Newman Heads To Dover With Victory On His Mind

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Sept. 19, 2007) Although Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 12 Alltel Dodge Avenger, is not involved in the 2007 Chase for the Championship, he is still achieving good, solid runs on the track each week.

When the Chase kicked off last weekend at New Hampshire International Speedway, Newman qualified fifth and finished ninth one of three non-chasers to finish in the top 10.

This weekend, Newman will make his 12th Cup start at Dover International Speedway and the 216th of his career in NASCAR's premier series in the Dodge Dealers 400.

We had a great run here in June and were hoping to do the same thing this time, Newman said. We ran pretty well last week and I think weve got a pretty good COT program at Penske Racing, so we should have a good chance this weekend. In June, we sat on the pole and finished second, so this time around, well go for the pole and hopefully, keep that momentum going until we reach victory lane at the end of 400 laps.

Newman possesses an average start of 5.7 and an average finish of 8.4 at the 1-mile concrete track. He has earned four Bud Pole Awards, including one for this years June event. Newman also owns six other top-five starts at the track, as well as a 38th starting position.

Newman has eight top-10 finishes at Dover, including three wins and a second in the June race. His three other finishes were a 14th and two in 24th.

The Indiana native has led 807 laps in eight Dover races. He has completed 4,375 laps of a possible 4,404 since he made his Cup debut at the Monster Mile in 2002, which gives Newman a 99.3 completion rate at the Delaware track.

Crew Chief Michael Nelson and the No. 12 Alltel Dodge Avenger team will take PRS-523 to Dover. This car is new and has not been on a track to race or test. The back-up car is chassis PRS-519, which has not been raced this year. However, it was tested at Lowes Motor Speedway in May.

Sundays Dodge Dealers 400 will be covered live by ABC and MRN Radio beginning at 1 p.m. EDT.