Newman Qualifies 17th at Auto Club Speedway
August 29, 2008
FONTANA, Calif. (August 29, 2008) - Ryan Newman, driver of the Penske Racing No.12 Kodak Dodge Charger, qualified 17th for the Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday night.
Newman turned a quick lap of 177.489 miles per hour (40.566 seconds) at the two -mile D-shaped oval. Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe's/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet, won the pole with a lap of 180.397 miles per hour (39.912 seconds).
"It was a decent pickup for the Kodak Dodge from where we were in practice earlier today," Newman said. "We have a super important practice tomorrow night because we will be practicing close to race time and that means that we can see where we are compared to the competition."
In 11 previous starts at Auto Club Speedway, Newman has two top-five and four top-10 finishes. He finished 10th at Auto Club Speedway in February.
Newman is currently 15th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, 181 points away from the cutoff for the Chase for the NASCAR Cup with just two races remaining.
Live coverage of the Pepsi 500 begins on the ESPN television network on Sunday, August 31 at 7 p.m. EDT. The race can also be heard on the MRN Radio Network at 7:15 p.m.
DRIVER: Ryan Newman
STARTING POSITION: 17th
POLE: Jimmie Johnson
PENSKE RACING TEAMMATES
9. Kurt Busch
32. Sam Hornish Jr.