Ryan Newman Starts 21st At Talladega on Sunday
April 26, 2008
TALLADEGA, Ala. (April 26, 2008) - Ryan Newman, driver of the Penske Racing No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger, will start 21st in the Aaron's 499 on Sunday afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway.
Newman, who won the season's first restrictor plate race at Daytona International Speedway in the 50th Running of the Daytona 500, posted a fast lap of 184.929 mph (51.782 seconds). Pole sitter Joe Nemechek, driver of the No. 78 National Day of Prayer Chevrolet turned a lap of 187.386 mph (51.103 seconds).
“I think we have a decent car for tomorrow's race," Newman said. "We never made a qualifying run in practice - we focused on race setup so that the Alltel Dodge is ready for tomorrow.
"I think we have a decent car, but it doesn't feel like a dominant car. But the dominant car doesn't always win here. It's all about the handling of the car, and our goal is to keep the Alltel Dodge up toward the front and stay out of trouble."
Newman has one win (Daytona), one pole and three top-10 finishes in the first eight races of the 2008 season. He is currently 12th in the NASCAR Cup points standings. He has five top-10 finishes in 12 starts at Talladega, including a fifth-place run at the 2.66-mile superspeedway last fall.
The Aaron's 499 will air live on FOX on Sunday, April 27, 2008, beginning at 1 p.m. ET. The race will also be broadcast live on MRN beginning at 2 p.m. ET.