'A World in Motion' PSA Starring Ryan Newman to Debut

WARRENDALE, Pa., July 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Our world needs young engineers, and Ryan Newman, driver of the Alltel Dodge for Penske Racing in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, is promoting an SAE International program designed to fulfill that need.

Newman is featured in a television public service announcement promoting SAE International's "A World in Motion," an award-winning educational program that focuses on the study of math and science for students in grades K through 12.

The PSA, which has received Ad Council endorsement, will debut beginning Monday, July 23, in the Indianapolis market. The timing coincides with the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, the NASCAR Nextel Cup race set for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 29.

Newman received a Bachelor of Science degree in Vehicle Structure Engineering from Purdue University in August 2001, and before that was a member of the National Honor Society and an honors graduate of South Bend LaSalle High School in 1996.

For more information, visit http://pr.sae.org and click on the World in Motion icon in the lower right corner of the page.

ANALYSIS: Numbers don't always add up for Cup cars

It's not the rules.

Amid growing unrest among team owners on the wrong side of NASCAR's rule guaranteeing the top 35 teams spots in each Nextel Cup field, a Charlotte Observer analysis of several potential alterations leads to the same conclusion.

As long as there are more than 43 full-time teams in stock-car racing's top series, and as long as that's how many cars get to race in each Cup event, somebody will go home. And they won't be happy.

In the first 10 races this season, traditional qualifying was held eight times. The exceptions were the Daytona 500, which has its own procedure, and at Texas, where qualifying was rained out.

For the eight races in which traditional qualifying was held, 8.1 percent of the cars making the fields would have changed if NASCAR had allowed in the fastest 43.

Only 7.6 percent would have differed if the top 12 teams were exempt, and it would've been only 6.4 percent if the top 25 were exempt. If NASCAR were using its old format, with 36 cars qualifying on speed and seven provisionals, there would have been a 3.5 percent difference.

Those numbers, as small as they are, are higher than they would be without the season's first Talladega, Ala., race.

Under impound rules for that event, cars had to race in set-ups in which they qualified. So teams not guaranteed spots had to go with qualifying set-ups, while exempt cars were in race trim. Seven cars that were among the 43 fastest did not make the race, while several top teams qualified poorly. Had the rules been different, the results almost certainly would have been different.

Subtract the Talladega numbers and the percentages really get tiny -- 6.1 percent for no exemptions, 6.7 percent for the top 12 exempt, 6 percent for top 25 exemptions and 2 percent for the 36-and-7 system.

If the rules had been different early this year, Michael Waltrip would have had the most to gain under virtually any scenario.

He missed all eight races analyzed in his No. 55 Toyota but would have made five of those with no exemptions, 12 exemptions or 25 exemptions. At the same time, those tweaks would have knocked Kyle Petty and Robby Gordon out of as many as four races they made, depending on which change had been employed.

The idea of doing away with provisionals and exemptions and simply putting the 43 fastest cars in every race has wide popularity among fans.

The Observer's analysis shows that approach would have spread the misery of missing races to at least 21 teams during the first 10 races, including Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Clint Bowyer, Bobby Labonte, Martin Truex Jr. and Reed Sorenson. All of those drivers would have missed at least one race.

If only the top 25 teams were guaranteed starting spots, Elliott Sadler, Jeff Green, J.J. Yeley, Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne would have been among those missing races. And under the scenario with only the top 12 teams exempt, Dale Earnhardt Jr. would have failed to qualify at Talladega along with Truex, Labonte and Bowyer. ANALYSIS

Playing with the Rules

Number of different cars that would have qualified for each race based on various possible changes to the top-35 exempt rule in place for Nextel Cup races:

RACE FASTEST 43	QUALIFY TOP 25	EXEMPT TOP 12	EXEMPT 36 ON SPEED, 7 PROVISIONALS
California	4	4	4	1
Las Vegas	3	2	3	1
Atlanta	6	4	5	1
Bristol	1	1	2	0
Martinsville	0	1	0	2
Phoenix	4	3	3	0
Talladega	7	4	6	6
Richmond	3	3	3	1

EXAMPLE KOBALT TOOLS 500 AT ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY

FASTEST 43: Scott Wimmer, Ward Burton, John Andretti, Michael Waltrip, Kenny Wallace and Kevin Lepage would have raced. Dale Jarrett, David Ragan, Robby Gordon, Kyle Petty, Jeff Green and Ricky Rudd would have not.

TOP 25 EXEMPT: Wimmer, Burton, Andretti and Waltrip in. Robby Gordon, Kyle Petty, Green and Jarrett out. (If Jarrett had been allowed to use a former champion's slot, he would have been in and Waltrip would have been out.)

TOP 12 EXEMPT: Wimmer, Burton, Andretti, Waltrip and Kenny Wallace in. Gordon, Petty, Green, Rudd and Jarrett out. (Jarrett would have taken Wallace slot with champion's provisional).

36 AND 7 RULE: Dave Blaney and Jarrett in and Petty and Gordon out.

charlotte observer

Newman Helps Local Driver

Macon, GA

The Nextel Cup Series has a rare weekend off, and while NASCAR's top drivers usually take that time to go on vacation and relax.

But, one top driver was taking care of business Wednesday night in Central Georgia.

Ryan Newman made an appearance at Bass Pro Shops .

The driver of the number 12 Dodge was in town to support local ASA driver Beau Slocumb.

Slocumb, a Juliette resident, and his team were trying to strike up some support for the season, after posting seven top-five finishes last year.

Slocumb appreciated his favorite driver, Newman, being in attendance, "He always told me anything he could do to help me further my career, just let him know...I gave him a call, he said absolutely. You figure out how to get me there quickly, on a plane, I'll be there."

The two drivers met three years ago, when Newman was looking for a place to fish while in Georgia.

Atlanta Motor Speedway president Ed Clark introduced Newman to the Slocumb family, which lives on a lake in Juliette, and the rest is history.

Newman says he's pleased to help Slocumb, knowing what it feels like to try and climb the ranks of autoracing.

"I was there before," said Newman, "He's got a great family backbone behind him, that helps a lot...He's got a great career ahead of him, he just needs the next step and this is a great function for him to get to that next step."

Newman was also promoting his book "Pit Road Pets", which benefits the Ryan Newman Foundation.

http://www.13wmaz.com/

New Ryan Newman Podcast - Post Chicagoland

Driver of the No. 12 Alltel Dodge Ryan Newman and XM Satellite Radio Host Claire B. Lang catch up to discuss last week's NASCAR Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway, where the team captured another strong finish and rallied to 13th in the points standings.

In addition, Newman answers questions from the Alltel All Axcess Racing Mailbag and discusses his recent fishing trip in Canada.

Finally, Newman provides fans with the inside scoop on how he will spend his off-week.

Newman Team Notes For Off Week

No. 12 Dodge, Penske Racing

This week: Newman and his wife, Krissie, plan to go camping this weekend. "We're going to get some fresh air and get away from things and relax," said Newman, who has pulled to 30 points out of the top 12. The team plans to enjoy a long weekend off before getting ready to go to Indianapolis for the all-important Allstate 400.

Last week: Even though he finished eighth at Chicagoland to close the gap in his bid to move into the top 12, Newman felt his mishap early in the race ruined any chance he had of challenging for the win. "We would have been all right if I hadn't brushed the wall," said Newman. "We never could get track position for our Alltel Mobil 1 Dodge after that."

Etc.: Newman, a native of South Bend, Ind., would love to score his first win of the season at Indianapolis. "I always wanted to win a race at Indy," said Newman. "It has been a lifelong dream."

Newman gains ground on Earnhardt Jr.

By Dustin Long
Staff Writer
http://www.news-record.com

JOLIET, Ill. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. lost more than his power steering Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway.

Earnhardt's 19th-place finish tightened the race for the last spot in the Chase for the Nextel Cup. Earnhardt remains 12th -- the final transfer spot -- but his lead dwindled to 30 points on Ryan Newman with seven races left before the cutoff.

Newman's eight-place finish helped him gain 31 points on Earnhardt.

"We're knocking on the door," said Newman, who has gained 97 points on Earnhardt in the last two races. "Other guys had some misfortunes and sometimes that's what it takes."

Earnhardt ran in the top 10 until his power steering failed about 60 laps from the finish.

"It won't go where you want it to go," Earnhardt radioed his crew. "I've never driven a car like this. This is funny."

Losing points wasn't.

Earnhardt was unfazed after the race, among jokes from his crew about needing to work out.

"I've been outside the top 12 looking in ... and if we have to go there again, we'll go there again," Earnhardt said. "We'll be all right. We've got a good team. I've got no doubts."

PEACE RESTORED: Car owner Joe Gibbs stopped at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday en route to a vacation in Colorado to moderate a meeting between feuding teammates Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin. They met for about half an hour and it caused the drivers to miss the first part of the final practice session.

"I've never really seen Coach (Gibbs) fired up quite the way he was this week," Hamlin said after Sunday's race. "For him to come on Saturday the way he did, I knew it was serious. If we had to miss practice, I knew it was very serious."

Both Stewart and Hamlin said Sunday that the meeting helped restore their working relationship and they helped each other during the race.

Stewart and Hamlin have had a rift since they crashed last weekend at Daytona. Hamlin said he would not talk to Stewart this past week because he wanted to calm down after Stewart criticized Hamlin on national television.

J.D. Gibbs, team president and son of Joe Gibbs, said the matter was resolved between the two drivers. J.D. Gibbs wasn't at the meeting and wouldn't reveal details but said the two drivers had time to air their differences from last week.

UPS AND DOWNS: Less than a week after he won at Daytona to snap a 166-race winless streak, Jamie McMurray crashed and finished 38th Sunday.

McMurray's woes dropped him two spots in the points standings. He fell to 15th and is 111 points behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the final transfer spot.

PIT STOPS: Kurt Busch finished sixth after starting at the rear of the field for an engine change. ... Matt Kenseth's runner-up finish was his third top-10 finish in a row. ... Evernham Motorsports had a forgettable weekend. Scott Riggs failed to make the race. Kasey Kahne placed 32nd, finishing five laps behind the leaders. Elliott Sadler was 33rd, finishing seven laps behind the leaders. ... After winning nine of the first 12 races, Hendrick Motorsports has won once in the last seven races. ... Points leader Jeff Gordon, who finished ninth, said that was as good as his car was all day. ... John Andretti placed 18th in his fourth and final race in place of Kyle Petty, who was a part of TNT's broadcast crew.

Ryan Newman: “We just weren’t any good on the restarts. We had a good car and good stops all day”

Joliet, Ill.
Jul 16, 2007

Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman drew closer to an opportunity to partake in this year’s Chase for the Championship with top-10 finishes in Sunday’s USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Newman’s eighth-place finish in his Mobil 1 Dodge Charger allowed him to regain the 13th position in the standings, just 30 points behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 12th, this year’s cut-off position.

With seven races remaining before the Chase begins, Busch took over 14th with his sixth-place finish in his Miller Lite Dodge Charger. He trails Earnhardt Jr. by 77 points and Newman by 47.

“With a third at Daytona last week and a sixth here today, our team really has a lot of momentum going and it’ll be a great time for our week off next weekend, “ Busch said. “It’s a great big-picture day for us as we continue to nip away at that deficit up to 12th. That’s the big goal, making the Chase, and if we continue to string together great solid runs like we’ve had the last couple of weeks, we’re definitely headed toward achieving that goal. “

Even though Busch didn’t end the day in victory lane, the Miller Lite team’s performance at the 1.5-mile track was still a triumphant performance. After having to change the car’s engine on Friday before practice began, the team qualified 35th. Then, before Sunday’s race started, Busch had to drop to the 43rd spot in the field because of the engine change.

Once the green flag waved, Busch methodically maneuvered his way through the field, cracking the top 25 by lap 30. Within 15 laps on the 1.5-mile track, he was in the top 20. By lap 60, Busch had reached the top 15 and he remained there the rest of the race. He led once for two laps, taking the No. 1 position on lap 114 during a round of green-flag pit stops.

The extra time spent on the slower old tires saw Busch running 14th when the stops cycled around on lap 117, but he was back up to 13th on lap 154 when Jamie McMurray slammed the wall to trigger the second of seven caution periods. A 13.362-second stop helped put Busch in ninth for the lap 160 restart, and he remained in the top 10 for the rest of the race.

“It was a tremendous day all around for our Miller Lite Dodge team, “ a happy Busch said. “[Crew chief] Pat Tryson made all the right calls on the box and the guys were pretty flawless in the pits all day long. I really wanted that first top-five here at Chicago, but I guess we shouldn’t get that greedy having to start from the rear and all. “

Newman started third in the event and ran in the top 10 for most of the race despite battling a loose condition in his car at the beginning of a run and then dealing with a tight handling car as the run progressed. On lap 140, Newman brushed the wall, causing minor damage to his car’s right-front fender and escalating its tight condition. Newman had fallen to 10th by the time the caution flag waved on lap 154 when McMurray crashed.

During the second of seven caution periods, Newman’s car received four fresh tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment, but because of the fender damage, Newman had to pit again on lap 158 for repairs. Newman restarted in 14th and hovered just outside the top 10 after moving up to 11th in seven laps. The car, however, was back on the loose side.

Newman battled his way back into the top 10 for good on lap 216 and got as high as sixth before having to settle for an eighth-place finish.

“We would have been all right if I hadn’t brushed the wall, “ Newman said. “We never could get track position for our Alltel Mobil 1 Dodge after that. We just weren’t any good on the restarts. We had a good car and good stops all day. We just weren’t in the right spot at the end. “

Kurt Busch raced to a sixth-place finish and moved into 14th in the standings. He is 77 points out of 12th.

The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series is off this weekend, but resumes July 29 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a 17-race stretch that concludes the season. The Allstate 400 at the Brickyard marks the return of ESPN to NASCAR’s premier series.

Chicagoland: Dodge teams race quotes

Ryan Newman (No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger) Finished 8th

How was your day? "We would have been alright if I hadn't brushed the wall. We never could get track position for our alltel Mobil 1 Dodge after that. We just weren't any good on the restarts. We had a good car and good stops all day. We just weren't in the right spot at the end.

What are you doing on the off weekend? "We're going camping. We're going to get some fresh air and get away from things and relax."

***

Bobby Labonte (No. 43 Cheerios Dodge Charger) Finished 20th

Comment on your day today: "We were tight all day, tight all day, tight all day. We got a little better during the race, but couldn't adjust enough to get where we needed to be. Sometimes you just can't adjust enough on your car to make it right."

How was the track? "The track is really getting good. We could run high or low. I think it will keep getting better and make this an exciting place to race. I just wish we ran faster on it today."

***

Reed Sorenson (No. 41 Target Dodge Charger), Finished 12th

How was your day? "It was a good day for the Target team. We had a solid top-15 car all day and this is definitely the kind of finish we need after the last few races.

"I thought we would be able to move up in the closing laps by taking four at the end, but we kept getting caught behind lapped cars on the restart. Still, it was a good day and I'm looking forward to Indy in a couple of weeks."

***

KURT BUSCH, (NO. 2 MILLER LITE DODGE CHARGER), Finished 6th

What happened with your car today? "Well, we thought we had a really good run today. We just kept creeping up on them and kept creeping up on the set-up. Starting 43rd we just had to take our time and really put a maneuverable set-up on the car -- one that could go low and one that could go high. It turned out really positive. The team had good pit stops. We thought we had a top five and ended up sixth."

What happened that forced you to change the engine? "We had something internally like a freeze plug come over and plug up the screen where, or I think it was the plug out of the back of the cam shaft. So you have to have oil pressure when you run. That is what took us out. It was unfortunate that we didn't even make a lap with it, but we had to start at the back and work our way forward. Those are the rules and that is what we did."

How difficult mentally to know that you have to go to the rear of the field? "You know that you have to stay on pace and take your time. You could have a bad pit stop at the beginning of the race and have to go to the back so. "

This team has had a lot of momentum the last few weeks. How far away is a top five? "It's just right around the corner. Daytona was a great race for us and we lead a lot of laps. We will roll over to Indy -- I got a good Dodge for that race track. It's big Miller Lite country there so we are looking forward to it."

What does the team do keep the momentum during the off week? "The guys will be doing pit stop practice but we do need a weekend off. These guys need to relax, take their time and spend some time with their families because that is important. It gives us extra time for the guys at the shop to build on that Indy car and make it a little faster."

Have you ever seen a team that fights back so hard like this? "It feels good. You don't know when things are going to go your way. You don't know when things are going to go against you. You just try to hunker down and keep things on a level field and never give up."

***

Elliott Sadler (No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger), Finished 33rd

Talk about your day today: "We put ourselves in a hole when we wrecked our primary car at the end of practice yesterday. It's tough when you've got to race a car that you haven't practiced. The guys worked really hard to get this one ready for us by morning.

"We struggled with the handling from the start and then got into the wall a little and that knocked the toe out. Once we got that fixed we were several laps down so we just used the last part of the race as a test. Ray (Evernham) tried out a few changes and we got the car the best it had been all race. Having him on the box is great - he really understands the car and is focused on how we can make them better."

***

David Stremme (No. 40 Coors Light Dodge Charger) Finished 34th

What happened out there today? "It was a challenging day today. The car wasn't bad early on and we didn't make any changes at the start. I thought we had a decent car at that point to tell you the truth. But we fell two laps down and then got a drive-through penalty following a restart and that pretty much ended our chances for a strong finish today. I think we may have dropped a cylinder at the end which forced us to the garage."

***

Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger), Finished 32nd

Talk about your day: "We missed on the set-up early in the race and got a lap down. That put us in a difficult situation which we could never overcome. I could not carry speed through the corners. As the race progressed, we turned our focus to trying a wide range of adjustments that would give us the grip that was missing. That required time in the pits which costs you laps. It wasn't the kind of performance we were looking for. The crew did a good job on pit road and by the end of the race, we were able to get in the corners better and still keep the back of the car hooked up with the track. We'll keep working and figure this out."

***

Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 42 Wrigley Big Red Dodge Charger) Finished 15th

How did pit stops affect your car? "When we would stop on the green, it was really good. I could run really strong but every time we would pit on the yellow we would get really tired. We tried to free it up all day long but we didn't catch it up enough. We still had a really great result. The car is in one piece so I'm really happy.

It seemed like your car ran better the longer the race went on? "It was good. We did maybe one wrong change but the rest were pretty good."

How much have you learned about these kinds of cars in the year since you announced your move at Chicago? "A lot. I feel like I've learned about 40 percent of what I have to learn, but I still think I'm miles off. I think that my pay is pretty decent. I think I can run good but I think we still, as a team, need to understand what I like and I just need more experience working with Donnie and stuff like that."

Is the hard part just learning how to be patient? "No. I just think it's about racing smart. It's not about patience. You take what you can take. There's some places you can't take and have to race smart more than being patient."

Are you looking forward to Indy? "I guess, yes."

***

John Andretti (No. 45 Wells Fargo Dodge Charger) Finished 18th

How was your race? "I was really happy. I think we started and finished good. We finished on a lead lap, and made up some spots at the end. I'm really proud of the whole team. I'm excited and I hate to leave."

Ryan Newman Finishes 8th At Chicagoland Speedway

Ryan Newman and his Mobile1 Dodge Nextel Cup team go there 8th top of the year by finishing 8th in the USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway today.

Newman had a decent day running in the top 10 and top5 most of the day. From what I say it was a relatively uneventful day for Newman, he was on cruise control.

Newman earned 142 points with now bonus points. This moved Nemwan up to 13th position in the points and only 30 point outside of 12th position behind Dale Earnhardt JR. Once again Newman is close to the elusize 12th position for the chase.

NEWMAN QUALIFIES 3RD FOR CHICAGOLAND CUP RACE

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 12 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger, led the Dodge contingent in qualifying Friday, earning the third starting position for this weekend's USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

It was the sixth top-10 starting position for Newman in the last eight NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races.

“We were second quickest in practice and I did my quickest lap the second lap," Newman said after emerging from his two-lap run on the 1.5-mile track with a time of 29.595 seconds, 182.463 mph, just 0.015 second behind pole winner Casey Mears.

"I ran two [laps] today and the first one was really, really good. It just wasn’t good enough, but it was a good run for the Mobil 1 Dodge Charger to start in the top three. I look forward to the race. I think we have a very competitive car based on our race trim times today [Friday].”

Newman, the 41st of 49 drivers to record a qualifying lap, predicted during his post-qualifying interview in the track's media center that Sunday's 267-lap race would produce side-by-side racing.

"We’re very, very confident that it will be three-wide racing at some point at both ends of the race track," Newman continued. "And the track, for whatever reason, feels like it has quite a bit of grip because it’s really, really fast; there’s already a second groove out there. I know I was passing some cars in the Busch practice. The Busch race depends on how wide it will get for the start of the race, and on Sunday. I think, without a doubt, it will have some second and third grooves, so it may be faster on the bottom.”

Sunday's USG Sheetrock 400 begins at 4 p.m. EDT. It will be televised on TNT and broadcast on MRN Radio. This is the final race this season for TNT.

Ryan Newman Practice Num 3 For USG Sheetrock 400 Results

Ryan Newman and the #12 Alltel Dodge team had their third practice at Chicagoland Speedway today for the NASCAR Nextel Cup USG Sheetrock 400

Newman had the 31 fastest practice speed of 173.294 mph / 31.161 sec.

Newman was -0.793 seconds behind the leader Jimmie Johnson who had a practice time of 177.819 / 30.368.


Practice 1 --- Newman had the 2 fastest practice speed of 181.959 mph / 29.677 sec.
practice 2--- Newman had the 14 fastest practice speed of 177.924 mph / 30.35 sec.
.
Ryan Newman Qualified 3 for the USG Sheetrock 400.
Good luck to Ryan Newman and the #12 Alltel Dodge Penske Racing Team in the USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway

Practice 3 Results

Practice 2 Results

Practice 1 Results

Qualifying Order

Ryan Newman Practice Num 2 For USG Sheetrock 400 Results

Ryan Newman and the #12 Alltel Dodge team had their second practice at Chicagoland Speedway today for the NASCAR Nextel Cup USG Sheetrock 400
Newman had the 14 fastest practice speed of 177.924 mph / 30.35 sec.

Newman was -0.364 seconds behind the leader Carl Edwards who had a practice time of 180.084 / 29.986.


Practice 2 Results

Practice 1 Results



Good luck to Ryan Newman and the #12 Alltel Dodge Penske Racing Team in the USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway