Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Ryan Newman a live long shot on 1.5 of Charlotte this week

Ryan Newman is 40/1 to win his first Charlotte race Saturday night
Ryan Newman
No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet SS
Event Preview Fact Sheet

This Week’s Caterpillar Chevrolet SS at Charlotte Motor Speedway
… Ryan Newman will drive chassis No. 479 in Saturday’s 501-mile event. This chassis was utilized earlier this season at Chicagoland Speedway (Start: 2nd / Finish: 15th), Michigan International Speedway (Start: 12th/ Finish: 11th) and Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Start: 4th / Finish: 11th).

Newman at Charlotte Motor Speedway … In 27 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events at the 1.5-mile oval, Newman has recorded runner-up finishes two times (fall, 2003; Coke 600, 2009). The “Rocket Man” also owns nine pole awards. In total, he owns four top-five and 10 top-10 finishes, and has led 276 laps in competition. The South Bend, Ind., native has an average start of eighth and average finish of 19th. When calculating points earned in the last four events at CMS, Newman ranks ninth in most points accumulated.

Featured Caterpillar Dealers … Thompson Tractor Company, Inc., Puckett Machinery Company and Louisiana Cat will be featured on the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet this weekend at Charlotte MotorSpeedway.

Thompson Tractor Company, Inc. is the full-line Caterpillar dealer for Alabama and northwest Florida and the MCFA lift truck dealer for all of Georgia (less nine northwestern counties). The company specializes in the sales and service of Caterpillar products, including earthmoving, construction, forestry and material handling equipment, as well as diesel engines used for electric power generation, on-highway and marine propulsion applications. Headquartered in Birmingham, AL, Thompson Tractor provides a diverse array of solutions to their customers in its service territory through four divisions: Thompson Tractor Company, Thompson Power Systems, Thompson Lift Truck Company, and The Thompson Cat Rental Store. Thompson has 25 locations and the South’s largest fleet of field service vehicles to best serve their customers. For all your equipment and product support needs, please visitwww.thompsontractor.com or stop by your nearest Thompson location.

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, visitcaterpillar.com/social-media.

#NewmanNation …Newman is ranked fourth (tied for third) and just nine markers out of the leadheading into the second race in the Contender Round in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

Race Rewind … Earlier this year, Newman rebounded from a 42nd-place qualifying effort to a 15th-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.

Rescue Ranch … On October 25th, the Rescue Ranch will be in full swing for its annual Fall Festival and InauguralRun, The Ranch 5K Mud Run. At the Fall Festival, come and meet some of the education animals, take a hayride, paint a pumpkin, listen to live music, watch the Food Truck Throw Down competition and enjoy lots of fun fall activities. Plus, if you want to break a sweat, sign up for the Inaugural Run The Ranch 5K Mud Run benefitting Rescue Ranch and Hope For The Warriors®. Participants will make their way through a set of eight different obstacles that will include mud pits, hay mounds, tunnels, ropes and more. For details and to register visit: http://www.rescueranch.com/special-events.

RYAN NEWMAN QUOTES:

Is it special racing at home?

“Charlotte is definitely special because it is at home. It is a great track, first of all, but it is at home. It’s nice to have that different feel of having all of your friends, family and team at the track watching or at least have the opportunity to come. Traveling as much as we do and it’s not like every other weekend is a home game for us, it is nice to be at home for a change. I also think it is such a special place with everyone in racing because of the history of our sport. If you look at this area and what the track, in my eyes, has really done for the city of Charlotte and all the surrounding areas, it is a different kind of special.”

Why is the track unique?
“The Charlotte track is unique because it has a lot of banking and carries a lot of speed through Turns 1 and 2. You kind of have to check up in Turns 3 and 4. If the weather conditions allow you to, it can be really fast in Turns 3 and 4. It also gets slick when it catches the afternoon sun way more than Turns 1 and 2. It makes it a unique track depending on the weather conditions.”

Is the race a lot different in October since both Cup races are run at night?
“I think the warmer it is the better racing because we start to lift off the gas and have to brake a bit more. When it’s really cool and fast at night, it’s really difficult to pass.”

- Richard Childress Racing

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