Ryan Newman Starts 17th After Qualifying Cancelled

July 10, 2008


JOLIET, Ill.  (July 10, 2008) - Ryan Newman, driver of the Penske Racing No.12 Kodak-The Mummy Dodge Charger, will start 17th in the LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday night.

Severe storms forced the cancellation of qualifying on Thursday night. Per the NASCAR Rule Book, the field was set by the 2008 owner points.

Practice also was cut short due to the heavy thunderstorms at the race track on Thursday evening. At the time practice was cancelled, Newman had turned the fourth quickest lap of the practice session - a lap of 178.867 miles per hour (30.190 seconds).

"I'm disappointed we didn't get the chance to qualify because I think the Kodak-Mummy Dodge was pretty good in qualifying trim," Newman said. "We had a good practice session today, and we are looking forward to tomorrow and working on getting the car ready for Saturday night's race."

Newman, who has one win and three top-10 finishes at Chicagoland Speedway, is currently 16th in the NASCAR Cup Series driver point standings. He is 185 points away from the cutoff for the Chase for the NASCAR Cup.

Coverage of the LifeLock.com 400 begins on the TNT television network on Saturday, June 12 at 6:30 p.m. EDT. The race can also be heard on the MRN beginning at 7:15 p.m. EDT.

DRIVER: Ryan Newman
STARTING POSITION: 17th

POLE: Kyle Busch

PENSKE RACING TEAMMATES
18. Kurt Busch
35. Sam Hornish Jr.