Ryan Newman/Dover Advance
Notes:
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 12 Alltel Dodge, will make his seventh Dover International Speedway start and his 129th in the NASCAR Cup Series this Sunday.
In his six previous Dover starts, Newman has posted one pole and five top-10 finishes, including three victories.
Newman led 325 of 400 laps in last fall's NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event at Dover en route to earning his third career victory at the speedway. Newman swept both Dover events in 2003.
Although Newman has earned one DIS pole (June 2003), Dover is one of only three tracks where Newman possesses a higher average finish (6.5) than average start (8.67).
Newman has posted five straight top-five starts at DIS. He started outside the front row in both of last season's NNCS events at the "Monster Mile."
Newman has led at least one lap in four of his six DIS starts for a total of 602 laps.
Newman has been running at the finish in all six of his DIS races.
Matt Borland, crew chief of the No. 12 Alltel Dodge, is taking chassis PRS-41 "Popeye" to Dover this weekend. "Popeye" won four of the Alltel team's eight victories in 2003-Dover, June 2003; Chicagoland, July 2003; Michigan, August 2003; and Dover, September 2003. "Popeye" was not raced during the 2004 season.
Newman and the Alltel team are on a hot streak, scoring top-five finishes in the past three NNCS races. Newman has advanced 11 positions in the point standings over the past three weeks.
Newman extended his streak of top-10 starts to 19 consecutive weeks last week when he earned his fourth pole of the season and set a new track record at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Newman is the only driver in the NNCS to qualify in the top 10 for all 12 races this season.
Newman and the Alltel team advanced three spots to fourth in the NNCS point standings following a fifth-place finish at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The team was ninth in the standings at this point in the 2004 season.
The MBNA RacePoints 400 at Dover International Speedway will air live on FOX at 12:30 p.m., EDT on Sunday, June 5 and also can be heard on MRN Radio.
Stats:
Dover International Speedway Starts: 6
Victories: 3
Best Start: 1
Best Finish: 1
June 2004 Start: 2
June 2004 Finish: 24
Quotes:
Newman on Dover International Speedway: "Sometimes, a track just clicks with a team. That's what happened with Dover and the Alltel team. I definitely like Dover. It's a racer's race track with the banking and high speeds. It's a lot of fun to race on. We've experienced success there from the first time we went there in a Busch car. The entire team enjoys racing at Dover.
Newman on the Alltel team's performance: "There's always room for improvement, in every team. We definitely have room for improvement because we haven't been to victory lane yet. Statistically and historically for the Alltel team, Dover is where our fire ignites and we take off. We were hot and cold for the first eight races this season. The past five we've definitely stepped it up. We're a lot better right now than what people are giving us credit for. Hopefully this weekend, that fire will ignite again and get us to victory lane."
