Sunday, June 15, 2008
Race 15 of 36
TNT 12:30 p.m.

Chassis Notes

PRS-558: The No. 12 Alltel Dodge is the same car that Newman drove to a fourth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this season. It was the backup car for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte and the Best Buy 400 at Dover.
PRS-561: The backup No. 12 Alltel Dodge this weekend is the car that Newman piloted at Richmond International Raceway. Newman started 10th and finished sixth in that race.

Michigan International Speedway

Brooklyn, MI

Track Facts

Banking/Turns: 18
Distance: 2.0 miles
Shape: Tri-oval
Michigan International Speedway is recognized as one of motorsports' premier facilities because of its wide racing surface and high banking. These two factors make three- and four-abreast racing as routine as the checkered flag at the end of a race..

Contact Information

12626 U.S. 12
Brooklyn, MI 49230
(800) 354-1010
Official Web site

Track Stats

MECHANICAL FAILURE RELEGATES NEWMAN TO 42nd PLACE FINISH AT MICHIGAN

BROOKLYN, Mich. (June 15, 2008) – Ryan Newman and the No. 12 Penske Racing Alltel Dodge team felt they would contend for a solid finish at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday in the LifeLock 400, but a mechanical failure sent Newman to the garage at lap 74 for extensive repairs. After getting back on track, an engine failure with a mere 16 laps remaining ended Newman's day and relegated the team to a 42nd place finish.

"Things just didn't go our way today," said Newman.

Newman is currently 17th in the NASCAR Cup point standings, 123 points shy of the 12th place cutoff for the 2008 NASCAR Chase for the Cup.

Rain cancelled qualifying on Friday at Michigan. Per the NASCAR Rule Book, the field was set by 2008 owner points and Newman started the race in 14th place.

Just a handful of laps into the race, Newman radioed that the Alltel Dodge was tight-handling and by lap 20, he had fallen back to 18th place. Newman reported to the crew that he was mostly tight in the center of the turns and that the water temperature gauge was reading higher than it should be.

After viewing the car on track, crew chief Roy McCauley told Newman that trash on the car's grille was probably the cause of the temperature spike. McCauley told Newman to keep an eye on the temperature gauge and the team would clean the grille on the next pit stop.

Newman made a green flag pit stop at lap 37. The Alltel team changed four tires, added fuel, made a track bar adjustment and cleaned the grille of the No. 12 Dodge. By the time green flag pit stops cycled through, Newman was in 19th place.

At lap 50, Newman was in 22nd place and told the crew that his car was too loose off of the corners and not able to grip the track. "I can get into the gas and through the center as good as these guys, but I'm not as fast," Newman said.

As the team began devising a plan to help improve the grip issues on the upcoming pit stop, Newman reported that his car had a vibration. At lap 74, the vibration brought Newman down pit road. "I just broke something," Newman told his crew.

After Newman came to a stop, the Alltel crew looked under the hood, diagnosed the problem and pushed the No. 12 machine back to the NASCAR Cup garage for extensive repairs.

The No. 12 returned to the track at lap 143 and ran well, but an engine failure at lap 184 ended Newman's attempt to complete the race. He finished in 42nd place, 89 laps behind the leader.

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to action next Sunday, June 22 for the Toyota Save-Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. The race can be seen live on TNT at 3:30 p.m. EDT and heard on PRN at 5 p.m. EDT.

NEWMAN STARTS 14th AT MICHIGAN AFTER RAIN WASHES OUT QUALIFYING

BROOKLYN, Mich. (June 13, 2008) - Ryan Newman, driver of the Penske Racing No.12 Alltel Dodge Charger, will start 14th in the LifeLock 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

Rain forced the cancellation of qualifying on Friday. Per the NASCAR Rule Book, the field was set by the 2008 owner points.

Newman was taking his warm-up lap for his qualifying effort when the caution lights came out for heavy rain. Qualifying was cancelled shortly after.

"I pulled off pit road, and I knew it was sprinkling," Newman said. "By the time I got to turn two, the rain was rolling up my windshield, so I knew I wasn't going to get a lap in. The caution lights came on when I hit the backstretch.

"We had a rough practice with the Alltel Dodge, so the guys made a lot of changes to the car before qualifying. I would have liked to have gotten in a half-lap more so I could have felt out the car a little more, but I'll have to wait until tomorrow."

Newman is currently 14th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, and he is just 10 points shy of the cutoff for the Chase for the NASCAR Cup. Newman has two wins, four top-fives and four top-10s in 13 starts at Michigan International Speedway.

Coverage of the LifeLock 400 begins on the TNT television network on Sunday, June 15 at 12:30 p.m. EDT. The race can also be heard on the MRN.

PENSKE RACING TEAMMATES

• 22 Kurt Busch
• 35 Sam Hornish Jr.

ALLTEL RACING PODCASTS

Every two weeks, fans can tune into Alltel Racing podcasts on www.alltelracing.com. The podcasts give fans the opportunity to hear No. 12 Alltel Racing driver Ryan Newman's thoughts on a variety of subjects, from racing to fishing to Alltel's latest commercials. Fans can call 1-800-279-5612 to record a personalized question for Newman or can email questions to Newman at ryannewmanmailbag@gmail.com. By listening to the podcasts, fans also have the opportunity to win special Alltel Racing prizes.

The May 27th installment of the podcast features Penske Racing pit crew coach Trent Cherry. Cherry, who has worked with Newman since his first race at Penske, is also the rear tire carrier for No. 12 Alltel Dodge team. Cherry talks about the experience of being a pit crew member in NASCAR. To listen to the podcast, visit www.alltelracing.com.

Notes

• Ryan Newman, driver of the Penske Racing No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger, has two wins, one pole, four top-five and four top-10 finishes in 13 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Michigan International Speedway (MIS).
• Newman holds the qualifying record at MIS. Newman turned the quickest lap on record at the two-mile track at 194.232 miles per hour.
• Newman won back-to-back races at MIS in August 2003 and June 2004.
• Newman has two NASCAR Nationwide Starts at Michigan and he was victorious in both of those races (August 2001, August 2005). In the 2001 race, Newman had a dominant race car - he started on the outside pole, led 119 of 125 laps and won the race.
• Instead of taking the green flag on Friday, Newman will be the honorary starter of the 100-lap Racing for Wildlife 200 ARCA race at MIS, which is scheduled for a 5:15 p.m. EDT start. Newman will serve as a guest announcer in the SPEED booth during the race and he also will present the trophy in Victory Lane.
• The race entitlement is a joint venture with The Conservation Fund and the Ryan Newman Foundation, which formed Racing for Wildlife in 2007. That partnership is a first-of-its-kind initiative that invites sports fans, race sponsors and other conservation-minded individuals to join Newman and The Conservation Fund to save America's scenic lands.

Newman Quotes

• RACING AT MICHIGAN: "I used to go to Michigan as a fan when I was a kid, so it's pretty cool to come back here doing what I love to do. It has been a track that has been good to us in the past, so I'm looking forward to the race. Michigan is a great track to drive because it is so wide. There's normally great racing with cars going two and three wide. We'll have to see how the new car does there."
• RACING ON FATHER'S DAY: "My dad (Greg Newman) said that Father's Day came early for him this year when we won the Daytona 500. I think in his eyes, every win is a gift and he treasures it. It's pretty unique to have my father as my spotter. He's been spotting for me in the Cup Series since 2006 and he did my Nationwide races for me in 2005. I tell everyone that it has been a series of high fives and arguments ever since he started spotting for me. But in reality, it just makes sense to have him as my spotter because he knows me and my racing style better than anyone else. He's been with me for every step of my career since I was four-and-a-half and just starting to race quarter-midgets. I would really like to give him a Father's Day present on Sunday — and the best one I could give him would be a win at Michigan."

McCauley Quotes

• RACING AT MICHIGAN: "Michigan is a great track because it has long sweeping corners which helps to promote some really good racing. It will be interesting to see how the new car performs there this weekend. Ryan has done really well in qualifying there in the past. We have learned that track position is very important especially this year, so we are hoping to continue his strong qualifying efforts. The key to being competitive at Michigan is handling – especially in turns two and three. The car can't get too tight off two or be too loose off three. We'd like to have a solid run there this weekend and get back in the top 12 in points."