Newman Heads To Kansas After Strong Run At Dover

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Sept. 25, 2007)  Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger, may have finished 28th in last Sundays Dodge Dealers 400 at Dover International Speedway, but the finish doesnt reflect the fact that Newman was running third at one point during the race and was in fifth when an accident eliminated him from the event with only 15 laps remaining.

We had another good run in our Alltel Dodge at Dover, but we got caught up in an accident and there was nothing that I couldve done to avoid it, Newman said. Thats the way these things work, especially at a track like Dover.

This weekend, Newman and the Alltel Dodge team will head to Kansas Speedway for the LifeLock 400. It will be Newmans seventh Cup start at the 1.5-mile track and the 217th of his career in NASCAR's Cup Series.

Newman possesses an average start of 10.7 and an average finish of 14.2 at the Kansas City, Kan., oval. He has started every race inside the top 20, including two in the top 10. His best start came in 2002 when he qualified third.

Newman has three top-five finishes at Kansas, including a win in 2003. He finished second in his first two races at the Midwest track, but his last three have been from 23rd or lower.

We havent had much luck in Kansas lately, but our intermediate program has been much better this year than it has been in the last couple of years, Newman said. Were working hard to get a win for this team and for our sponsors before the year is over and I think the team has been doing a great job. We had great pit stops last weekend in Dover and had a good top-five run going, but things just didnt work out. Those things happen and now its time to focus our efforts on Kansas.

Newman has led 118 laps in four Kansas races. He has completed 1,557 laps of a possible 1,602 since he made his Cup debut at Kansas in 2001. Newman's completion rate at the track is 97.2 percent.

Crew Chief Michael Nelson and the No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger team will take PRS-071 to Dover as their primary car. This car last ran at California four weeks ago. Newman was running near the front when the cars engine expired, leaving him 39th at the finish. The back-up car for Kansas is PRS-108, which last raced at Chicago in July where Newman qualified third and finished eighth.

Sundays LifeLock 400 will be covered live by ABC and MRN Radio beginning at 1 p.m. CDT.