Grand National West

• Ryan Newman: Goes For The All-time Pole Record
• Three Is A Charm For Jimmie Johnson At Atlanta
• In The Loop: Not A One Man Show In Atlanta
• 2008 Rookie Class - Who Is Going To Shine This Year?

Ryan ‘The Rocket’ Newman Likes His First Lap Out Front

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 4, 2008) — Starting up front is nothing new for Ryan Newman (No. 12 Alltel Dodge), especially with a nickname like ‘The Rocket’.

Newman is tied for first with Buddy Baker for the most poles at Atlanta Motor Speedway with seven each. But Newman has never been able to parlay his great starting position into a win at Atlanta.

Newman’s longtime coach and mentor Baker has done just that winning the 1979 spring race from the pole. Fourteen drivers have won from the pole, more than any other starting spot — most recently Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge) in 2006.

Newman notched six consecutive poles through 2003-2005 and grabbed his seventh last year in this race.

This week leading up to the Kobalt Tools 500, Newman talked about how special breaking the tie with Baker would be.

“Atlanta has always been a place where I like to qualify, and it would be an honor to get the all-time pole record there. Buddy Baker really helped me throughout my racing career, and that’s why we named the car we won the Daytona 500 with after him.”

“We always drove the tracks backwards because it gives you a different perspective of entry and exit points. That's something we did at Atlanta when he was teaching me about the track and I have always qualified well there, so I think it would be an honor to both of us if I am able to get my eighth pole there this weekend.”

Jimmie Johnson Looks To Be The First To Make It Three Straight

After one of the most impressive seasons in NASCAR history last year the two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway pursuing his third consecutive victory after sweeping both races last season. Atlanta has been one of Johnson’s most proficient stops on the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule, posting eight top-five and nine top-10 finishes including three wins (2004, and sweeping both races in 2007) in 13 starts.

The NASCAR Loop Data statistics show Johnson is at the top of several pre-race categories at Atlanta, including Driver Rating (118.2), Average Running Position (5.652), and Laps in the Top 15 (93.7%).

Rick Hendrick co-owns the No. 48 with Jeff Gordon and Hendrick has the second most wins at Atlanta with 10, behind the Wood Brothers’ 12.  

This weekend Johnson looks to do something no other driver has done — win three in a row at Atlanta. Six times a driver has swept both Atlanta races in a single season: Marvin Panch (1965), Bobby Allison (1972), Bill Elliott (twice: 1985, 1992), Carl Edwards (2005), and Johnson (2007). And although the No. 48 team struggled at Las Vegas last week - Johnson finished 29th with an ill handling car - with an Average Finish of 9.7 look for the No. 48 car to improve upon its 14th-place points position.

In The Loop: Johnson Not A One Man Atlanta Show

The clear frontrunner this weekend has to be Jimmie Johnson, who swept last season at Atlanta and since 2005 ranks first in the series in Driver Rating (118.2), Average Running Position (5.7), Green Flag Speed (176.654 mph) and Laps in the Top 15 (94%).

But then there’s Carl Edwards (No. 99 Office Depot Ford), winner of two consecutive races this season who swept Atlanta in 2005. Since 2005, Edwards has a Driver Rating of 102.8, an Average Running Position of 11.7, 131 Fastest Laps Run and 1,606 Laps in the Top 15. He’s always a threat at the 1.54-mile track – Edwards has finished outside the top 10 only once in seven starts, and was runner-up to Johnson in the last Atlanta race in October.

Another driver looking forward to Atlanta is Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Toyota), who dropped from third to 11th after a 43rd-place finish at Las Vegas. Stewart finished second to Johnson in this race last season, and has two wins, seven top fives and 11 top 10s in his Atlanta career.

Since 2005, Stewart has a Driver Rating of 104.2 (second-best), an Average Running Position of 10.2 (third), 127 Fastest Laps Run (fifth) and 1,600 Laps in the Top 15 (fourth).

Also watch for a strong run from Greg Biffle (No. 16 Jackson-HewittFord), who is having a bit of a comeback in 2008. He’s finished outside the top 10 in each of the last two seasons, but currently sits in sixth after a strong third-place run at Las Vegas. Biffle has yet to win a race at Atlanta, but has had solid runs since 2005.

In the last six AMS races, Biffle has a Driver Rating of 103.5 (third), an Average Running Position of 9.4 (second), a series-high 201 Fastest Laps Run (first) and 1,651 Laps in the Top 15 (second).

A Sit Down With NSCS Director John Darby at the Phoenix Test

This week’s two-day NASCAR Sprint Cup Series test at Phoenix International Raceway has proven extremely beneficial to the 47 participating teams, said NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Director John Darby on Tuesday afternoon.

Sandwiched between last week’s event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and this Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the two-day session marked the fourth of six NASCAR-sanctioned tests in 2008. This season marks the first full year of competition for NASCAR’s new race car; teams ran it in 16 of 36 events in 2007, including both events at Phoenix.

“I guess the Phoenix test is a little bit different than some of the other testing we’ve done this year because we’ve already competed at Phoenix twice,” Darby said Tuesday afternoon as testing laps wound down, citing pre-race preparations done by teams’ research and development programs.

During testing teams can load their cars with telemetry and data-acquisition devices – something not allowed during competition – to compile a road map of Phoenix’s one-mile surface. All that research will be dumped into computer and simulation banks for further, detailed research.

That data also translates to similarly-shaped Richmond International Raceway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which host future 2008 events.

“The information that they collected these past two days, even beyond tuning up for the race we’re going to have here in April, will be a benefit to all the teams,” Darby said.

As the series prepares for Sunday’s event at Atlanta – the fourth thus far in 2008 – Darby says he’s pleased with the new car’s competitiveness.

“I’m tickled with it right now,” he said, citing improved competition at the Auto Club Speedway in California and Las Vegas in succeeding weeks.

“It’s fun to watch the cars race, and be as racy as they are this early in the year, especially at tracks that we haven’t been to before,” Darby added.

60 Years Of NASCAR: Atlanta Motor Speedway

NASCAR’s 60th Anniversary celebration continues this weekend, as the three national series heads to one of the most historic tracks in the sport.

Atlanta Motor Speedway hosted its first race in 1960, with Fireball Roberts taking the checkered flag. Since then, Atlanta’s Victory Lane has enjoyed a conveyor belt consistency of NASCAR champions. In total, 61 of the 97 Atlanta winners have won NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships.

And for 14 years (from 1987-2000), the series champion was crowned at Atlanta, which was then the final race of the season. One of those finales is considered an epic moment in NASCAR history. The 1992 finale at Atlanta was Jeff Gordon’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup race, Richard Petty’s last race and featured what was then the closest points finish in history – Alan Kulwicki edged Bill Elliott by 10 points to win the championship.

2008 Raybestos Rookie Of The Year Class Update

The 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year class reads like a list of who’s who of open wheel racing over the past several years. Names like Sam Hornish Jr., Dario Franchitti and Patrick Carpentier.

Dario Franchitti (No. 40 Fastenal Dodge) Sam Hornish Jr. (No. 77 Penske Truck Rentals Dodge) and Regan Smith (No. 01 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet) are heading to Atlanta looking to improve their points positions because all three are sitting outside the top-35 — 36th, 38th and 39th respectively.

All three drivers have started the first three events on the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule, but Hornish Jr. has the highest finish of all three with a 15th at Daytona. Franchitti and Smith both got their best finishes this season at California — 26th and 31st respectively.

Patrick Carpentier (No. 10 Cintas Dodge) made his first start of the 2008 season last week at Las Vegas, but was caught in an accident on Lap 116 — he finished 40th.

The NASCAR Season-To-Date Loop Data shows Hornish Jr. with a Driver Rating of (58.6), Smith with a Driver Rating of (37.8) and Franchitti with a Driver Rating of (33.2).

Time Has Come For Teams Flirting With Top-35 Cut-Off; 2008 Points Are Criteria After 5th Race

For the NASCAR Sprint Cup teams residing in the proximity of the 35th position in car owner points, the time has come to get it in gear. Atlanta Motor Speedway is the fourth stop on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule, and the second to last chance for teams in the top 35 of the 2007 car owner points to guarantee themselves a spot on Sunday.

Dave Blaney (No. 22 Caterpillar Toyota) driving for Bill Davis Racing sits on the bubble this week - 35th in the owner point standings with 212 points. Casey Mears (No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST Chevrolet) is currently 34th in the points after having a turn around season last year winning his first race at Charlotte and posting five top-five and eight top-10 finishes. But Mears hasn’t been able to carry his momentum from last season to this year after being in accidents on two consecutive weekends — Daytona and California.

2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Owner Points – After 3 Races

Position    Points   Team                   Owner                Driver

32nd          230        No. 44 Toyota       Michael Waltrip    Dale Jarrett
33rd           230        No. 55 Toyota       Michael Waltrip   Michael Waltrip
34th           219        No. 5  Chevrolet     Mary Hendrick    Casey Mears

35th          212         No. 22 Toyota      Bill Davis           Dave Blaney

36th          200         No. 40 Dodge        Felix Sabates      Dario Franchitti
37th          193         No. 7   Dodge        Robby Gordon     Robby Gordon
38th          192         No. 77 Dodge        Roger Penske      Sam Hornish Jr.

NSCS Etc.

NASCAR Weekly Teleconference: This week NASCAR was joined by Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 42 Wrigley’s Big Red Dodge), Sam Hornish Jr., and J.J. Yeley (No. 96 DLP HDTV Toyota) during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series testing session at Phoenix International Raceway.

Q: We will start off with our first guest, Juan Pablo Montoya. Juan, if you could just give us a brief update on how your morning went so far.

Montoya: I think it went pretty good. We ran probably 20, 25 laps straight, tried a couple different things in the car, trying to understand where we need to go with the car and make some changes. …

To see the complete transcript from this week’s NASCAR Teleconference from Phoenix log on to NASCARMedia.com.

The Momentum: Carl Edwards (No. 99 Aflac Ford) heads to Atlanta with a full head of steam after winning back-to-back weekends this season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at California and Las Vegas. Edwards swept both races in Atlanta in 2005, and the March event of 2005 was his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup win. For the first time in Edwards’ career he leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings, his previous best points position was third.

Georgia Natives Coming Home: Reed Sorenson (No. 41 Target Dodge), Bill Elliott (No. 21 Little Debbie Ford) and David Ragan (No. 6 AAA Ford) are all from different parts of Georgia, but all call Atlanta Motor Speedway their home track. Sorenson is from Peach Tree City just 30 miles away from Atlanta. Elliott is from Dawsonville some 58 miles from Atlanta. Ragan is from Unadilla about 120 miles from Atlanta.

Up Next: Food City 500 At Bristol Motor Speedway

The fifth race on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule will be Sun., March 16 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Last year at Bristol’s Food City 500, the ‘New Car’ made its debut.  Kyle Busch (No. 18 Snickers Toyota) won the race, beating Jeff Burton  (No. 31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet) to the finish line by just .064 seconds.

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet) sat on the Coors Light Pole for the Food City 500, his second pole of the year in 2007. Gordon went on to post seven poles in 2007— the most of any driver.

The action kicks off on Sunday with driver introductions at 1:30 p.m., and the green flag is scheduled to drop at 2 p.m. for the 2008 running of the Food City 500.

            Ryan Newman has grown accustomed to starting up front at Atlanta Motor Speedway and this Friday night during Georgia Power Qualifying, Newman hopes to be the lone name at the top of the scoring towers and the AMS record books. Newman is currently tied with Buddy Baker for pole positions at AMS at seven each.

            Despite Newman's qualifying successes, he hasn't been able to equate that into great finishes on Sunday. Newman's longtime coach and mentor Buddy Baker has visited victory lane at AMS, winning the 1979 spring race from the pole. Fourteen drivers have won from the pole at AMS, more than any other starting spot — most recently Kasey Kahne in the March, 2006 Golden Corral 500.

            Newman notched six consecutive poles through 2003-2005 and grabbed his seventh last year in the spring race. This week leading up to the Kobalt Tools 500, Newman talked about how special breaking the tie with Baker would be.

            "Atlanta has always been a place where I like to qualify, and it would be an honor to get the all-time pole record there. Buddy Baker really helped me throughout my racing career, and that's why we named the car we won the Daytona 500 with after him.

            "We always drove the tracks backwards because it gives you a different perspective of entry and exit points. That's something we did at Atlanta when he was teaching me about the track and I have always qualified well there, so I think it would be an honor to both of us if I am able to get my eighth pole there this weekend."

NASCAR Veteran Dale Jarrett Prepares for Last Ride at Atlanta Motor Speedway

            Dale Jarrett, the 1999 NASCAR Cup champion and 1997 Atlanta race winner, will make his final start at NASCAR's fastest track during the March 9 Kobalt Tools 500. Jarrett, who carries Atlanta based UPS as his primary sponsor and is a member of the Coca-Cola family of drivers, recently took a few moments to reflect on what Atlanta Motor Speedway has meant to him and his career.

            "It's a track that I have always enjoyed racing at from the time it was configured before the changes to the way it is today," Jarrett said. "It's obviously a very fast race track, but it's a wide track and there have been some great finishes here and I've been fortunate to be a part of some of those great finishes.

            "I would like to have won at Atlanta with its new configuration, but we came close several times and obviously we still have one more shot to make that happen. But I can't complain because this is a track that has been very good to me. Aside from the competition side of it, there are a lot of companies that I have been fortunate to have associations with that are located in Atlanta. UPS and Coca-Cola obviously come to mind. I've enjoyed a long relationship with Coca-Cola and then when UPS came on board as our sponsor in 2001, this track took on a whole new meaning. So there are a number of things that make this place very special and that I will miss as a competitor."

Jeff Gordon Looks to Atlanta Motor Speedway for Much Needed Rebound and Momentum Builder

            After suffering two DNF's (did not finish) in the first three races of the 2008 season, Jeff Gordon, a perennial threat to win the Sprint Cup championship, finds himself marred in the 22nd place in the championship points standings.

            According to Gordon, Atlanta couldn't come at a better time to help jump-start his season and he predicts NASCAR's current stock car will produce the same great racing and finishes fans have come to expect at AMS.

            "I don't think it matters what vehicles we race," Gordon said. "This track just seems to provide great side-by-side racing through the corners, and there have been a lot of close finishes."

            Gordon had reservations about what type of racing would occur when the track changed configurations from a 1.522-mile oval to a 1.54 mile quad-oval in 1997.

            "I really liked the old design," said Gordon, whose first start in NASCAR's premier series occurred here in 1992. "But, after the change, I found out the design of the track wasn't the reason I liked racing here. It's the pavement that makes this place so much fun."

            When asked to explain further, the driver of the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet referred to another passion of his.

            "I guess it's like a fine wine," said Gordon, "The pavement – much like a great wine – gets better when it has aged. We can run low, middle, high and everywhere in between in the wide corners. It really gives us the opportunity to find a line that works best for the car."

            If he finds that line, a trip to victory lane could be the jump-start Gordon needs for his drive to a fifth series championship.

            Tickets to the entire Kobalt Tools 500 race weekend are available by calling 877-9-AMS-TIX (877-926-7849), 770-946-4211 or by visiting www.atlantamotorspeedway.com.

On March 5, 2008, the National Stock Car Racing Commission heard and considered the appeal of JD Motorsports regarding the #0 car.  The appeal concerned three penalties issued by NASCAR following post-qualifying inspection on February 15, 2008 for the NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Daytona International Speedway. 

The infractions concerned Section 12-4-A of the NASCAR Rule Book “Actions detrimental to stock car racing”; Section 12-4-Q “Any determination by NASCAR Officials that the car, car parts, components, and/or equipment used in the Event do not conform to NASCAR rules” and Section 20A-8.4C:  “The oil reservoir tank cover was not fastened securely.”

The penalties assessed were:

• Loss of 25 NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship Car Owner Points for car owner Johnny Davis.
• Loss of 25 NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship Driver Points for driver Kertus Davis.
• $15,000.00 fine; suspension from NASCAR for the next six (6) NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship Events; suspension from NASCAR until April 9, 2008 (not including testing), and probation until December 31, 2008 for crew chief Gene Allnutt.

The Appellants argued that the missing bolt at the corner of the cover was inadvertent; that it did not constitute a performance advantage; that the penalties were too severe for the infraction; and that the disallowance of their qualifying time at Daytona should factor into the subsequent penalties.

In deliberating, the Commission considered several factors including Section 20A-2.1L concerning the passage of air into or out of the car.  In this case, the movement of the cover resulting from the missing bolt was evident.

Therefore, it is the unanimous decision of the National Stock Car Racing Commission to uphold the original penalties assessed by NASCAR.

The Commission notes that crew chief, Gene Allnutt, began serving his suspension last week, so the adjusted penalty notice to correct for the deferral will reflect this.

The Appellants have the right under Section 15 of the Rule Book to appeal this decision to the National Stock Car Racing Commissioner.

Dale Pinilis
Jo Dewitt Wilson
George Silbermann, Chairman