Newest Ryan Newman Fan / NASCAR Fan On The Way - It's a Girl

I don't post much personal stuff on here, but I am very excited.

My girlfriend and I found out a couple of months ago that she was pregnant. We are both very excited and plan on getting married next summer - so I guess she is my fiance.

We found out on Thursday that we are having a girl. We are both very excited!!! We were both leaning towards wanting a boy for a couple of minor reasons, but the ultrasound tech said it was a girl and I could tell Jeni wanted to cry (out of joy). I must admit I was a little choked up too for the same reason. Me and my little princess!!!

Her name will be, or is I quess Faith Ann!!

My girlfriend and her son T.J. live with me. T.J. is one reason we were "leaning" towards wanting a boy. He is currently 14 months old and my brother and I were almost exactly 2 years apart from each other (me being the oldest) and grew up being best friends. The other minor reason for me wanting a boy is that my family name ends with me (that might actually be a good thing..hahahah). But we plan on going for more, so maybe next time...or the time after...or the time......wait....we will have to quit sometime!!!!

But a little girl. WOW. I told my Jeni that she is definetly going to have to be the stong hand with Faith. I just can't imagine my little girl looking up at me and me having to punish her!! Now T.J. (I consider him mine, and he really only knows me.....I am dad) I can punish. Another boy.....I can punish.......but my little princess?? WOW!

Anyway's, thanks for reading.......I (we) am SO EXITED I can barely contain myself.

So, even at 14 months, T.J. will get "engrossed" with the cars on T.V. on Sundays. So I am hoping that Faith will be the same way.

Jeni has already informed me that Faith IS NOT coming home from the hospital in a NASCAR outfit. Oh well, I win some of the fights...maybe :)

Mike, Jeni, T.J. and Faith.

Ryan Newman Qualified 4th for the Citizens Bank 400.

Ryan Newman has qualified 4th for the Citizens Bank 400 at the Michigan International Speedway. Newman had a speed of 186.596 / 38.586 / -0.187.

Today's 4th place qualifying will give Newman and his #12 NASCAR Nextel Cup Team and average start this season of 16.67.

J.J. Yeley got the pole position for the Citizens Bank 400 with a time of 184.8 / 38.961.

Good luck to Ryan Newman and the #12 Alltel Dodge Penske Racing Team in the Citizens Bank 400 at Michigan International Speedway


Qualifying Order

Practice 1 Results

Practice 2 Results

Practice 3 Results

RYan Newman's Practice Results At Michigan International Speedway-32nd, 9th and 20th

PRACTICE 1
Newman had the 32nd fastest practice speed of 183.861 mph / 39.16 sec.

Newman was -0.604 seconds behind the leader Martin Truex Jr. who had a practice time of 186.741 / 38.556.

PRACTICE 2
Newman had the 9 fastest practice speed of 184.37 mph / 39.052 sec.

Newman was -0.459 seconds behind the leader Carl Edwards who had a practice time of 186.562 / 38.593.

PRACTICE 3
Newman had the 20 fastest practice speed of 180.982 mph / 39.783 sec.

Newman was -0.822 seconds behind the leader Carl Edwards who had a practice time of 184.8 / 38.961.

Practice 3 Results

Practice 2 Results

Practice 1 Results

Qualifying Order

Dodge Qualifying Quotes from Michigan

RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 alltel Dodge Charger)
“The alltel Dodge was good with the race laps we ran in practice, and I’m just looking forward to the race. It’s nice to start up front to get a good pit selection. I like this track a lot. It’s a fun racetrack. It’s not real hard to drive. It’s a lot more fun to race than it is to qualify because of how wide it is. You can draft down the straightaways and have fun in the corners. I just look forward to the race on Sunday. We’ve got a good alltel Dodge.

KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger)
“I think the racetrack is all right. An early draw probably isn’t the best thing today but Biffle went fifth tenths quicker than we did, so it’s working for him. They’re pretty quick. We’re all right. The car is driving decent. We’ll keep working on it and hopefully have a good racecar for Sunday. I’m looking forward to it. We won this race last year, so it would be nice to run up front again this weekend.”

KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger)
“It was a pretty good lap for the Miller Lite Dodge. We had everything in the car we needed. We made the right adjustments. The track temperature was just a little bit warm. That made it a little tight in turn four. I think the track will stay consistent for everybody and we should see the fastest car sit on the pole today. I heard (Kyle Busch) ran a good time, and I thought we had it in our car. We just didn’t get through turn four as clean as we needed to. We were just a little bit on the tight side. We’re happy with that. I don’t know where we’ll end up, but we should be able to see the front.”

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA (No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge Charger)
“The first lap was OK. The second lap was a lot better, but the second lap is normally slower. We ran about the same speed we ran in practice. I think there’s a lot more in the car.”

REED SORENSON (No. 41 Target Dodge Charger)
“It felt really good. We just weren’t as fast as we were in practice. This is a brand new car. We were in race trim for a little bit this morning, and it felt really good. We should be fine. I thought we were a lot faster. I was really surprised it wasn’t.”

SCOTT RIGGS (No. 10 Valvoline/Stanley Tools Dodge Charger)
“I’m pretty happy. A lot of guys seem to be slowing down, but we picked up. I’m glad we took our time and made the right decisions. It’s nerve-racking every Friday. You’ve got to make sure you get in the show, and it sort of puts you behind in your race preparation. You miss that because you’re so focused on going fast for two laps.”

JOHN ANDRETTI (No. 45 American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge Charger)
“We made some changes and we were better. It was just like another day of practice. I think we did something that if I’d had more experience maybe I wouldn’t have done. The guys did a great job. We’ll start from wherever we start and go from there. Qualifying is one thing and racing is another. I’ll feel good about the car on Sunday by then for sure.”

DAVID STREMME (No. 40 Coors Light Dodge Charger)
“I just tried to hit my marks and get through one and two the best I could. The guys did a great job and gave me a great car. Now I’ve got to get to Kentucky for the Busch race tonight.”

BOBBY LABONTE (No. 43 Cheerios/Dodge Charger)
“We worked all day getting the car to turn. Obviously we’ve still got some work left to do, but I think we’ll be in good shape Sunday.”

ELLIOTT SADLER (No.19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger)
“We’ve got some work to do on our Dodge Charger to get it ready for Sunday, but I’m confident our guys will get this car where it needs to be. This is a big track where you have lots of room to pass, so we’ll use that to our advantage on Sunday to work our way up through the field.”

Can I Still Be A Dale Earnhardt JR Fan With JR at Hendrick?

Absolutely I can!!! Why not? Because I really don't like Gordon and Johnson? That sounds silly. I am obviously a Ryan Nemwan Fan and I really don't like Kurt Busch. So why can't I be a Dale Earnhardt JR fan and still "strongly dislike" Gordon and Johnson? The answer is that I can.

JR fans should not be discouraged by this what so ever. And despite what a lot of people seem to think, Dale JR and Gordon are friends. Gordon and Johnson definetly have something going right over at Hendricks, so why can't Dale JR feed off of that and make himself better. I honestly don't think it will be long before JR is the star in that camp (you know what I mean).

So, in my humble opinion, all this talk about JR fans being upset is.....crazy. If your a Dale JR fan you should be excited. Good things should happen for him over at Hendrick. If your a fan, that should be what you want to see - a good thing happening for your driver.

How great will that be to see Dale Earnhardt JR pass his team mates Gordon and Johnson for the win.....at the Daytona 500 even. GOD, doesn't that sound sweet!!!

And let's not forget one important thing during all these talks about Dale Earnhardt JR............ROOT FOR NEWMAN AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY THIS WEEKEND....IF SOMEONE NEEDS A WIN RIGHT NOW IT IS RYAN NEWMAN AND HIS #12 ALLTEL DODGE.

Ryan Newman Finsihes 4th at Michigan' Berlin Raceway

LOCAL NEWS
GRAND RAPIDS-- Nextel Cup star Ryan Newman arrived at Berlin Raceway about 45 minutes before his race's scheduled start Wednesday.

Racing in the FOX 17 150, Newman flew in from Virginia, where he was testing his NASCAR ride all day.

Not able to qualify for the event, Newman started the 150 lap race at the back of the field in 17th position.

By lap 47, Newman had worked his way into the top five, eventually reaching third place. A string of caution laps, however, kept his car from the top spot, eventually finishing in fourth.

After running the first 47 laps of the race without caution, the remainder was marred by yellow flags.

Winning the race was Ron Gregory, the fastest qualifier earlier in the day. Gregory held off Newman's teammate Dave Darland for the win.

Finishing the top five were Brian Tyler, Ryan Newman and Bobby East.

berlin raceway

It's Official - JR is going to Hendricks!

Dale Earnhardt JR and Rick Hendrick announced today that JR will be driving for Hendrick in 2008 and beyond.

This is a great move for JR's career. He said that he wanted to win championships. I think for his sake he went to the right place.

It is not clear what car number JR will be driving. Hendrick did say that he would listen to what DEI had to say if they wanted to give up the #8. Chances of that happening are pretty slim.

The internet is "all a buzz" about JR fans leaving JR because of the Gordon "thing". Whatever! If you are a JR fan, then your a JR fan.

And Kyle Busch released a statement saying that he and Hendrick could not come to an agreement on a contract, so that Hendrick agreed to let him go. That tells me that Hendrick did not boot him out to make room for JR. But who knows.

Dale Earnhardt JR Press Conference WED 11 a.m. - Hendricks Lets Kyle Busch Go

Title should say it all.

Dale JR is having a press conference tommorrow at 11 am from his JR Motorsports facility. It will be about his future and future team for 2008 and on. It has not been said where he will go, but...........

In possibly related news, Hendricks has supposedly let Kyle Busch go.

HHMMMM. I wonder where JR may be going.

The Charlotte observer has reported that "the Observer confirmed that Richard Childress was out of the country on vacation with members of his family. Officials at Joe Gibbs Racing told scenedaily.com that the company would not be involved in a news conference today, and Ginn Racing said the same thing to the Observer."

Now, nothing is concrete until we here it from the man himself, but I think it is pretty obvious.

I think that this is great for JR. Kyle Busch??? Who cares?? I don't. The bad part for me is that if JR wins alot next year, then I have to be happy that Hendricks won.....yes another race. How many people will be screaming "Hendricks won again" in agony if it is JR. Probably not to many. Except, to be truthful, I don't want to see my guy win every week. It would get boring.

And for the conspiracy people. UH-OH....now NASCAR can help out JR, Gordon and Johnson. Maybe they can throw flag just right to get all three in the top 3.

For those who don't know, JR is my #2 favorite.

Well, more to follow. This at least looks like a done deal. But, you can't always judge a book by it's cover.

Charlotte Observer Story

Ryan Newman Foundation Updates

Newmans to sign Pit Road Pets at Meaty Bone tent on Saturday, June 16 in MI

Ryan and Krissie Newman will sign copies of the charity book, Pit Road Pets: NASCAR Stars and Their Pets, during the upcoming Michigan weekend. The book signing will be held on Saturday, June 16, 2007 from 3:30 to 4:30 PM at the Meaty Bone tent located in the Juniper Hills Campground across from Michigan International Speedway's main gate.

The book signing will be limited to the first 125 fans holding an autograph session ticket. Autograph session tickets may be picked up at the Meaty Bone tent beginning Friday, June 15 from 1:00 to 5:00 PM and Saturday, June 16 from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

Fans may either bring a previously purchased copy of the book to the signing or purchase the book at Newman's Motorsports Authentics trackside souvenir rig. Newman will sign up to two copies of Pit Road Pets in addition to one other item per person.

For more information about this book signing and the games and contests at the Meaty Bone tent this weekend, visit Pit Road Pets Book Signings.

Newmans accept $300,000 donation from the ASPCA to the Humane Alliance National Spay/Neuter Response Team

The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) today announced a $300,000 sponsorship for the Humane Alliance of Western North Carolina's National Spay/Neuter Response Team (NSNRT) to provide a strategic training program and facilitators to mentor organizations to open and operate 12 new high-volume, high quality spay/neuter clinics across the country in 2007.

Ed Sayres, president of the ASPCA, presented the $300,000 pledge to Humane Alliance director Quita Mazzina and NSNRT spokespeople Ryan and Krissie Newman at the Humane Society of Catawba County (HSCC), which will operate one of the model spay/neuter clinics, in Hickory , NC . The clinic will be part of the Humane Society’s multipurpose animal welfare facility that is currently under construction.

The Humane Society of Catawba County's Spay/Neuter clinic is being built through a $400,000 donation from the Ryan Newman Foundation. Ryan and Krissie Newman are the national spokespeople for the Humane Alliance's National Spay/Neuter Response Team (NSNRT) and honorary capital campaign co-chairs for the Humane Society of Catawba County. HSCC still has to raise an additional $300,000 to complete the capital campaign for their no-kill animal shelter, education center and spay/neuter clinic that is scheduled to open in November 2007.

The NSNRT operates much like a NASCAR pit crew, sending groups of trained vets and veterinary technicians to help nonprofit organizations learn how to open spay/neuter clinics using the Humane Alliance model.

A total of 22 organizations around the country--including the Humane Society of Catawba County--have applied to open spay/neuter clinics, and a minimum of 12 of the 22 will open this year with help from the ASPCA's funding of the NSNRT. These organizations will partner with hundreds of local animal shelters and rescue groups in their regions across the nation.

The Humane Alliance of Western North Carolina is a non-profit high volume, high quality, affordable spay/neuter clinic located in Asheville . Since its inception 12 years ago, The Humane Alliance clinic has sterilized 180,000 companion animals and reduced the euthanasia rate in the Asheville community by an astounding 72 percent.

Through the NSNRT initiative, which began in 2005, the Humane Alliance’s team of facilitators has mentored 21 organizations across the nation to successfully implement its high volume, high quality spay/neuter model. More than 200,000 companion animals have been surgically sterilized at these clinics in just two short years. NSNRT has already trained six organizations so far this year.

Win a Ranger Boat!

HOLD THE DATE: Charity fishing tournament scheduled for Saturday, December 8, 2007 -- VIP Dinner/Auction on Dec 7

Join Ryan Newman and friends for the 2nd Annual Ryan Newman Foundation Charity Fishing Tournament, sponsored by Ranger Boats and facilitated by FLW Outdoors.
Mark your calendars for the Second Annual Ryan Newman Foundation Celebrity Charity Fishing Tournament, which is scheduled for Saturday, December 8, 2007 on Lake Norman in North Carolina. This year registration will be held in the late afternoon on Friday, December 7, 2007 followed by the VIP Reception and Auction in Mooresville. VIP Reception tickets will be sold separately. Additional details will be announced soon via email and the Ryan Newman Foundation website.

Ryan Newman's #12 Penske Racing Alltel Dodge pit crew claimed victory in the NASCAR Nextel Pit Crew Challenge on May 16th. The team’s first win in the event netted the crew $70,000. Additionally, The NASCAR Foundation made an $11,000 donation to the charity of team's choice, which was the Ryan Newman Foundation. The winning crew accepted the donation check for their win, which was presented to Ryan Newman and Ryan Newman Foundation Executive Director Rosalie De Fini at the NASCAR Day Telethon on Friday, May 18th.

Newman says, "I am incredibly proud of my guys. They work hard, and they finally got the recognition they deserve. Krissie and I really appreciate the team choosing our foundation for the NASCAR Foundation donation. That will go a long way in helping us fulfill the mission of our foundation."

Free Pit Road Pets posters at Kmart beginning June 26
The Meaty Bone brand, Ryan Newman Foundation and Kmart and are bringing exclusive NASCAR collectibles to Kmart shoppers. Beginning June 26, 2007 consumers who purchase two Meaty Bone or Chew-lotta products at any participating Kmart will get a free Pit Road Pets™: NASCAR Stars and Their Pets poster. The exclusive posters feature NASCAR drivers like Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman and Mark Martin and their pets. These posters are only available at Kmart through the month of July while supplies last.


info from the ryan newmna foundation newsletter

Ryan Newman and the Michigan International Speedway

Welcome to Michigan International Speedway located in Brooklyn, MI.

Ryan Newman and his Penske Racing #12 Alltel Dodge will be racing here this weekend in the Citizens Bank 400.

Michigan International Speedway


***Location : Brooklyn, MI
***Completed : 1968
***Distance : 2 miles
***Shape : D-shaped oval
***Seating : 137,243


***Nextel Cup Top Race Speed : 173.997 by Dale Jarrett on 6/13/1999
***Nextel Cup Top Qualifying Speed : 194.232 by Ryan Newman on 6/18/2005


MANUFATURER WINS AT Michigan International Speedway SINCE 2002
DODGE = 4
FORD = 6
CHEVROLET = 0


NEWMAN'S STATS AT Michigan International Speedway

STARTS = 11>>>Poles = 1>>>Wins = 2>>>Top 5 = 4>>>Top 10 = 4

Avg Start = 9.5>>>Avg Finish = 14.8>>>%Laps Comp = -0.8932>>>Laps Led = 92

NEWMAN'S STATS AT Intermediate Track 's
Races = 132>>>Wins = 11>>>Top 5 = 41>>>Top 10 = 57>>>Average Start = 8.1>>>Average Finish = 17

-- Newman and the Alltel team will use chassis PRS-071 this weekend. It was last used at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 600. Newman won his first of three consecutive Bud Pole Awards with this car, but an engine failure eliminated him from the race. This chassis also ran in Texas, Las Vegas and Atlanta. The backup car is chassis PRS-053. It was tested at LMS in May, but has not been used in a race.

Newman On Michigan: “Michigan is my favorite track to race at. You can have really good side-by-side racing there and it’s a fast track. I’m excited to get to Michigan. We’ve been running so well and this is my home track. I have a lot of great memories here. We are so close to getting our next win and it would be awesome to get that win at Michigan. We’ve done it here before and this Alltel Dodge team has been working so hard and given me really fast race cars. I think we’re definitely capable of winning this weekend.”

Good luck to Ryan Newman and the Penske Racing's #12 Alltel Dodge NASCAR Nextel Cup Team at Michigan International Speedway for the Citizens Bank 400 this coming week and weekend!!!


Mike Pratt

Newman comes up short again, but sees big picture

Newman Reacts After Race Is Canceled The Rest Of The Pocono 500

LONG POND, Pa. -- For a guy who came within a car-length of winning Sunday's rain-soaked Pocono 500, Ryan Newman was in a pretty good mood.

If the rain that finally ended a very long and soggy day had waited just a few more seconds -- say, half a lap -- it might have been Newman walking to his first Victory Lane celebration since late in the 2005 season at Dover.

"Unfortunately, the rain came on the wrong lap," Newman said. "I'm not mad by any means. I won my first race because it rained out and got too dark. I guess it's only right I lose one that way at some point."

Even though Newman was rapidly gaining ground on eventual winner Jeff Gordon -- going from 3.2 seconds back to even with Gordon's door in a span of four laps -- he knew his chances of winning were all wet.

"It rained on me the lap before that and when we came back around, it rained even harder," Newman said. "It was pouring at that point. It's all in safety."

Team owner Roger Penske said the timing for his driver was unfortunate, but that's part of the strategy.

"We saw the rain was coming," Penske said. "Ryan had a good run there but at [that point in] the day, unfortunately, you can't wreck a bunch of cars because it's wet. They might have called it a little bit later but we've got to be careful we're not too greedy.

"We're trying to get into the top 12. I look at the weekend and say we made a lot of progress."

Penske said the finish reminded him of this year's Indianapolis 500, when impending rain wiped out the efforts of faster cars, including his own.

"We had the same situation at Indy," he said. "The rain came four minutes too soon there. It maybe came 10 seconds too soon [here]. But on the other hand, I think we just have to say, 'Hey, good race here, safe race and let's move on to Michigan."

Newman admitted that the ways things played out, there was little he could do except accept his second-place finish, his fifth top-10 run in the past six races.

"It's just the way it worked out," he said. "Obviously, we were four feet short, but there is no controversy about it. There was no way to get the race started back again. We felt like we had it all figured out until they called it."

A debris caution on Lap 64 turned out to be the deciding factor. Knowing no one could make it to the halfway point without another stop, Newman and crew chief Mike Nelson went ahead and pitted for two tires and fuel, as did many of the lead-lap cars. However, Gordon rolled the dice and stayed on the track, taking the lead with Newman restarting seventh.

"[Gordon was] in position track position-wise to stay out and get some clean air," Newman said. "They did what they could. They did what they had to do. Their car was still fast enough to stay out front even when they were off sequence."

Even though Gordon pitted on Lap 83, handing the lead back to Newman, it was just a matter of time before the No. 12 would have to head down pit road -- which happened eight laps later. That put Gordon back in front with more than enough fuel to hang on, but struggling to get around Tony Raines.

That gave both Newman and third-place Martin Truex Jr. some hope that they could complete the pass before the rains came.

"The 96 [Raines] was holding the 24 [Gordon] up pretty good for both of us," Newman said. "Jeff cleared him in Turn 1 and I had a run on both of them coming off. It just wasn't quite enough by the time I got to Turn 2.

"Jeff saw the rain for the first time the lap the caution came out. He checked up because he didn't know how hard it was raining. I just kept the pedal to the metal and came up four feet short or whatever."

All in all, Newman was also pleased with the long-term view. With his second consecutive second-place finish, Newman advanced to 13th in the standings -- 22 behind Mark Martin for what would be the final spot in this season's Chase for the Nextel Cup.

"[The rain] was unfortunate for us, but looking back at this come Chase time, you can't kick about one spot, maybe two spots, I hope, when it comes to making the Chase," he said.

---nascar.com

Gordon Wins Pocono Due To Rain - Conspiracy??

Jeff Gordon won the Pocono 500 after a yellow flag was brought out for rain on the 105th lap. Newman was just about half a car length away from completing the pass for 1st place at that moment.

I was amazed (OK, not really) at how the internet lit up with everyone yelling that NASCAR and Gordon were in bed together. Supposedly (I did not actually here it) seconds before the yellow came out and Gordon was being passed, Gordon came on the radio and said something to the effect that his breaks had gone and he needed help........then the yellow dropped.

Let's set this straight. If the flag had dropped 30 seconds prior or 10 seconds later (Newman would have probably passed), there probably would not be this "conspiracy mentality".

Newman, being the classy guy that he is, even said that it was raining on that end on the track on the prior lap and that by the time they came back around, the yellow should have been thrown because it was raining hard. He did not seem to have a problem with it at all. It even almost seemed like he backed off a little to let Gordon stay in the lead.

That could also be because he may have got a better finish than he would have if the race continued. Congradulations to Newman on the 2nd place finish, but in all reality Truex JR, Hamlin and some others had very good cars.

Here are some of Newman's quotes on the deal.

"Unfortunately, the rain came on the wrong lap," Newman said. "I'm not mad by any means. I won my first race because it rained out and got too dark. I guess it's only right I lose one that way at some point."

"It rained on me the lap before that, and when we came back around it rained even harder," said Newman, who led twice for 20 laps. "It was pouring at that point. It's all in safety. ...

"Obviously we were four feet short, but there is no controversy about it. In future reference, there was no way to get the race started back again. They would have had to make a controversial call at that point to shorten the race to a certain lap number with certain teams off sequence. We felt like we had it all figured out until they called it."

Of course the Tony Stewart/WWE comments were brought up as well. And while I KIND OF agreed with Stewart only because there does seem to be a lot of "debris" cautions and some do seem to fall at the right times for certain people, I did not buy into it being a big conspiracy.

And I am not going to allow myself to fall into for this race either. Newman did a great job. He got his 3rd straight pole (4th of the season) and finished 2nd for the last 2 races. He led laps again this race - about 20. He comes out of Pocono with 4 poles, 3 top 5's and 6 top 10's. 5 of the last six races have been top 10's. Can't really complain about that. Newman and his #12 Alltel Dodge team had a slow start this season and seem to be picking up steam now. 1 or 2 more good finishes and Newman will be in the top 12 for the chase. He is currently only 22 behind twelth.

So, all you Newman fans.......be happy. 2nd place is great and his win(s) are coming.

To all you Gordon haters (I am pretty much in this catagory) - oh well....he got another one, but I really don't think NASCAR made the desicion wether or not he was going to win.

Mike

Rain Delayed Pocono 500 - Rained Out At Lap 106 - Ryan Newman Finishes 2nd

Ryan Newman definetly had a car to beat today for the Pocono 500 after qualifying for the pole on Friday.

Newman led the field to the green flag at about 10 after 5 p.m. He did not lead lap one and fell back to about 5th before the lap was over. That was the farthest he fell back. After a couple pits, Newman car was looking very good. He had the car to beat.

On lap 64 the caution was thrown out for debris. A handful of cars stay out and the rest come in to the pits. Newman restarted about 8th and in no time was up to 5, then 3rd.

Teams and NASCAR start watching the radar at about lap 75 as more rain is moving in.

Then at about the half way mark, Nemwan was knocking on Gordon's bumper. The caution came out on lap 104 due to the rain. With only about a half a car length left to past Gordon for first place, the caution came out leaving Nemwan in 2nd.

At lap 107 the red flag came out for the track being wet. The rain ends pretty quick and they attempt to get the track dry. The problem is that it is also getting dark and is taking a long time to get the track dry.

At 7:35 p.m. NASCAR calls the race.

Ryan Newman and his #12 Alltel Dodge finished 2nd. The way his car was handling at the red flag, this could have been Newman's first win. But a a 2nd place finish here puts Nemwan in 13th just 22 points behind Mark Martin in 12th.

1. Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet
2. Ryan Newman, Dodge
3. Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet
4. Casey Mears, Chevrolet
5. Tony Stewart, Chevrolet
6. Denny Hamlin, Chevrolet
7. Mark Martin, Chevrolet
8. Kyle Busch, Chevrolet
9. Matt Kenseth, Ford
10. Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet

Unofficial Results

Engines fired in rain-delayed Pocono 500 Ryan Newman Leads The Field to Green

LONG POND, Pa. - The track is dry and the rain-delayed Pocono 500 is about to start. The race was delayed by a rain shower that hit the track about a 90 minutes before the scheduled start.

The engines were scheduled to be fired at 2:09 p.m. EDT for the race on the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway, but track personnel were still drying the racing surface at that time. Because the track is 2.5 miles, it takes 90 minutes to two hours to dry the track. With rain continuing throughout the afternoon, it was 4:40 p.m. EDT before the engines were actually started and drivers pulled onto the track.

According to the National Weather Service's Web site, there is a 30 percent chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms for the remainder of the day.

Penske: No decision on Hornish in a third Penske Cup car for ‘08

Nextel Cup team owner Roger Penske said that said rumors of Indy Car driver Sam Hornish, Jr moving to a third Penske Cup entry are premature and that no decision has been made.

“We haven’t made any commitment on [a third team] at this point,” Penske said Sunday prior to the Pocono 500. “There’s lots of speculation. Sam has run some Busch races, is going to run ARCA in fact at Michigan next week. We’ve got a lot of moving parts right now, and I’m not committing to a third team at this point at all.”

As far as Hornish possibly making his Nextel Cup debut in the Allstate 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Penske said that won’t happen.

“We need to go to the Brickyard with the 2 [of Kurt Busch] and the 12 [of Ryan Newman] and execute there,” he said. “We don’t have a car. We need to go with our two best guys there and let him complete his season. We’re done in September [with the IRL], which gives him a lot of time to run some races, which would give him a real opportunity to see where we are.”