GFS MARKETPLACE 400
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY - BROOKLYN, MICHIGAN
FRIDAY, AUGUST 15, 2003
PRACTICE INFORMATION:
The second Michigan International
Speedway race of the 2003 started off on an interesting note. 1/5 of the
country lost power 15 hours before the Winston Cup teams were scheduled
to arrive at the 2.0-mile oval for what would be the 23rd race of the
season. Many parts of Michigan were in the dark, but MIS was fully functional,
so there were no delays. Mother Nature was the culprit for Friday's 12
and a half hour day as the skies opened and the rain began just as Winston
Cup qualifying was to start.
"Practice went well for us," said crew chief Billy Wilburn.
"We weren't really were we wanted to be. The right front tire had
a bit of problem today, so we made our bonsai run before we wanted to,
so we didn't quite get everything tweaked the way we wanted to. We made
a few changes after the last run in practice, hoping we'd get a good start
for Sunday's race, but the weather and a few other factors didn't seem
to work in our favor." The Cup cars hit the track at 11:00 a.m. for
the two-hour session before qualifying. Both Penske Dodge's made a number
of laps and changes. The threat of rain lingered, but both the No. 2 and
No. 12 teams focused on getting the best qualifying set up possible.
"The car was fast right from the start," said Newman who posted
the quickest time on the speed chart in practice. "We figured the
car would be decent off the truck. We've always run well at Michigan and
would have ended up with a good run in June if we didn't have our fire
deal. I was hoping to sit on the pole, but Bobby got us again. Now it's
just time to concentrate on Sunday's set up." Ryan's MIS weekend
started a bit earlier. He left Charlotte Thursday morning and headed to
Benton Harbor, Indiana for a Whirlpool appearance benefiting the United
Way. Whirlpool headquarters launched the kick-off to their annual United
Way drive today in Benton Harbor, MI with the help of Winston Cup driver,
Ryan Newman. Approximately 500 Whirlpool employees attended the event
with a Q&A session and autograph signing. Newman's Penske Racing South
team donated an honorary pit crew package for the auction which included
hot passes to the Michigan race for the weekend, lunch with the No. 12
ALLTEL pit crew, photographs with Newman prior to the race as well as
authentic No. 12 crew shirts for the two lucky recipients. "Thursday's
United Way kick-off was a huge success," said Newman who will be
competing in the GFS Marketplace 400 at Michigan International Speedway
Sunday. "I know how hard everyone at Whirlpool and Penske worked
to make it as fun as possible, but in return raise needed funds for The
United Way of Southwest Michigan. I met a lot of great people today and
I'm looking forward to future events. You don't get a lot of free time
when you travel like I do, but whenever I can get away and help the community
out some - it's a good feeling." After rain postponed qualifying
for two hours, the drivers was called to their cars and the action started
at approximately 5:00 p.m. Newman was the ninth driver to hit the pavement
as his ALLTEL Dodge fired off a 37.909-second lap. As he sat on the provisional
pole, Newman waiting for those he thought would be a legitimate threat
to knock him off. Robby Gordon drove his No. 31 car to a 37.995-second
lap. That posted him behind Newman, but many eyes, including Newman's
were on Bobby Labonte as he rolled out 16th. Labonte posted the quickest
lap of the day at 37.847 seconds. It was his second MIS pole of the season
clocking at 190.240 mph. Wallace rolled off late in the session, posting
a 38.515-second lap (186.940 mph) putting him 33rd on the grid for the
400-miler Sunday. "Man, I can't believe we ended up 33rd in qualifying
- the car felt better than that," said Wallace. "The Miller
Lite Dodge was tight in three and four and that cost some time, but I
honestly would never had guessed I'd run a 38.53. We've got a pretty good
hot rod for Sunday's race. We'll take our two practice sessions tomorrow
and do what we have to get it better." The front row for Sunday's
race will have Bobby Labonte leading the field to the green flag for the
second time this year, followed by Ryan Newman. Robby Gordon starts third,
with Kevin Lepage and Terry Labonte fifth. Truck Series star Jason Leffler
will start six. Christian Fittipaldi posted his best qualifying lap -
seventh, followed by Jeff Burton in eighth. Dave Blaney and Jimmy Spencer
round out the top 10. Sunday's GFS Marketplace 400 has a 2:00 p.m. EDT
starting time and features live coverage by TNT-TV and MRN Radio.
RUSTY'S QUOTES:
RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 ALLTEL Dodge Intrepid) "We got in a pretty good lap with the ALLTEL Dodge. It wasn't as good as we wanted, but it should hold up for the top 10. The air is heavy and thick, and it cooled off for the start of qualifying. It would have been great if we could have drawn a later qualifying spot. I knew we were going to get beat. I didn't know who was going to beat us, but I knew it wouldn't hold up. It was a pretty good lap, but we didn't have the pure speed we needed going into the corners. I think the car will be good in race trim, and I don't usually say that a whole lot."
NOTE: Newman talks about his new dog - Mopar "Two or three weeks ago, we were up at our property in Statesville, and I was out on the pond fishing. Our other two dogs - Harley and Digger - started barking and tear off across the yard. I thought they had seen a deer or something because it was that time of day. I kept on fishing and the dogs ended up coming back to the docks. My neighbor had stopped by and I found out it was a little puppy dog. I couldn't tell it was a puppy at first. As I was greeting this neighbor, I saw the dog sitting across the pond. He was sitting there looking like, 'hey guys, I'm looking for a home.' I got out of the boat and started talking to the guy and the next thing I know the puppy comes over and starts playing with Harley and Digger. I talked to Krissie (fiance) about it, and we decided that it was 9 o'clock at night and we didn't just want to send it back off. It was full of fleas and ticks. We took it in and gave it a home. He looks like he's part lab, part bloodhound and part German Shepherd. Krissie and I came up with the name together. I think she might have been the first one that said it, but together we figured out that Mopar was a good name for a dog."