Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Ryan Newman using new chassis for Sprint Unlimited

Ryan Newman is 25/1 to win Sprint Unlimited
Ryan Newman
No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet SS
Race Notes and Quotes:


This Week’s Caterpillar Chevrolet SS at Daytona International Speedway … Ryan Newman will pilot a brand new chassis, No. 446, in Saturday night’s Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway.

Newman in the Sprint Unlimited … Newman is one of 25 drivers eligible for the 75-lap, pre-season event recognizing 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole winners, past champions of the Sprint Unlimited, Daytona 500 pole winners who competed full time last year along with the 16 Chase for the Sprint Cup drivers of 2014. New this season, a fan will be paired with a crew chief and participate in a random drawing to determine the starting and pit road positions. Newman earned his eligibility by being one of 16 Chase for the Sprint Cup drivers last season. This year’s format consists of two segments with a competition caution at lap 25 to split up the segments. Newman has 11 Sprint Unlimited starts at Daytona International Speedway. His best start, courtesy of a draw, is fourth (2010) and best finish of second came in 2005. In the Sprint Unlimited, the South Bend, Ind., native has led 25 laps of competition.

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Race Rewind … Newman’s most recent appearance in the exhibition race was his debut in the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet SS last season. He started 17th and finished eighth. It was his fifth top-10 result in 11 exhibition events.

RYAN NEWMAN QUOTES:

What is your motivation for 2015?

“We earned our best finish of second in the championship finale. I hope we are able to take that momentum of the finish, and the second-place finish in the standings, and spin it all off into a productive off season that will continue and enable us to have an impressive start to the season at our biggest race in Daytona. We want to be competitive. We have to be competitive for all of our partners like Caterpillar, Quicken Loans, Grainger and WIX Filters. It’s about going out there and having fun. We did a really good job of having fun last year even though we didn’t win. Now it’s time to still have fun, but win.”

What area is your team focusing on the most for this season?
“We focused on the level of competition that will allow this team to lead more laps. We only led 41 laps last year. You have to lead laps in order to win the race or at least lead the last lap. We mathematically did not lead enough laps to have the odds of winning races in our favor in 2014. It’s an area we are focusing more on this season.”

What are your thoughts on racing in your 12th Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway?
“This race always signifies the start to our season and first opportunity for a win in the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet SS. It’s a good test session for us in race conditions. It also a good practice session for all of us to get back into the rhythm and swing of things before the Daytona 500.”

- Richard Childress Racing

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