Get ready for an action packed night of racing at Richmond Internation Speedway for the Crown Roayl Jim Stewart 400. This should be a great race so don't miss it!!
FOX 050507 7:00P-11:00 RACE
Mike Pratt
Please let me know where you think Ryan Newman will finish in todays race!!
Ryan Newman and his #12 Alltel Dodge NASCAR Nextel Cup team will be qualifying to at Richmond Internation Speedway for the Crown Royal Jim Stewart 400.
SPEED 050407 6:00P-7:30 Qualify
Mike Pratt
You can see Ryan Newman and the #12 Alltel Dodge practicing today for the Crown Royal Jim Stewart 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
SPEED 050407 11:00A-1:00P Practice
Mike Pratt
DRIVER RESULTS
Kurt Busch 3
David Stremme 8
Ryan Newman 9
Scott Riggs 11
Kasey Kahne 12
Elliott Sadler 15
Kyle Petty 18
Bobby Labonte 20
Reed Sorenson 25
Juan Pablo Montoya 31
Mike Pratt
Ryan Newman and Penske Racing's #12 Alltel Dodge NASCAR Nextel Cup Team go racing at the Richmond International Speedway for the Crown Royal Presents The Jim Stewart 400.
Richmond International Speedway is located in Richmond, VA. It is a .75 Mile Oval 14-degree banking in all turns track. The frontstretch is 1290 feet long with 8 degrees of banking and the backstretch is 860 feet long with 2 degrees banking.
Richmond International Speedway has a Nextel Cup Race Record of 109.047 by Dale Jarrett on 9/6/1997, and a top Nextel Cup qualifying record of 129.983 by Brian Vickers on 5/14/2004.
Out of the last 10 races Dodge's have won 3 times, Fords 2 times, Chevrolets 4 times and Pontiacs have won 1 times.
Now lets get to what we really care about, Ryan Newman and the Richmond International Speedway. Newman's record here is good. He has raced here 10 times with 1 pole(s), 1 win(s), D3 top 5's and 6 top 10 finishes.
Newman has an AVG start here of 7.2 and an AVG finish of 11.6. Newman has also completed 96.88% of all laps he has raced here and led 354 laps out of those 10 races.
Ryan Newmans record at short tracks is very good. Out of 32 races he has 1 win, 9 top 5's and 16 top 10 finishes. His 'short track average starting position is 7.3 with an average finishing position of 16.2.
Good luck to Ryan Newman and the Penske Racing's #12 Alltel Dodge NASCAR Nextel Cup Team at Richmond International Speedwayfor the Crown Royal Presents The Jim Stewart 400 this coming week and weekend!!!
Mike Pratt
Catch Ryan Newman and the Penske Racing #12 Alltel Dodge as they practice, qualify and race in the Crown Royal Presents The Jim Stewart 400 at Richmond International Speedway.
Here is this weeks schedule!!
SPEED 050407 11:00A-1:00P Practice
SPEED 050407 6:00P-7:30 QualifyNext
FOX 050507 7:00P-11:00 RACE
Mike Pratt
Last week Michael Waltrip (Driver/owner of MWR - Michael Waltrip Racing) suggested that there needs to be a change in qualifying. I think I agree that there should be some kind of change.
Here is what Waltrip thinks should happen. “They ought to draw for qualifying, like they do now,” Waltrip said. “Then, the top 35 go out one through 35. Then you’ve got this drama built. Then you let the scrubs go out. Let’s see who has got what. Seven of these guys are going to make it. It would be more fair if we were right there together.”
Right now the top 35 are garaunteed a spot based on owner points. The rest of the qualifiers then have to squeeze in by qualifying times filling the remaining 8 positions. And actually one of those positions is reserved for any former series champion that may not have made it by qualifying.
It is understandable that he might think this since he has not qualified for the last 8 races this season, only qualifying for the Daytona 500. I think that everyone would agree that his failure to qualify is the only reason he is bring this up. If he was not the driver/owner of MWR this year, this probably would not have even been a thought.
But what does not seem fair to me is that Michael Waltrip had the 19th fastest qualifying time for the Aaron's 499. 19th and he was not able to race. Something about that system does not seem right to me, but I don't know what the fix should be.
Should you only race based on qualifying time and NOT on owners points? That does not sound exactly fair to me either. How about the top 25 in owner points is locked in? I don't know. I just don't know. But having the 19th fastest qualifying time and not being able to race just does not seem right. And if there is ever a change to the system, and I doubt there will be, then something should be left in for former champions.
I will be heading out on vacation this week and into next week. I am going to Virginia to visit my Dad, stepmom, sister and sisters kids. My brother is also going to be coming into town so I get to see him as well.
Yes I will be in Virginia and yes I will be 2 short hours from Richmond. But I won't be able to make the race unfortunatly. That really bums me out but I am excited about taking some vacation and seeing my family. I will however be watching the race but we will see how well that goes over with me being the ONLY NASACR fan in my family. At least I will have my girlfriend watching with me, she is a NASCAR fan. In fact when we met I told her that I was a NASCAR fanatic and she thought that was cool and told me she was a fan also. She laughed the other day and told me she did not realize how much of a fanatic I was until recently
My coverage this week and into next week will be hit and miss due to the vacation and depending on how ofter my girlfriend lets me fire up the lap top :) . I do have some "stuff" done already and am using Email Scheduler in order to make sure some of those things go out automatically.
Anyway, I will hopefully bring you the same amount of Ryan Newman news as usual.
Good luck to Ryan Newman and his #12 Alltel Dodge NASCAR Nextel Cup Team at Richmond International Speedway this weekend.
I have updated my Ryan Newman Stats. This is after the Aaron's 499. As I stated in my previous post, NASCAR unofficially had Newman listed 6th and I thought this was wrong, I thought he was 9th. I was right, I don't get to say that very ofter, but at least for now I am right. NASCAR has changed it and it now UNOFFICIALLY lists Newman in 9th. If this changes I will of course redo the table again!
Just a short review of the table. This was the 9th and Newman started 28th and finished 9th. This pushed Newman up 2 points position to 24th but he did drop about -50 farther from the leader. He did get 33 points closer to 12th position being only -161 away now.
Today's finish gives Newman his 2nd top ten of the season with no wins and no top 5's. His average start dropped less than 1 point to 20.89 and his average finish went up almost 2 points to 18.9. His average running position improved by almost 1 position to 19.9.
And finally it is always good when your percentage of completed laps goes up. It did not go up much, but it did go up. 3 extra laps tacked on had to of helped a little!!
I hope Ryan Newman and his Penske Racing #12 Alltel Dodge NASCAR Nextel Cup Team keep up the good work. They had a great day today!!
Mike Pratt
For starters, from what I was watching on TV and on TRACKPASS, I saw Newman finish 9th, Unofficial results have him in 6th. I am writing about him in 9th!
It may be 10th or it may be 8th. But I think it is 9th. It will all depend on where NASCAR says the yellow flag came out.
I will be updating my stats table later tonight to reflect the UNOFFICIAL results. If those results change,so will my table. UNOFFICIAL RESULTS.
Ryan Newman had an awesome run at Talladega for the Aaron's 499. Newman and his Penske Racings #12 Kodak Dodge Cup team started 28th and in no time were up to 15th(ish). Newman ran strong and clean all day. He was even in 2nd at one poin. Late in the race Newman bumped into the back of Montoya and put him in the wall. Newman ended up taking his fender of in the process. This dropped Newman back to 30th and under caution he had to make several pit stops to gt it fixed. He made several small ones so that he could stay on the lead lap.
It just showed how good of a car Newman had today when he wrecks, goes back to 30th, has no fender end comes all the way back up with 20 or so laps to go and gets a 9th place finish. Kudo's to Newman and his team.
Right before the Green/white/checkered, Newman came on the radio and told his spotter to look for runs behind him coming up. If there was a run coming up, he said that his rear bumper was going to start blocking.
Newman and his team were very impressive today. Newman needed this good finish. Maybe it will reverse his MOJO. Hopefully this will turn around his season.
UNOFFICIALLY Newman finished 9th, bumping him up to 22 in the points (according to his unofficial 6th place finish). This also puts him -666 points in the standings.
(since that is a negative 666, would that be positive - 2 negatives equal a positive.)
Mike Pratt
2:08 p.m. -- Jeff Foxworthy delivers the command: "Gentlemen, start your engines."
2:13 p.m. -- Cars are rolling on the track.
2:22 p.m. -- GREEN FLAG: Jeff Gordon brings the field to speed as the Aaron's 499 is under way. Newman Starts 28th.
Lap 1 -- Jeff Gordon leads the first lap, the eighth time he has led a race this season.
Lap 7 – Newman up to 16th
Lap 10 – Newman and teammate Kurt Busch working together. Newman behind Busch in 14th place. Has been up to 12th
Lap 14 – Newman leading outside line. Busch has ducked into middle lane. Newman had broke top 10 currently in 12th.
Lap 17 – Newman gets booted to 21st.
Lap 32 – Newman just hanging out around 15th taking it easy. Green flag pits coming soon.
Lap 40 -- Newman pushing the hell out of Harvick and climbs to 6th – Also some are doing green pit pits.
Lap 43 – Newman pits – RIGHT SIDE ONLY and Fuel – Time 12.20.
Lap 48 -- in line behind teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. Newman in 7th.
Lap 74 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 1 -- Debris in Turn 1. Tony Stewart is the benefit of the free pass and will be back on the lead lap. Newman in 13th take 4 and fuel. Newman restarts 13th TIME –16.20
Lap 78 -- GREN FLAG: Jeff Gordon brings the field back up to speed.1. Jeff Gordon2. Elliott Sadler3. Sterling Marlin4. Kurt Busch5. Jamie McMurray
Lap 81 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 2 -- Clint Bowyer spins and hits the wall.NEWMAN 15th .Pretty much everyone just takes fuel. Newman pit time – 5.0
Since starting, Newman has been running in the top 20 all day to this point. He has been as high as 3rd and was running consistantly between 15th and 10th and has been having little problems. His drafting seems to be doing good when he can.
Lap 85 -- GREEN FLAG: Kurt Busch brings the field up to speed.1. Kurt Busch2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.3. Casey Mears4. Martin Truex Jr.5. Reed Sorenson
Lap 86 – Dale Earnhardt JR takes that lead!! Crowd goes wild
Lap 96 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson continue to go back-and-forth with the lead as Kahne leads this lap. Newman up to 10th and 11th.
Lap 98 – Newman up to 5th
Lap 102 – Nemwan shuffled back to 10th. Comentators actually mention Newman and how he as been running up front most of the race.
Lap 106 – there have been 34 lead changes so far with 15 different leaders. Will Newman become one of them….I think so!!
Lap 108 – Kurt busch is right behind Newman with Dale JR right behind him. Newman in 7th
Lap 116 – Newman “bobbles” a little and drops a couple positions. Now in 11th. Teammate Kurt Busch radios in and says to tell Newman to run the middle.
Lap 118 – Newman back up to 5th
Lap 122 – Newman in 4th I know there is a lot of racing left but I am PUMPED UP. Newman needs a finish like this
Lap 123 – Green flag pits have started. Puts Newman in 2nd
Lap 126 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 3 -- Casey Mears spins and hits the wall hard after being tapped by teammate Jimmie Johnson when Mears was trying to get on pit road.
NEWMAN HAD NOT PITTED YET!!! YEAH!!!
Now Newman Pits – TIME – 10.60 – Must have been fuel and rights only – not sure.
Lap 130 -- GREEN FLAG: Kenny Wallace brings the field to the green.1. Kenny Wallace2. Jeff Gordon3. Ryan Newman4. Denny Hamlin5. Jimmie Johnson
Lap 130 – Newman reaches 2nd behind Jordon
Lap 131 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 4: Jimmie Johnson drifts up and pushes Ricky Rudd into the wall. Kyle Busch and Joe Nemechek slam the inside wall hard. Jeff Burton and Martin Truex Jr. also caught up in the crash.
NEWMAN IN 2nd
Jimmie Johnson does pit with a tire rub.
VERY impressed with Newman today. He has chose the wrong people to run with a couple times today sending him back a little, but overall he is running VERY WELL and clean. Can he get Gordon? We shall see. Can even even finish up front? We shall see. I think he has a car to win with. A great top 5 or 10 finish would really help get Newmans MOJO back in the positive.
Lap 135 – Still Under yellow cars start pitting. Some elect to stay out. Newman comes in for a splash of fuel with a lot of other drivers. Back out 4th. NOT BAD.
Lap 137 -- GREEN FLAG: Elliott Sadler brings the field to the green.1. Elliott Sadler 2. David Ragan 3. Jamie McMurray 4. Ryan Newman 5. Denny Hamlin
Lap 138 - Newman trying to get around Ragan for the lead, drops back to 7th
Lap 139 – Newman bouncing around position wise like crazy. Currently back to 4th . Newman running on bottom now, not in the middle where he has been most of the day.
Lap 142 – Newman shuffled all the back to 23rt
Lap 145 – NEWMAN HAS A GOOD CAR. He is now back up 12th . Big front group so positions are up and down a lot
Lap 146 – top 4 in field each hold different manufacturer. Newman in 10th. Teammate Kurt Busch right behind him in 11th. Kurt has also had a very strong car today usually running ahaed of Newman.
Lap 153 – Cars have been running single file for a while now with Denny Hamlin leading. This is good for fuel milage – a lot of teams are a little short – bad for getting position. Pit road saying as an average 2 – 5 laps short on fuel.
Lap 158 – Newmans crew informs him that based on todays fuel mileage, they have enough to JUST barely make it. EXCEPT if they go GREEN WHITE CHECKERED!!!!
LAP 160 – Newman and Montoya bumping, Nemwan in the back of Montoya – Montoya in wall - Newman coming in for green flag stop – right side down. Fender damage. Down to 30th.
Newman reporting debris all over track.
Lap 162 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 5: Debris in Turn 2. The debris came from Juan Montoya who hit the wall. Montoya and Ryan Newman both on pit road repairing damage. Newman makes several short pit stops for repairs. Short pits in order to stay on lead lap.
Lap 166 -- GREEN FLAG: Denny Hamlin brings the field to the green.1. Denny Hamlin2. Jamie McMurray3. David Reutimann4. Greg Biffle5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Lap 169 – Neman and the group he is in are closing the time between them and the leader. CAN LEADERS make it on fuel? Top 10 did not pit last caution. Newman up to 28th
Lap 170 – Newman lead rear pack and now is on tail of lead pack – In 27th
Lap 172 – Pit crew informs Newman to be careful pushing anyone. Left bar is damages/broke. Right is fine.
Lap 175 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 6: Debris on the track. Part of Ryan Newman's car is on the track. Bobby Labonte gets the free pass and is back on the lead lap.
Lap 179 -- GREEN FLAG: Denny Hamlin brings the field to green with 10 laps to go.1. Denny Hamlin2. Jamie McMurray3. David Reutimann4. Greg Biffle5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Lap 181 – Newman up to 21, 19, 16, 12th!!!!!!!!
Lap 182 – JR in 2nd Newman in 11th
Lap 184 – Newman up to 10th
Lap 185 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 7: David Reutimann blows his engine and brings out the caution. Newman in 10th
We will be going to GREEN WHITE CHECKERED. Newman has plenty of fuel from pit stops after accident. Unbelievable that Newman has made his way all the way back up to 10th. I knew he had a good car.
Newman tells spotter he can’t do much so spotter needs to tell him of any runs coming up behind him. Newman tells his spotter that if a run is coming….his “rear bumber is blocking!”
Newman asks for fuel stats on other cars. Crew reports back that others did NOT get gas.
Cars are still going round and round using gas as the track gets cleaned up. This could be good news for Newman.
Before restart – some leaders HAVE TO come in for fuel. This puts Newman in 9th.
Newman states that he CAN NOT get his nose into clean air.
GREEN WHITE CHECKED Drops – Newman in 9th
Lap 188 -- Denny Hamlin and Tony Raines hit pit road as they were going to run out of fuel.
Lap 191 -- GREEN FLAG: Jeff Gordon gets the final two laps under way.1. Jeff Gordon2. Jamie McMurray3. Jimmie Johnson4. Kurt Busch5. David Gilliland
Lap 191 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 8: JEFF GORDON WINS THE AARON'S 499!!!!
Newman 9th
The sale fo Daimler Chrysler could be winding up by end of next month. This has some asking wether or not Dodge will stay in NASCAR.
Mike Accavitti, director, Dodge Motorsports and SRT Marketing says that Dodge is staying in NASCAR without a doubt!
“We believe in the marketing value of the sport and the awareness it provides for the Dodge brand. The NASCAR fan base is an excellent fit for Dodge and the vehicles we manufacturer. We have long term commitments to the sport and to our teams, and we will, without question, keep these commitments. As we’ve said many times, Dodge is in NASCAR to stay,” Accavitti says.
Drivers that drive the Dodge Charger and the Dodge Avenger include Penske racings #12 Ryan Newman and teammate #2 Kurt Busch. The other drivers of Dodges are #9 Kasey Kahne, #10 Scott Riggs, #19 Elliot Sadler, #40 David Stremme, #41 Reed Sorenson, #42 Juan Pablo Montoya, #43 Bobby Labonte, #45 Kyle Petty.
The weather at "dega" for Ryan Newman and his #12 Kodak Dodge Team toady is suppose to be PERFECT. Mostly Sunny with a high of 81!! Doesn't get any better than that!!
Catch the race today on FOX at 1:30 today! Should be a good one as Newman battles his way up from his 28th starting position.
Newmans qualifying wasn't that great in an interview he even stated that he does not look at Talladega as racing. He said most racing is 50/50 car/driver but that "dega" is more like 80/20.
Even though Newman Qualified in the back half of the field, he was third fastest in the drivers 2nd practice indicating that his car handles well in the draft....at least that is how I read it. He is also starting just a couplke spots behind team mate Kurt Busch. Busch and Newman have been working really well together all season.
So, even though Talladega is not Newmans "thing" or type of track, I am expecting a pretty decent finsih from him today. What do I mean by decent...well for this season so far, that would be a top 20. I would be happy with that.
Good luck to Ryan Newman and his Penske Racing #12 Kodak Dodge NASCAR Nextel Cup Team today for the Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway!!
YEAH BABY, DEGA!!!!!!!
Mike Pratt
Well, NASCAR.com has made their TRACKPASS free today to the Aaron's 499 at Talladega! I like using this service. Even though Ryan Newman and his #12 Dodge get a lot of TV time (said sarcastically) I like to follow Newman (and others) with Trackpass.
CHECK IT OUT HERE
Mike
