Ryan Newman Leads Penske Contingent at Dover
September 22, 2008
Newman and the No. 12 Alltel Dodge team started from the 19th position and ran in the top-15 for most of the afternoon, climbing as high as second place at the one-mile oval before crossing the finish line in 13th position. Newman is now 16th in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings, 230 points out of 13th place, with eight races remaining in the 2008 NASCAR Cup Series season.
"We had to play strategy and catch up every time by not pitting when everybody else pitted, and taking two tires when everybody else took four there at the end," Newman said following the race. "We just didn't have a good enough car to keep up with them today, and that's the only way we could stay on the lead lap."
The highlight of the race for Busch, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, unfortunately occurred when he took the green flag from the fourth starting spot. An incident on the first lap of the 400-lap battle took Busch out of contention for a top finish on Sunday. The early-race altercation saw Busch hit pit road for repairs immediately. Forced to spend additional time in the pits to clean up the rear bumper area, the No. 2 Dodge was already a lap down on the lap 5 restart. Although receiving his lap back following a lap 12 caution, Busch was never able to regain the handling on his Miller Lite machine. With a 34th-place finishing position, Busch remains 18th in the Cup driver point standings.
"Our day pretty much ended on the first lap out there," the 2004 series champion explained. "I thought I gave him (David Gilliland) the high line and plenty of room getting into the corner - he just washed up into me.
"We got back out and got the Lucky Dog (free pass to get back on the lead lap), but we just weren't handling well enough to stay up on the lead lap. It was just on the razor's edge - loose, tight, loose and tight. We lost more laps when we had to pit late in the race to cut off the right-rear quarter panel. Looking at our Miller Lite Dodge after the race and seeing all the damage, I guess we should be proud just to be running at the finish."
After involvement in an accident on lap 170, Hornish and the No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge were relegated to a 42nd-place finish on Sunday. The Mobil 1 team worked tirelessly to repair its damaged car on pit road and in the garage area, but Hornish was not able to make up ground in the running order. The No. 77 Mobil 1 team remains 37th in the 2008 NASCAR Cup Series owner point standings, 78 points out of 35th place.
"The Mobil1 Dodge was loose all day," said Hornish after the race ended. "It seemed as if we ‘built loose' as the race went on. The No. 77 Dodge was just not right after we were damaged in the accident. I was fighting it all the way around the track. We tried to make the most of the situation, but it is an unfortunate finish for this Mobil 1 team. We're ready to break out of this slump for a while and get things turned around."
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to action next Sunday, September 28, at Kansas Speedway with the Camping World RV 400 presented by Coleman. The race can be seen live on the ABC television network at 1 p.m. EDT and heard on the MRN Radio Network at 1:15 p.m. EDT.