Ryan Newman/Pocono Advance
Notes:
Ryan Newman will make his ninth NASCAR Cup Series start at Pocono Raceway in his No. 12 Alltel Dodge on Sunday and his 166th on that circuit. Newman obtained his only pole at the 2.5-mile, triangular track in July 2003. That also resulted in Newman's only win at the speedway.
Newman has four top-10 starts at Pocono, each time earning a top-five finish. When Newman starts outside the top-10, he finishes outside the top-10. His average start at the track is 11th.
In addition to his victory at Pocono in July 2003, Newman has finished second, fourth, and eighth. However, only one other finish has been inside the top-15 - August 2004. The other three finishes have been 30th or lower. Newman has a 15.625 average finish at the track.
Newman has led five races at Pocono for 127 laps. En route to his win in the July 2003 Pennsylvania 500, Newman led 88 laps. He has completed 1,554 of a possible 1,604 laps. That is a 97 percent finishing rate.
Crew chief Matt Borland and the Alltel team will take chassis PRS-106 to this weekend's Pocono 500. This is a new race car that has never been on a track, not even for a test. However, it has been in a wind tunnel.
Quotes:
Newman on Pocono: "We had a good run last weekend at Dover. It was especially good for this team to get a Bud Pole for the first time this season. We didn't get the finish that we were hoping for, but we were able to pick up some spots in the standings.
"My record at Pocono is hot and cold. If we start good, we finish good. If we don't start good, we usually don't finish real well, either. We're starting to put a little more emphasis into qualifying now, so we'll go out Friday and try to get another pole for the Alltel Dodge. Then we'll work on our race setup during practice and try to earn our first win and continue to move up in the standings."
Quick Stats:
Pocono Raceway: 8 Races
Led/Laps Led: 5/127
Best Starting Position: 1 (7/27/03)
Best Finishing Position: 1 (7/27/03)
June 2005 Start: 17
May 2005 Finish: 34
