Ryan Newman/Bristol Advance
Notes:
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 12 Alltel Dodge, will make his ninth Bristol Motor Speedway start and his 157th NASCAR Cup Series start this Sunday.
In his eight previous Bristol starts, Newman has posted three top-10 finishes. Newman finished second in August 2004.
In eight qualifying attempts, Newman has posted seven top-10 starts, including two poles. Newman is the track's current qualifying record holder, setting a lap time of 14.908 in March 2003.
Newman and the Alltel team have posted only one Bristol DNF, last August, in eight races.
Newman has led at least one lap in two races at Bristol for a total of 55 laps. .
Matt Borland, crew chief of the No. 12 Alltel Dodge, and the Alltel team will race chassis PRS-82 in the Food City 500. PRS-82 was tested at Kentucky Speedway last week. The chassis finished 14th at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March 2005.
The Alltel team welcomes new team member, Eric Grove, who will concentrate on the Alltel Dodge's interior. Grove succeeds the departing Chuck "Winky" Donaldson.
Newman and his wife, Krissie, will participate in Pit Road Pets: NASCAR Stars and Their Pets book signing at the Barnes & Noble in Hickory, North Carolina on Wednesday, March 22nd from 6 to 7 p.m. For more information on Pit Road Pets visit www.pitroadpets.com.
Quotes:
Matt Borland on heading to Bristol: "Well, it's kind of a short week for the Alltel team. We weren't really expecting to spend four days in Atlanta. That extra day at the track set us back a little in our prep time for Bristol. We're using our back-up car from Atlanta as the back-up car for this weekend too. The guys we have working for the team back at the shop are great. They're a huge piece of the overall puzzle with the Alltel team. They definitely shouldn't be overlooked, especially during weeks like these."
Borland on short track racing: "I'm really excited to get to a short track this weekend. We've gone through a three-race stretch of intermediate track racing now, and it's good to have that behind us. I've read a few articles today about tempers flaring at Atlanta, so now we'll see how those tempers react when we get to Bristol then on to another short track, Martinsville.
"It's seriously going to be a nice break for the Alltel team to get away from intermediate tracks. Our short track racing was better for us in 2005, and we'll find out this weekend if that will be the case again. Our focus at Bristol will be on tires, the handling of our Dodge Charger and brakes.
"Bristol is kind of a crap shoot, but it's a lot of fun when you're moving forward. If you've got a great race car and you're heading to the front, you're less likely to get caught up in a mess. That's when Bristol is the most fun."
For more quotes from Matt Borland, listen to the Alltel Racing podcast on www.alltelracing.com. (The podcast will be posted on Wednesday this week, due to the rain-delayed race in Atlanta.)
Quick Stats:
Bristol Motor Speedway Starts: 8
Races Led/Laps Led: 2/155
Best Starting Position: 1 (Mar. 2003 and 2004)
Best Finishing Position: 2 (Aug. 2004)
April 2005 Start: 7
April 2005 Finish: 30
