Ryan Newman News and Information

Ryan Newman has one goal for the 2008 NASCAR Cup Series to return his No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger to victory lane.

And for Newman, momentum and perhaps a little history are both on his side as the season kicks into high gear.

Last season, Newman scored seven top-five and 15 top-10 results en route to a 13th-place finish in the championship point standings the highest ranking for any driver outside of The Chase.

A late season surge, in which Newman amassed four top-five finishes in the final seven races of the season, helped him secure the 13th spot and has given the team an added bit of confidence.

We definitely have momentum on our side, Newman said. Any kind of momentum you had, you can take and build on that, and I think we have been building on that with the work around the race shop and different tests during the off-season.

Not only does Newman have momentum on his side, but he also has a new addition to his team Roy McCauley will lead the No. 12 Alltel team in 2008. McCauley took over the crew chief role after Michael Nelson was promoted within the Penske Racing organization to the Vice President of Operations after the 2007 season.

We didnt get to achieve the things we wanted to last year, Newman said. I feel like we have some unfinished business, but by all means, Michael left on great terms he had a great opportunity which was a life-long dream of his.

Now, Roy is here, and I think we have a good team and a good program going into 2008.

Newman and McCauley were paired together in 2005 for a NASCAR Nationwide (formerly Busch) Series campaign which resulted in four poles and six wins in just nine starts.

Roy is what we refer to as, on the chip, Newman said. Hes up there at nine thousand the whole day and all the time. Not to say my other crew chiefs werent like that its just Roy stays there and hes determined.

He gets the job done and thats why I look forward to a great season with him. Roy is a great team leader. I saw that when I was in the Nationwide Series with him when we won those races. He took that team over to the Cup Series and won Bristol with Kurt Busch. I think that he can get the job done and Im glad to have him.

McCauley, 37, who has served as crew chief for both of Penske Racings other drivers, Kurt Busch and Sam Hornish, Jr., is looking forward to teaming up with Newman once again.

A lot of people will say that Ryan and I work well together because of our engineering backgrounds, but I was a racer first, McCauley said. We understand each other, we communicate well, and I believe that we are going to win races.

Winning races and getting the No. 12 Alltel Dodge back in NASCARs Chase for the Championship is the plan for Newman, McCauley and all of Penske Racing.

This week, Newman and McCauley along with the No. 12 Alltel Dodge team will participate in two NASCAR tests at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and California Speedway, which will help them prepare to achieve their goal.

We had our Car of Tomorrow (COT) program going in the right direction last season, said Newman, who had nine top-10 finishes in 16 COT races. Newman also scored three top-fives including a runner-up finish at Martinsville Speedway in the final three COT races of the 2007 season.

The bottom line is we have to go to each test, each practice session, each race to make the car drive its best and be competitive, he said. Las Vegas and California, point blank, are about being fast, getting the car to ride good and figuring out ways to create advantages that are becoming fewer and fewer over other teams. These are two important tests for our Alltel team, which will help us this season.

Following this weeks tests in Las Vegas and California, Newman and the No. 12 Alltel Dodge team will shift gears and turn their focus to Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway.

Newman and the No. 12 Alltel team will compete in the Budweiser Shootout on February 9. The opening race of the 2008 NASCAR Cup season the Daytona 500, will be held on February 17.

from penske