Thursday, April 12, 2007

Newman, Alltel Team Return To The Basics At Texas

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (April 11, 2007) – After a four-week hiatus for the Dodge Charger, or the "Car of Yesterday" as some like to call it, in NASCAR's NEXTEL Cup Series, it will return at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend for the Samsung 500.

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 12 Alltel Dodge, will pilot his Charger for the first time since March 18 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This will be Newman's eighth start at the 1.5-mile Texas track and his 195th Cup start.

"We did really well at the intermediate tracks at the beginning of the season," Newman said. "We had good runs in California and Las Vegas and won the pole in Atlanta. I'm looking forward to getting back in the car at Texas and seeing what else we can do at these (intermediate) tracks."

TMS has not been too kind to Newman, however. Besides winning the Bud Pole during both Cup races in 2005 and earning a trip to Victory Lane in March 2003, Newman has not had the most memorable races at the Fort Worth, Texas, track. Newman's average start at Texas is 19th. Along with the two Bud Pole awards, Newman has only one other top-five start. His other starts have been 14th and below.

Newman's 2003 TMS win is his only top-10 finish at the intermediate track. His average finish is 27.95 with five finishes of 25th or lower.

After leading 80 laps in three races, Newman has completed 1,978 laps of a possible 2,343, giving Newman an 84.4 percent completion rate.

"Two years ago, we were able to earn both poles at the Texas races and I think we can do that again," Newman continued. "We've got the same car from Atlanta and Las Vegas and we've had time to tweak it. We think it'll be really good this weekend as well. We're looking forward to getting another good finish out of this car despite the fact that we've had our share of trouble at this track in the past."
 

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