NEWMAN RECORDS SEVENTH-CONSECUTIVE TOP-10 START AT INDY

SAT, 07/28/2007 - 8:11PM

When qualifying for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard was scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger, was happy to have a 16th-place qualifying draw. But after rain delayed qualifying until 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Newman and the Alltel Dodge team weren’t as excited about their early run.

However, the team's hard work paid off as Newman qualified third for Sunday's race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Newman, who made only one qualifying run during the nearly 3 1/2-hour practice session earlier in the day, was only 32nd fastest out of the 49 cars entered. In the one and only practice session of the weekend due to rain, Newman posted a lap of 49.770 seconds, 180.872 mph. Newman then picked up more than seven-tenths in his qualifying run.

“We have a good car, we just didn’t get a chance to practice in qualifying trim this morning,” Newman said. “We’re using an old short-track car that has a completely new body, but it’s a great downforce car, which is exactly what we need at a track like Indy. Track position is important here and we’ve got a good starting position. We’ll just have to run a good race and stay out of trouble. We’re so close to being in the top 12 and we don’t want to do something that could jeopardize our moving up in the standings and making it into the Chase.”

Newman and teammate Kurt Busch make up two of the five Dodge Chargers that will start in the top six for Sunday’s 400-mile race. Busch will start in the sixth position.

Sunday’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard marks ESPN’s first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup broadcast of the 2007 season. Live coverage begins at 1 p.m. EDT with IMS Radio also covering the race.

Line-up for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard:

1. Reed Sorenson, No. 41 Target/Maxwell House Dodge
2. Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge
3. Ryan Newman, No. 12 Alltel Dodge
4. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet
5. Kasey Kahne, No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge
6. Kurt Busch, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge