Race 2 Win: Advance Auto Parts 500

Nextel Cup Series

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Advance Auto Parts 500 - Ryan Newman Notes

Ryan Newman/Martinsville Advance

Notes:

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge, will make his seventh Martinsville Speedway start and his 122nd career NASCAR Cup Series start Sunday. In his six previous starts at the speedway, Newman has posted two poles and three top-five finishes.

Newman set a qualifying record at the speedway last fall when he circled the track in 19.513 seconds, for a lap of 97.043 mph. In the past six races at Martinsville, only he and Jeff Gordon have earned pole positions.

Newman has qualified within the top-10 in all six of his previous qualifying attempts at Martinsville. His average start of 4.33 is the best of all active drivers.

Newman's three top-five finishes have all come in his last three Martinsville starts. Newman finished third at the 0.526-mile track last fall and posted fifth-place finishes last spring and in October 2003.

Newman has led three times at Martinsville for a total of 58 laps.

Matt Borland, crew chief of the No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge, will bring chassis PRS-69 to Martinsville this weekend. PRS-69 made its debut at in the Subway 500 last October at Martinsville Speedway, where Newman and the ALLTEL team recorded their career-best finish-3rd-at the track.

Following a test session at Texas Motor Speedway on Tuesday, Newman will meet his wife, Krissie, at the Master's golf tournament in Augusta, Ga., as special guests of his primary sponsor, ALLTEL.

With his seventh-place start at Bristol last Sunday, Newman is now the only NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series driver to have started from the top 10 in all five races in the 2005 season.

The ALLTEL team is currently 11th in the NNCS point standings. The team was ninth at this point in the 2004 season.

The Advance Auto Parts 500 at Martinsville Speedway will air live on FOX at 12:30 p.m., EDT on Sunday, April 10 and also can be heard on PRN Radio.

Quotes:
Newman on Martinsville: "Well, from one short track to another. We didn't get the results we wanted from Bristol, but it's not the end of the world. We've had three straight really good finishes now at Martinsville, so the ALLTEL team definitely has a positive outlook going into this weekend. To win here though, you have to patient, just like at Bristol. The brake pedal is just as important as the gas pedal. You constantly have to remind yourself that the race is 500 laps and to be patient. I'm sure my spotter [Aron Oakley] will be reminding me all day to be easy on my brakes."

Newman on the ALLTEL team: "We're not performing like we want right now, but it's early. We're actually at about the same level we were at this time last season. If you look back through our three years in Cup competition, you'll see that this team suffers a slump every April. We're trying to avoid that this year. Bristol wasn't a great beginning, but we can try to turn that around this weekend in Martinsville."

Stats:
Martinsville Starts: 6
Laps Led: 58
Best Start: 1 (two times)
Best Finish: 3 (Oct. 2004)

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