Ryan Newman, No. 12 Alltel "Fastap" Dodge Charger
GFS Marketplace 400 at Michigan International Speedway
NNCS Notes:
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 12 Alltel “Fastap” Dodge, will make his 11th NASCAR Cup Series start at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday and his 175th in the NASCAR Cup Series.
All but three of Newman’s 10 starts have been from inside the top-10; two starts were from the 12th position and in June, Newman started 42nd after spinning during qualifying. Newman has one pole at MIS, which he earned in last year’s Batman Begins 400 in June. Newman has a 10.1 starting average at the 2-mile trioval.
Newman has been quite successful at MIS. He has two victories in the NASCAR Cup Series to go along with two wins in the NASCAR Busch Series. Along with the two victories, Newman has finished in the top-15 in eight of the 10 races, including four top-five finishes. His other two finishes were a 41st and 31st. He has an average finish of 13.8 at the track.
Newman has led six races at MIS for 83 laps. He has completed 1,766 of a possible 1,929 laps. That is a 91.5 percent finishing rate. Newman has completed every lap at MIS, including 250 laps in two NASCAR Busch Series races, except during the June 2003 race when his car developed engine problems on lap 37. That is Newman’s only DNF at MIS.
Matt Borland, crew chief of the No. 12 Alltel “Fastap” Dodge Charger, and the Alltel team will take chassis PRS-048 to this weekend’s GFS Marketplace 400. This car has been tested at Kentucky this year, but it has not been on a track since the 2003 season. In September 2003, Newman drove the car at Loudon where he started on the pole and finished ninth. In November of that year, he started on the pole again at Phoenix and finished third.
Newman on Michigan International Speedway:
“I like running at Michigan. We’ve had success at that track in the past in both the Cup and Busch series and it’s always a place I look forward to.”
“After last week’s race at Watkins Glen, this team feels like we may be turning things around. We had a good run going throughout the day and our eighth-place finish was exactly what we needed.”
“The last time we were at this track (in June), we had some problems during qualifying and ended up having to start in the back of the field. We were able to make our way to the front, but the rain started pouring down and we had to settle for a 15th-place finish. It wasn’t a bad day for us, but had the race gone the entire length, I think we could’ve done a whole lot better.”
Quick Stats:
Michigan International Speedway: 10
Races Led/Laps Led: 6/83
Best Starting Position: 1 (June 2005)
Best Finishing Position: 1 (twice)
August 2005 Start: 5
August 2005 Finish: 12
