend and post another top-five."

Stats:

Talladega Superspeedway Starts: 4 Poles: 0
Races Led: 2 Laps Led: 6
Best Start: 7 (October 2002) Best Finish: 4 (September 2003)

Appearances:

International Motorsports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Speed Channel Dome, Thursday, April 22, 5:30 p.m. CDT.

Trackside Live, SPEED Stage, Talladega Superspeedway Infield, Friday, April 23, 6:00 p.m. CDT.

Autograph Session, ALLTEL Souvenir Trailer, Saturday, April 24, approximately 1:00 p.m. CDT. (A Ryan Newman Fan Club card or ticket obtained from Team Caliber is needed to receive an autograph.)

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