Centurion Boats at The Glen

Centurion Boats at The Glen
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Race 22 of 36
ESPN 1:00 p.m.

Track Facts

Watkins Glen International
Watkins Glen, NY

Banking/Turns: --
Distance: 2.45 miles
Shape: Road course

Watkins Glen International continues a road-racing tradition that dates back to 1948 -- when sports cars competed on the streets of the village at the southern tip of scenic Lake Seneca. The circuit, which at one time hosted the F1 United States Grand Prix, has grown to become one of the most respected facilities in the northeast.

Contact Information
4790 W. 16th Street
Speedway, IN 46222
(317) 481-8500

CHASSIS NOTES

PRS-527: The primary No. 12 Kodak Dodge for this weekend's race at Watkins Glen International is the same car that Newman piloted to a seventh place finish at Infineon Raceway in June. Newman also drove the car at Bristol Motor Speedway in March.
PRS-509: The backup No. 12 Kodak Dodge served as the team's primary car at Phoenix International Raceway where Newman sat on the pole and led 37 laps. It was also the backup car at Martinsville and Infineon.

TRACK STATS

DATE	START	FINISH	LAPS COMPLETED	MONEY WON
August-02	5	2	90/90	$107,725.00
August-03	13	9	90/90	$83,930.00
August-04	10	36	89/90	$101,032.00
August-05	7	30	92/92	$103,266.00
August-06	3	8	90/90	$116,708.00
August-07	15	13	90/90	$101,825.00

STARTS:	POLES:	TOP 5s:	TOP 10s:	WINS:	LAPS COMPLETED:	MONEY WON:
6	0	1	3	0	541/542	$614,486.00

SPIN, BATTERY PROBLEMS RELEGATE NEWMAN TO 26th PLACE FINISH AT WATKINS GLEN
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (August 10, 2008) - Ryan Newman and the No. 12 Penske Racing Kodak Dodge team ran in the top 10 for most of the day at Watkins Glen International on Sunday afternoon at the Centurion Boats at The Glen. However, Newman spun going into turn one with just 13 laps remaining, which began a chain of events that relegated the team to a 26th place finish.

Newman remains in 15th place in the 2008 NASCAR Cup Series driver point standings, 204 points out of the 12th place "Chase cutoff" with five races to go until the NASCAR "Chase for the Cup" begins in September.

"You have good days and bad days," said Newman after the race concluded. "And today just wasn't our day when all was said and done."

After heavy rain cancelled qualifying at the 2.45-mile Watkins Glen International road course on Friday, Newman started 16th based on the 2008 NASCAR owner points standings. Once the green flag dropped on the 90-lap event, Newman made quick work to pick up positions and valuable track position.

By lap six, Newman had already moved solidly into the top 10. At lap 10, Newman radioed his crew that the No. 12 Kodak Dodge was loose in turn three, tight in turn nine, and very loose coming off of turn 11. Newman also said that he wanted lower tire air pressures for his next run.

At lap 21, the No. 12 team opted to pit early under the green flag due to the importance of pit strategy and track position on a road course. Newman pitted for four tires, fuel, and air pressure and track bar adjustments. Newman returned to the track in 34th place, but as the green flag pit stops cycled through, he ended up in 11th place on the race track.

Newman returned to the top 10 by lap 43. He radioed the team that the car was better, but he was still too loose in turn 11, which Newman said was hurting his progress the most. The first caution flag of the race waved at lap 47, at which time the Kodak team elected to pit the No. 12 for four fresh tires, fuel, and another air pressure and track bar adjustment.

About 15 cars elected not to pit under the caution, so Newman returned to the track in 18th place. As the cars in front of Newman came down pit road under green-flag conditions, he was able to move into the top five.

At lap 58, the Kodak team brought Newman down pit road for what was scheduled to be his last pit stop for three seconds of fuel. The "splash-and-go" would give Newman enough to make it to the end of the race. As other teams elected to use the same strategy, Newman gained spots on the track and by lap 65, he moved into third place.

With Newman having the speed to reel in the front two cars and the ability to hold off cars behind him, the team was headed to a solid top-three finish. However, at lap 77, Newman spun as he drove into turn one. The car stalled and Newman attempted to re-fire the No. 12, but a problem with the battery connection prevented him from doing so.

Penske Racing teammate Sam Hornish Jr. and his No. 77 car stopped on track and was able to push the No. 12 machine to pit road, and the Kodak team went to work to diagnose the problem. They were able to reconnect the battery connection, change tires and get the Kodak Dodge back on track without losing a lap. Newman restarted the race in 37th place.

On lap 82, Newman was able to narrowly avoid a multi-car wreck. As Newman stopped on track to stay out of trouble, the No. 12 again lost power. NASCAR threw a red flag to clean up the debris from the nine-car accident, and at that time, a wrecker pushed Newman to pit road. Once the red flag was lifted after 43 minutes, the Kodak team went to work to fix the battery issue and give the car four fresh tires.

When the race restarted at lap 85, Newman was posted in 32nd place. In the final five laps, Newman drove hard and was able to pick up six positions to finish 26th.

Newman's Penske Racing teammates Kurt Busch and Sam Hornish Jr. finished 10th and 32nd, respectively.

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to action next Sunday afternoon, August 17, for the 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway. The race can be seen live on ESPN at 1 p.m. EDT and heard on the MRN radio network at 1:15 p.m. EDT

NEWMAN STARTS 16th AT WATKINS GLEN AFTER RAIN WASHES OUT QUALIFYING
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (August 8, 2008) - Ryan Newman, driver of the Penske Racing No.12 Kodak Dodge Charger, will start 16th in the Centurion Boats at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on Sunday afternoon.

Rain forced the cancellation of qualifying on Friday. Per the NASCAR Rule Book, the field was set by owner points. Heavy rains also cancelled practice on Friday.

"I'm disappointed that we didn't get the chance to go out on the track today in the Kodak Dodge," Newman said. "Track position is so important at road courses that we would have liked to had the chance to qualify. I think we would have been starting closer to the front.

"We will have our work cut out for us when the green flag drops, but we had a really good car at the other road course event in June. We got a top 10 there, and we want to improve on that here. We're looking forward to the practices tomorrow and the race on Sunday."

In six Cup starts at Watkins Glen, Newman has one top-five and three top-10 finishes.

Coverage of the Centurion Boats at The Glen begins on ESPN on Sunday, Aug. 10 at 1 p.m. EDT. The race can also be heard on MRN.

PENSKE RACING TEAMMATES

19. Kurt Busch
34. Sam Hornish Jr

ALLTEL RACING PODCASTS

Every two weeks, fans can tune into Alltel Racing podcasts on http://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.

This week's installment of the podcast features Alltel Dodge driver Ryan Newman. Newman discusses what happened at Indianapolis, what to expect at Watkins Glen and his recent visit to Buffalo Bills training camp. To listen to this podcast and past podcasts, visit http://www.alltelracing.com/.

Notes

Ryan Newman, driver of the Penske Racing No. 12 Kodak Dodge Charger, has one top-five and three top-10 finishes in six NASCAR Cup Series starts at Watkins Glen International.
Newman's best finish at Watkins Glen International was a second place effort during his 2002 rookie season. Newman started fifth in that race, led 11 laps and was the runner-up in the 90-lap event.
Newman started ninth and finished seventh in the 2008 NASCAR Cup Series season's other road course event at Infineon Raceway in June.
Newman is currently 15th in the NASCAR Cup Series driver point standings. With five races remaining, he is 173 points away from the 12th place "cutoff" for the 2008 "Chase for the Championship."
Newman will compete in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) event at Watkins Glen in the No. 22 Dodge for Fitz Motorsports on Saturday afternoon, August 9. Newman has one win (2005) and two top-10 finishes in three NNS starts at the 2.45-mile road course.
In advance of this weekend's race at Watkins Glen, Newman visited the Buffalo Bills NFL Training Camp at St. John Fisher College, in Pittsford, NY. Although Newman isn't an avid football fan, several of his pit crew members played football while in college. In fact, Newman visited with Bills starting offensive guard Brad Butler, who was a teammate and college roommate at the University of Virginia with Bryan White, the No. 12 team's jackman.

Newman Quotes

LIKING WATKINS GLEN: "It's a fun race track for us. I really enjoy the road course at Watkins Glen. I have a lot of fun there. When we finish, we finish well. We've had some brake problems in the past and a transmission problem one year, and that's why our finishes aren't as good as our starting position. It's a place where it pays dividends to qualify up front, start up front and have that track position." (Newman's average starting position at Watkins Glen is 8.8. His average finishing position is 14.7).

KEYS TO WATKINS GLEN: "The biggest thing about racing at a road course is being smooth as a driver and being considerate of the other drivers around you. There are some key points at Watkins Glen, too. Turn one has some rumbles in it. You can wheel hop pretty easily getting into turn one. The esses are all about finesse going up the hill. And the fastest part of the race track is going into the bus stop where you have to brake really hard. You try to carry as much speed over there and not over-brake. You can gain and lose so much time in braking. The bus stop and the carousel are all smooth and finesse for 90 degree turns. You have to get them right."

McCauley Quotes

RACING AT WATKINS GLEN: "Penske Racing has a really good history at Watkins Glen, and I personally like the place. I have three poles there in Nationwide and Cup with both Ryan and Kurt (Busch). And have won with both of them in NNS. Qualifying is obviously very important. But the real key to the Glen is being able to get through the carousel, to carry enough speed getting through the long sweeping corner and coming off if it to get a good run down the backchute. The carousel, turn one and getting through the esses are very important. We're not talking about points right now, but the bottom line is that we have to kick, scratch, do whatever it takes to get in the Chase. We're going no holds barred and taking all the chances we need to so we can win races and get in the chase."