Thursday, October 30, 2014

Newman looking for quality finishes to close out Eliminator Round

Ryan Newman is 30/1 to win at Texas
Ryan Newman
No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet SS
Event Preview Fact Sheet

This Week’s Caterpillar Chevrolet SS at Texas Motor Speedway
… Ryan Newman will drive chassis No. 491 on Sunday at the 1.5-mile speedway. This is a new Chevrolet SS being utilized under race conditions for the first time this weekend.

The Newman Two Step … Newman is looking to capture his second-career victory at the 1.5-mile oval when he makes his 23rd NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start at the Fort Worth, Texas venue. His win came in the spring of 2003 making him the youngest Texas winner at 25 years, 3 months and 22 days. The Rocket Man also won the pole for both Sprint Cup Series events in 2005 to complete the sweep. In total, he owns three top-five and five top-10 finishes. The South Bend, Ind., native has an average start of 16.6 and average finish of 19.1.

Featured Caterpillar Dealer … HOLT CAT and Warren CATwill be featured on the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.

About Caterpillar … For nearly 90 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every continent. Customers turn to Caterpillar to help them develop infrastructure, energy and natural resource assets. Caterpillar is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. The company principally operates through its three product segments – Resource Industries, Construction Industries and Energy & Transportation – and also provides financing and related services through its Financial Products segment. For more information, visit caterpillar.com. To connect with us on social media, visit caterpillar.com/social-media.

#NewmanNation …When calculating points earned through the seven Chase races, Newman ranks second in most points earned. With a third-place showing at Martinsville Speedway,Newman is now second in the championship standings, just three markers out of first place.

Newman Media Availability … The driver of the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet is scheduled to stop by the TMS media center on Friday at 11 a.m. CT.

Where’s Ryan? … On Sunday, Newman is scheduled to participate in a question and answer session at the Sprint Experience located in the Texas Motor Speedway midway at 10:20 a.m. CT.

Race Rewind … Earlier this year in the Caterpillar Chevrolet, Newman started eighth and was running in the top five when an unscheduled pit stop slowed the team’s effort and resulted in a 16th-place finish.

Drive Home a Winner … Quicken Loans’ latest sweepstakes, “Drive Home a Winner” awards one lucky winner both a brand-new Chevrolet SS and a year’s worth of mortgage payments. The sweepstakes, open to those 18 and older, is a collaboration between General Motors and Quicken Loans. Fans can enter by visiting www.qlracing.com.

RYAN NEWMAN QUOTES:

You finished third at Martinsville Speedway and head to Texas Motor Speedway second in points, sum up your start to the Eliminator Round?

“Martinsville Speedway was a hard-fought battle for us. I put our whole team behind with the pit road speeding penalty. We fought back. We had a really tight-handling car during the entire race. We kept freeing it up. It finally got better in the end when it mattered. We took two tires and it was nice to see it go green because we had some guys behind us that had four fresh tires. They were going to pass us eventually, but we just had the right number of laps left to finish third. It was a good day for the No. 31 Chevrolet.”

Can you win this championship without winning a race?
“The math is officially there now. With Dale Jr. winning at Martinsville, there are at least two people making it to the Championship 4 Round that will not have a win in this latest bracket. Technically you can finish 39th at Homestead and still win a championship. The math is going in that direction more than ever. In saying that, this team still wants to win. We are here to win each and every race. It is nice to have back-to-back top fives. It is a first for me here at Richard Childress Racing. I just look forward to going to the next three races.”

Is your strategy more about consistency or about taking chances to get the win?
“There is no defining goal on consistency. Our job is to go out there and do the best job we possibly can based on how we work together as a team. We have to outperform all those guys and, so far, it has provided us with consistency. We have been one of the most consistent teams out there when it comes to the Chase. For the longest time we were a seventh to 11th-place car. Over the second half of the season, we have made improvements that have allowed us to be championship contenders. With that said, we definitely need to win as a team. That’s what we need to do to improve. That’s our goal. We just have to keep our nose to the grind stone and keep digging and digging. We need a win.”

- Richard Childress Racing

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