Rain Delays Dodge Avenger 500

Ryan Newman and his #12 Alltel Dodge team will have to wait until tommorrow to race the the Dodge Avenger 500 at Darlington Raceway.

This is the second weekend in a row that a Saturday night race has been delay and raced the following day due to rain. After last weeks rain delay, Nemwan started 30th and finished 6th.

A NASCAR race has not taken place on Mothers Day since the All-Star event at Atlanta in 1986.

So, make sure you catch Ryan Newman and his Penske Racing Dodge Alltel NASCAR Nextel Cup team tommorrow (Sunday) at 1 pm on FOX. The weather forecast is partly cloudy adn 80 degrees.

Mike

Ryan Newman 21 For Dodge Avenger 500 2nd Practice

Ryan Newman and the #12 Alltel Dodge team had their second practice at Darlington Raceway today for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Dodge Avenger 500
Newman had the 21 fastest practice speed of 158.791 mph / 30.969 sec.

Newman was seconds behind the leader Jimmie Johnson who had a practice time of 160.706 / 30.6.


Qualifying Order

Practice 1 Results

Practice 2 Results

Ryan Newman Qualified 31 for the Dodge Avenger 500.

Ryan Newman has qualified 31 for the Dodge Avenger 500 at the Darlington Raceway. Newman had a speed of 162.276 / 30.304 / -0.498.

Today's 31 place qualifying will give Newman and his #12 NASCAR Nextel Cup Team and average start this season of 24.22.

Clint Bowyer got the pole position for the Dodge Avenger 500 with a time of 192.069 / 49.857.

Good luck to Ryan Newman and the #12 Alltel Dodge Penske Racing Team in the Dodge Avenger 500 at Darlington Raceway

Qualifying Order

Practice 1 Results

Ryan Newman 18 For Dodge Avenger 500 1st Practice

Ryan Newman and the #12 Alltel Dodge team had their first practice at Darlington Raceway today for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Dodge Avenger 500

Newman had the 18 fastest practice speed of 161.902 mph / 30.374 sec.

Newman was -0.371 seconds behind the leader David Reutimann* who had a practice time of 163.904 / 30.003.



Practice 1 Results

Good luck to Ryan Newman and the #12 Alltel Dodge Penske Racing Team in the Dodge Avenger 500 at Darlington Raceway

Ryan Newman 5th Fastest In BOTH Busch Practices at Darlington

Ryan Newman and his #12 Kodak Busch Series Team posted 5th fastest practice times yesterday at Darlington Raceway.

His first practice time was 161.705 / 30.411 / -0.268

and his second was 162.131 / 30.331 / -0.091

Good luck to Nemwan and Team at Darlington Raceway for the Busch Series Diamond Hill Plywood 200.

Mike

Noting Newman - Darlington

NNCS
-- Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 12 Alltel Dodge Avenger, will make his ninth Cup Series start at Darlington Raceway and his 199th in the series.

-- Newman has an average start of 4.375 and an average finish of 11.5. He has seven top-10 starts at the track deemed ‘Too Tough to Tame’, including five from the top five. Newman has one pole — August 2003.

-- Newman has earned five top-10 finishes at Darlington, including four top-fives.

-- In eight previous races, Newman has led a total of 210 laps in six of those events. He has completed 2,671 laps of a possible 2,717, giving him a 98.3 percent completion rate.

-- In 2006, Newman had two consecutive top-10 finishes once during the season; an eighth at Richmond followed by a sixth-place finish at Darlington. Newman will be looking for his third consecutive top-10 finish at Darlington after a ninth-place finish at Talladega and a sixth Sunday at Richmond.

-- PRS-513: This chassis ran three weeks ago at Phoenix International Raceway. The car was strong and running in the top five before a miscommunication in the pits left the Alltel Dodge Avenger 11 laps down in the 38th position.

-- PRS-509: This COT car was tested at Richmond at the beginning of April, but has not been used during a race.

Newman On Darlington: “I’m really looking forward to Darlington. Obviously the Hendrick cars are the ones to beat, and from what I’ve heard, they got a head start on everybody with testing, and that kind of shows up. But the bottom line is I like Darlington and I look forward to going there because it’s a fun track for me. Our Car of Tomorrow program is strong. I’m not saying we can’t make it stronger, but it’s definitely strong right now.”

NBS
-- Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 12 Kodak Dodge Charger, will make his fourth Busch Series start at Darlington Raceway and his 33rd in the series.

-- Newman has an average start of 2.67 and an average finish of 20. He has two poles and a sixth-place start. He has a career-best, fourth-place finish at Darlington, which came in the fall of 2001.

-- Newman has led 37 laps in two events. He has completed 440 laps of a possible 441, giving him a 99.8 percent completion rate.

-- PBC-007: This chassis was used at Bristol and Nashville. Newman drove it to a fourth-place finish in Bristol, while Sam Hornish Jr. piloted the car into the 25th position at Nashville.

-- PBC-006: This car has not run this year.

Newman On Darlington: “I love racing at Darlington, it is by far my favorite track to drive. I’m excited about running the Busch race there. We had a good car there last year, but we had a fuel pump issue and just couldn’t fix it. These guys have done a good job giving me some great race cars in the Busch Series this year and I know we’ll have another good car this weekend, too.”

From - Penske Racing

Dale Earnhardt JR Leaving DEI - Becoming Free Agent

Dale Earnhardt JR held a press conference at his JR Motorsports race shop in Mooresville N.C. today announcing that he has decided to leave DEI at the end of 2007 and announced that he is a free agent.

Junior had said that he wanted a contract by May and that has not happened. And an added bonus for JR is that Budweiser’s contract ends with DEI at the same time JR’s contract ends. I can only imagine that Budweiser will follow JR. And the fan base that Junior has is next to none. In the press conference he did mention that the #8 was owned by the car owner and that he was pretty sure that DEI would want to keep that number, so a new number it is for JR…..but it will still be JR!

Dale Earnhardt JR is concerned with winning championships, not so much concerned about the money. In the press conference he said "This decision was based soley on my driving career not my personal thoughts on DEI. We still want that company to succeed." He also said "I think there's not one team that's going to lay a dollar figure out there that's going to be different than anyone else. Money is not the issue. It's not about the bigest paycheck. The person that allows me to accomplish what I want to accomplish on the race track and in this race shop is what Im looking at." He later followed up with, "… I'm disappointed so I expect my fans to be disappointed. Hopefully I can go accomplish the things that I want to accomplish and put on the show that I think I can put on and give my fans more to celebrate. I feel like over the last year or two I've short-changed my fans. I'm hoing to win some races and win some championships to give those guys what they are paying for."

With that said, that could be a big decision factor on which team he settles on. He did not say anything about already having made a deal with another team, in fact he stated "As far as a team is concerned, we will make that decision at a later date. It depends on what team wants me."But of course there is a lot of speculation. And what teams would that be? Who wouldn’t take him? But there is rumors about Hendricks and of course Richard Childress. Mike Dillon, VP of Completion with Childress Racing is quoted as saying they would love to have him, but by listening to the rumor mill, he does not believe that they are in the running.

In his press conference he explains how he still wants his fathers company (DEI) to be successful and to carry on his fathers legacy. He also stated that his father wanted him to be a big part of the company and that he (JR) did not feel like that was happening. Maybe in 20 year he said, but not right now.

I think a move for JR will be good for him. He obviously is not happy were he is and things are not going the way he wants them to. He can’t get what he wants out of DEI so why not make a fresh start and try to get some championships.

All in all JR is not happy at DEI. He does not believe that the company is going where his father had invisioned it going.

All of this comes after months and months of negotiation with Teressa Earnhardt (JR’s step-mom) and DEI. JR wanted 51% of the stake in DEI and felt that it should be given to him because it was his fathers team. I agree. But Teressa wanted to sell the shares to him for as much as $75 million.

Just a little note, JR is my second favorite racer. So I wish him the best of luck. He seems like a genuine nice guy that doesn’t take any flack from anyone. I like his style and his driving. Maybe he would like to drive dodges and join Ryan Newman at Penske Racing....now that would be cool. I highly doubt that as he stated that he wants to continue driving Chevy's and is happy with his relationship with Chevy.

GOOD LUCK JR!!!!

TRANSCRIPT OF PRESS CONFERENCE

Mike Pratt

Ryan Newman Busch Practice Today

Ryan Newman will be practicing for the Busch series today. These events are NOT televised, but here is the schedule.


051007 3:30 p.m. Diamond Hill Plywood 200 rookie practice
051007 4:20 p.m. Diamond Hill Plywood 200 practice
051007 6:30 p.m. Diamond Hill Plywood 200 final practice

Mike

New Ryan Newman Podcast after Richmond

Driver of the No. 12 Alltel Dodge Ryan Newman and XM Satellite Radio Host Claire B. Lang take a break from testing at Lowe's Motor Speedway to discuss last week's NASCAR Cup race at Richmond International Raceway, where the team scored its second consecutive top-10 finish.
They also chat about possible changes to qualifying, the recent dominance by Hendrick Motor Sports, as well as answer questions from the Alltel All Axcess Racing Mailbag.
Finally, Newman talks about the upcoming race at his favorite track - Darlington Raceway.

DOWNLOAD HERE

GO TO SITE HERE

Dodge Standings After Richmond

Nextel Cup
2007 Dodge Team Standings

DRIVER SERIES RANKING
Kurt Busch 9
Elliott Sadler 16
David Stremme 17
Bobby Labonte 18
Ryan Newman 19
Juan Pablo Montoya 21
Reed Sorenson 26
Kyle Petty 31
Kasey Kahne 32
Scott Riggs 36

Penske Racings Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch Working well

Well, now that Ryan Newman has a couple of top 10 finishes in a row and his teammate Kurt Busch is doing well also, I have been reading a lot of stories with titles like "Penske teams show good signs " , "Penske on verge of turnaround?", "Two more top-10 efforts boost Penske's stock" and "Welcome Back, Mr. Penske". I have been thumbing through these articles.

One big thing that is happening it seems like is that Newman and Busch seem to end up working together. It is great to have a team mate that you can work with.

This year Newman and Busch are sharing set ups and talking to each other about strategy. That is not how it has always been at Penske Racing. When Matt Borland was the crew chief for Ryan Newman's #12 Dodge, he kept a lot of the information about the #12 to himself and did not "share". And before that, Newman's team mate Rusty Wallace was calling his own shots so not much was exchanged there either.

Roger Penske has been quoted several times saying that the two teams are working closely and well together.

It seems to be working, and while I am not a Kurt Busch fan, I hope for Newman's sake that the two teams keep working closely with each other.

Keep an eye out, you will usually see the #12 and the #2 running one in front of the other or at least in the same vicinity. Usually the #2 is leading, but hopefully that will change as well.

Mike Pratt

Ryan Newman 5th Fastest At Tues. Lowes Practice

5. Ryan Newman, No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge, 185.401


1. Kurt Busch, No. 2 Penske Racing Dodge, 185.644
2. Ricky Rudd, No. 88 Robert Yates Racing Ford, 185.586
3. Jeremy Mayfield, No. 36 Bill Davis Racing Toyota, 185.478
4. AJ Allmendinger, No. 84 Team Red Bull Toyota, 185.408
5. Ryan Newman, No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge, 185.401
6. Paul Menard, No. 15 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet, 185.293
7. Ward Burton, No. 4 Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet, 185.255
8. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, 185.192
9. David Reutimann, No. 00 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota, 184.900
10. Sterling Marlin, No. 14 Ginn Racing Chevrolet, 184.887
11. Brian Vickers, No. 83 Team Red Bull Toyota, 184.496
12. Jon Wood, No. 21 Wood Brothers/JTG Racing Ford, 184.401
13. Clint Bowyer, No. 07 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, 184.332
14. Mike Bliss, No. 49 BAM Racing Dodge, 184.225
15. David Stremme, No. 40 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge, 184.074
16. Kenny Wallace, No. 78 Furniture Row Motorsports Chevrolet, 183.686
17. Kyle Busch, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, 183.586
18. Michael Waltrip, No. 55 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota, 183.175
19. Reed Sorenson, No. 41 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge, 183.113
20. Elliott Sadler, No. 19 Evernham Motorsports Dodge, 182.914
21. J.J. Yeley, No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet, 182.797
22. Mark Martin, No. 01 Ginn Racing Chevrolet, 182.791
23. Aric Almirola, No. 80 Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet, 182.642
24. Dale Jarrett, No. 44 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota, 182.506
24. John Andretti, No. 37 Front Row Motorsports Dodge, 182.506
26. Martin Truex Jr., No. 1 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet, 182.408
27. Robby Gordon, No. 7 Robby Gordon Motorsports Ford, 182.371
28. Bobby Labonte, No. 43 Petty Enterprises Dodge, 182.297
29. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, 182.192
30. David Gilliland, No. 38 Robert Yates Racing Ford, 182.168
31. Scott Riggs, No. 10 Valvoline Evernham Racing Dodge, 182.119
32. Jeff Green, No. 66 Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet, 181.965
33. Joe Nemechek, No. 13 Ginn Racing Chevrolet, 181.947
34. Kyle Petty, No. 45 Petty Enterprises Dodge, 181.806
35. Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet, 181.781
36. Jamie McMurray, No. 26 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, 181.763
37. Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, 181.739
38. Johnny Sauter, No. 70 Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet, 181.696
39. Jeff Burton, No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, 181.690
40. Carl Edwards, No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, 181.604
41. Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge, 181.561
42. David Ragan, No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, 181.366
43. Kasey Kahne, No. 9 Evernham Motorsports Dodge, 181.324
44. Casey Mears, No. 25 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, 181.087
45. Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, 181.062
46. Tony Stewart, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet, 180.971
47. Matt Kenseth, No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, 180.965
48. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet, 180.844
49. Tony Raines, No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing Chevrolet, 180.789
50. Chad McCumbee, No. 47 Petty Enterprises Dodge, 180.777
51. Dave Blaney, No. 22 Bill Davis Racing Toyota, 180.493

Ryan Newman's NASCAR Nextel Cup At Darlington Raceway schedule

Catch Ryan Newman and the Penske Racing #12 Alltel Dodge as they practice, qualify and race in the Dodge Avenger 500 at Darlington Raceway.

Newman will also be racing the #12 Kodak Dodge in the Busch Series this weekend.

Here is this weeks schedule!!

051007 3:30 p.m. Diamond Hill Plywood 200 rookie practice
051007 4:20 p.m. Diamond Hill Plywood 200 practice
051007 6:30 p.m. Diamond Hill Plywood 200 final practice
051107 10:30 a.m. Dodge Avenger 500 practice
051107 5 p.m. Diamond Hill Plywood 200 qualifying
051107 6:30 p.m. Dodge Avenger 500 final practice

051107 8 p.m. Diamond Hill Plywood 200

051207 7 p.m. Dodge Avenger 500

NASCAR BASICS - The Flags of NASCAR

I am going to start a new section for NASCAR basics, rules and regulations. So why not start with the flags of NASCAR.


Green

The track is clear and cars may proceed at speed. This flag is used to signal the beginning of the race and any restarts.



Yellow (caution)

The track is not clear, slow down and hold your position behind the pace car. This flag is used to signal an accident, debris caused by contract or mechanical failure, or weather-related issues. NASCAR rules allow cars to bunch up behind the leader. In most cases, lead-lap cars restart in the outside lane, while any lapped cars restart to the inside. In addition, a yellow flag during a practice session means cars should go to pits immediately.

Red

The track is unsafe and there is a situation that requires immediate attention. Cars must go to a designated location and stop. This flag is usually waved in cases of heavy precipitation, an accident which requires immediate medical assistance or if the track is blocked. In addition, NASCAR reserves the right to throw a red flag in the closing laps of a race to make sure the event ends under green conditions.

White

There is one lap remaining in the scheduled distance.




Checkered

The event has reached its scheduled distance and is complete.




Black

Come into the pits immediately for consultation. Normally, this flag is waved at an individual car, either because it has a mechanical problem or has broken a rule. Waved in combination with a red flag signals the end of a practice session.

Black with White Cross

Cars that refuse to acknowledge the black flag are shown this flag, which means NASCAR will no longer score them until they come into the pits for consultation.


Blue with Yellow Stripe

Pay attention to your mirrors, because a faster car is approaching from behind. Contrary to popular opinion, this flag does not make it mandatory that slower cars must move over for the leader of the race. This flag gets a workout at tracks like Bristol and Martinsville, where traffic becomes a major factor.


Yellow with Red Vertical Stripes

Used only on road courses by corner workers, held or waved to signify debris or slippery conditions ahead.

Ryan Newman and the Darlington Raceway

Ryan Newman and Penske Racing's #12 Alltel Dodge NASCAR Nextel Cup Team go racing at the Darlington Raceway for the Dodge Avenger 500

Darlington Raceway is located in Darlington, SC. It is a 1.366 Mile Oval 23-25 degree banking track. Turns 1 and 2 have 25 degree banking while turns 3 and 4 have 23 degrees of banking. The frontstretch is 1229 feet long with 2 degrees of banking and the backstretch is 1229 feet long with 2 degrees banking.


Darlington Raceway has a Nextel Cup Race Record of 139.958 by Dale Earnhardt on 3/28/1993, and a top Nextel Cup qualifying record of 173.797 by Ward Burton on 3/23/1996.


Out of the last 8 races Dodge's have won 1 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 Darlington Raceway.Newmans record at here is good. He has raced here 8 times with 1 pole(s), 0 win(s), 4 top 5's and 5 top 10 finishes.


Newman has an AVG start here of 4.4 and an AVG finish of 11.5. Newman has also completed 98.42% of all laps he has raced here and led 210 laps out of those 8 races.


Ryan Newmans record at intermediates is good. Out of 128 races he has 11 win, 38 top 5's and 54 top 10 finishes. His intermediate average starting position is 7.9 with an average finishing position of 15.8.


Good luck to Ryan Newman and the Penske Racing's #12 Alltel Dodge NASCAR Nextel Cup Team at Darlington Raceway for the Dodge Avenger 500 this coming week and weekend!!!


Mike Pratt

Newman earns second consecutive top-10 finish

RICHMOND, Va. – For the second straight week, Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 12 Alltel Dodge Avenger, avoided serious problems and multiple wrecks to earn his second consecutive top-10 with a sixth-place finish Sunday at Richmond International Raceway.

Newman, who qualified 30th on Friday night, and the entire 43-car field had to wait an extra day to get the Crown Royal presents the Jim Stewart 400 in the record books after rain postponed Saturday night’s race.

The rain began right before the green flag was scheduled to wave on Saturday night and NASCAR started the race under green-yellow conditions. After 13 laps, NASCAR red-flagged the field and at around 9 p.m. EDT, officials told the teams to pack up their equipment and return to RIR Sunday at 10 a.m. EDT.

Newman and crew chief Mike Nelson had a little fun during Saturday night's green-yellow laps.

“Three-hundred and ninety laps to go Ryan,” Nelson radioed to his driver.

“Ten-4. Are we still 30th?” Newman replied.

“Yep. You’re nice and consistent out there.”

“I can’t seem to break this traffic.”

When Sunday morning rolled around, Newman was still in the 30th position, but this time, there would be 400 laps to go, as NASCAR reset the field to start at the beginning since none of Saturday night’s laps had been run under green-flag conditions.

The team was told a competition yellow would be thrown by NASCAR around lap 40 and that no one was to take fuel before that caution period; teams could only come in for adjustments and tires.

The corners gave Newman the most trouble on Sunday, as he fought a loose condition in his car on entry and exit at each end of the track. When NASCAR threw the competition yellow on lap 40, Nelson brought Newman down pit road for four tires and fuel and one round of wedge in the left rear to help tighten the car.

“The car is better on entry and exit,” Newman told his crew after the first stop. “It’s a little tight in the center, but I think that’s mostly aero tight. I’d rather have it better on entry and exit as two good areas are better than one.”

Newman was able to fight his way through traffic on Sunday and had bettered his starting position by 24 spots by the time the checkered flag flew on lap 400. Newman constantly fought a loose condition in his car throughout the race, but the Alltel Dodge team kept working on the car during subsequent stops and helped Newman drive his way to the sixth position.

“We had a good run, for sure, in this Alltel Dodge,” Newman said after he climbed from his car following the race. “Both Penske cars did. Kurt Busch was definitely a little bit better than me for most of the day, but the guys did a good job playing strategy and everything else to get ahead of those guys. It was almost a top five and that would have been nice, but it was a good run for us, nevertheless.”

The Alltel pit crew improved on its stops as the day progressed, starting with a 14.95-second stop and then going down to a 12.79-second stop on the final four-tire change on lap 319.

Just after the race's mid-point, Newman broke into the top 10 on lap 202 and eventually made it into the lead on lap 207, earning five bonus points before making a green-flag stop when Nelson called for four tires, fuel and one round of wedge in the right rear.

For many laps, Newman hovered in the 11th position and didn’t return to the top 10 until lap 295. Newman fell back to 11th for seven laps, but a two-tire stop allowed Newman to restart the race in the 10th position. Newman would remain in the top 10 for the rest of the race.

Due to four caution periods for 19 laps, Newman had a hard time picking up positions on the track. On the final restart on lap 381, Newman was in seventh behind Tony Stewart. Stewart, who had damage to the front of his car, fought with Newman in the closing laps in order to keep the Alltel Dodge from gaining another spot. However, Stewart couldn’t hold off the charging Newman and the Alltel Dodge ended up the victor with the sixth-place finish.

With his second top-10 finish in as many weeks, Newman moved up to 19th in the drivers’ standings – a five-position jump, the highest jump for the week. Newman is now 120 points out of the 12th position and 693 points behind points’ leader Jeff Gordon.

Next weekend, Newman will drive the No. 12 Alltel Dodge Avenger in the Dodge Avenger 500 at Darlington Raceway. The race will be broadcast live Saturday on FOX and MRN Radio beginning at 7 p.m. EDT. Newman will also return to the NASCAR Busch Series in the No. 12 Kodak Dodge Charger for the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 on Friday night. That race begins at 8 p.m. EDT on ESPN2 and MRN Radio.

Ryan Newman Finishes 6th at Richmond

Ryan Newman and his #12 Alltel Dodge team finished 6th at Richmond International Speedway after starting 30th. This is two great top 10 weekends in a row form Newman and his Penske Racing team.

This weekends race brought Newman up 5 positions in the standings to 19th place and only 120 points behind 12th.

I was unable to watch this weekends race due to my being on vacation. Actually I was fully prepared to watch it Saturday Night, but due to the rain, I was was forced to be heading back home during the race and even had trouble catching it on the radio. So I am unable to let you know exactly what happened with Newman and the team. Obviosly they did pretty good.

I do have my stats table updated reflecting Newmans stats after Richmond. I will have the site updated for Darlington soon. I am still unpacking after getting in this morning at 6am after a 12 hour drive last night. I should be caught up soon.

OH YEAH....I had a blast on vactaion and some pics are on my MySpace.

Mike Pratt