Newman Looks Forward To Watkins Glen

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Aug. 7, 2007) There are only two races a year that require NASCAR Cup Series drivers to turn right, Infineon and Watkins Glen.

The June race at Infineon for Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 12 Kodak Dodge Avenger, didn't turn out the way the team had hoped. This week, the team gets another chance at its second road-course race of the season in Sunday's Centurion Boats at Watkins Glen International.

"I like racing at Watkins Glen," Newman said. "We're taking the same car that we had at Infineon and I think we'll have a good shot at winning this Sunday.
"We had a good run at Infineon, but our fuel strategy didn't pay off like we thought it would."

Newman will make his sixth start at the New York track and his 210th in the Cup Series. He has an average start of 7.6 and an average finish of 15 at The Glen, and has led 19 laps in three races. Out of 452 possible laps, Newman has completed 451, giving him a 99.8 percent completion rate since he first raced at Watkins Glen in 2002.
Crew chief Mike Nelson and the No. 12 Kodak Dodge team will take chassis PRS-517 to New York, the same car Newman drove in Sonoma, Calif., in June. The back-up car is PRS-511. This chassis was tested at Virginia International Raceway and Kershaw, S.C., earlier this year.

Newman will also race the No. 12 Kodak Dodge Charger in NASCAR's Busch Series event on Saturday, making his third Busch start at The Glen and his 35th in the series.

Newman has started both of his Watkins Glen Busch races in the top five. His average start is 4.5 and his average finish is 21. Newman won at The Glen in 2005, but finished 41st last year after a fiery incident on lap 29.

"Last year, we had a freak accident that caused the engine to basically explode, but we won there two years ago and we're looking to do that again," said Newman, who has led nine laps in the two Busch races and has completed 111 laps of a possible 165, leaving him with a 67.3 percent completion rate.

I like driving the road courses and I think Watkins Glen is a better road course to race at than Infineon. There¿s more opportunity to pass and I think the racing is a little more competitive. I'm looking forward to getting back to The Glen.

Crew chief Matt Gimbel and the No. 12 Kodak Dodge team will take chassis PBC-005 as their primary car and PBC-009 as the backup. Neither car has been on the track this year.

ESPN2 and MRN Radio will cover the Zippo 200 at The Glen on Saturday beginning at 3 p.m. EDT. ESPN and MRN Radio will broadcast Sunday's Centurion Boats at The Glen live at 1 p.m. EDT.