Team notes: Easter weekend brings break to some

Ryan Newman

No. 12 Dodge, Penske Racing

This week: Newman and the team tested Tuesday and Wednesday at Richmond.

Last week: Newman finished 14th at Martinsville despite a run-in with David Reutimann's car. "It just messed the car up," Newman said.

Etc.: Things got a little wild on the last restart with 18 laps to go at Martinsville as Newman battled rookies Juan Pablo Montoya and David Ragan for a spot inside the top 15. "We got three wide on the back straightaway and he (Montoya) overdrove into turn one," said Newman. "I thought he turned left. He said I just ran him out of room. He was up against the wall. It was just racin'."

OTHERS

Greg Biffle (No. 16 Ford, Roush Racing) believes the Richmond test this week is "real crucial. I think we've got a ways to go (on the COT) before we get to some of these bigger tracks (with the car)." Biffle seemed headed for his best Martinsville finish ever when he ran into brake problems late in the event. He fell to 32nd. ... Bobby Labonte (No. 43 Dodge, Petty Enterprises) crashed on lap 38 of the 500-lap event at Martinsville and finished last. "I went down into turn one and hit the brakes and they went all the way to the floor," he said. "Something had to go wrong. We had to break something. We didn't run long enough to have a brake problem." ... Martin Truex Jr. (No. 1 Chevrolet, DEI) also had brake problems at Martinsville. He finished 29th. "We were so good in practice," said Truex. ... Reed Sorenson (No. 41 Dodge, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates) finished 17th at Martinsville to jump into the top 25 in the point standings. "It was a pretty good day for us," said Sorenson. ... After a bad start to the season, Scott Riggs (No. 10 Dodge, Evernham Motorsports) was elated with his eighth-place finish at Martinsville. "Somehow all the bad luck we had all year didn't hit us today," said Riggs.

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Notes provided by The Sports Xchange