The No. 12 crew will play an intregal part in keeping Ryan Newman in contention at Dover. Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images

Newman looks to extend remarkable Dover run

Ryan Newman jump-started his Chase for the Nextel Cup with a victory at Loudon and enters Dover International Speedway as one of the favorites, considering he has won three of the past five races at The Monster Mile.

In seven starts at Dover, Newman has four top-five finishes and six top-10 -- and he's also the defending race champion. Newman led 325 of 400 laps in the 2004 MBNA RacePoints 400 at Dover and swept the 2003 Cup races at DIS.

	Inside the Numbers Ryan Newman at Dover Year Start Finish Led 2002 38 4 0   4 8 0 2003 1 1 162   5 1 106 2004 2 24 9   2 1 325 2005 4 8 0   8.0 6.7 602

"Dover is a fast track; a driver's track," Newman said. "This is an absolutely great track to have in the Chase. This track is called the 'Monster Mile' to me because of its ability to just jump out there and bite you unexpectedly.

"Tires can be a real issue at Dover due to aggressive set-up combinations. It's not rare to see some right front tires go down throughout the race. Once a tire goes down there, your car is headed towards the wall and it's not going to be pretty. Dover just has a way of eating you up."

Nonetheless, the No. 12 team has found a way -- for the most part -- to remain out of harm's way.

Newman has posted six top-five starting positions, including one pole (June 1, 2003). And qualifying is important at Dover; eight of the past nine races there have been won from a top-10 starting position.

He has led 602 laps at DIS in seven races, the most of any driver at Dover in the past 10 races. Newman's average finish of 6.71 is second only to Tony Stewart (5.1) among Chase drivers.

Newman's victory at New Hampshire vaulted him to third place in the point standings, tied with Penske teammate Rusty Wallace.

"Winning at Loudon was great. There's no better way to start the Chase off, especially when you're 10th in points," Newman said. "The Alltel team can't just kick back and relax now. We need nine more performances just like the one we had on Sunday. This will be a complete team effort. We need a string of nine top-five finishes to win this thing. So, that's what we're trying to do."

Wallace, who has three wins, 11 top-fives and 21 top-10s in 43 races at Dover, said there's no secret to being successful at the track.

	Inside the Chase Point standings entering Dover Pos. Driver Pts. Behind 1. T. Stewart 5,230 -- 2. G. Biffle 5,210 -20 3. R. Newman 5,190 -40 tie R. Wallace 5,190 -40 5. M. Kenseth 5,180 -50 6. J. Johnson 5,177 -53 7. M. Martin 5,176 -54 8. J. Mayfield 5,135 -95 9. C. Edwards 5,121 -109 10. Ku. Busch 5,088 -142

"Really, the strategy hasn't changed at all through the years and it will be the same this weekend," he said. "The goal has always been to be there -- still on the lead lap -- during the final 100 laps. If you can survive the thing for the first 300 laps, then you'll have a shot of having a great race day at Dover on Sunday."

Stewart, who leads Greg Biffle in the point standings, has two wins, nine top-fives and 11 top-10s in 13 races at Dover. He understands the key to contending at the 1-mile concrete track is getting into the groove.

"With the way the cars slide around on the race track late in the day, there are times when a driver can make up for what the car won't do," he said. "They can move around on the race track and help themselves out by finding a faster groove.

"If your aero program gives you a lot of downforce, that's great. But at the same time, with all the bumps Dover has, you have to work on the mechanical balance too. It's a track that requires every aspect of your racing program for you to be on the money."

Biffle won the June race at Dover, but this time is taking another car from the Roush Racing stable -- and hoping to continue improving on his record at the track: one win, two top-10s in six starts.

"Dover has always been a pretty good track for me," hesaid. "I had my first Cup win there this June and it was a very special win.

"This time we're taking the car we won with at California and it should be another good race for us."

Other Chase drivers ...

• Matt Kenseth: "I've always said that Dover is one of my favorite tracks. It's particularly special to me because I got my first Cup Series start there back in 1998, subbing for Bill Elliott.

"We had a good run there in June, and I think we'll be in good shape for this weekend. We kept our positive momentum going at Loudon by finishing in the top five and the DEWALT crew is on top of their game."

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• Jimmie Johnson: "The track at Dover isn't as sensitive to the heat pounding on it because of the concrete surface. The rubber takes to the track in a different manner than it takes to pavement tracks. The biggest difference is the surface and the way the track is laid down.

"When you think about concrete, it is laid in squares so you have multiple seams and it feels like driving on a washboard road at times because you are going over those seams where they poured the slab. It is extremely hard on tires because of the steep banking and the speeds we carry. If you get a long green flag run, you can't be abusive to your car or your tires."

• Mark Martin: "Dover has always been one of my favorite tracks. We've had great success there over the years, including the last three years when we've been up front and a serious contender. The very first time I went to Dover, I loved it from the start. It is definitely in my list of top tracks and there probably is no cooler track to go and race on. I'm looking really forward to getting back up there this weekend and hopefully putting together another strong run.

"We were pretty happy to get out of Loudon with a seventh. It's one of our weaker tracks in the Chase, and we were able to go there and do what we needed to do. This weekend and Dover couldn't come at a better time. We are looking to put together another strong run there and hopefully we'll be able to leave there in pretty good position in the Chase."

• Jeremy Mayfield: "You know, for us it's like a breath of fresh air really because we knew that Loudon was our weak link of the top 10 races there. Going to Dover for us really is a challenge in itself, but it's a good challenge. I mean, I like the place, I love going there, I love racing there.

"We have to go to Dover with the attitude of we got to win the race, do the best we can, hopefully leave there with a good, strong top three, if not winning the race, a good top-three or top-five finish would be great."

• Carl Edwards: "Handling is really important at Dover. It's pretty much a one-groove track so you need to handle well through the center of the corners in order to keep your position. If we can get the No. 99 Office Depot Ford handling well I think we'll be good.

"In the spring we didn't handle as well as we should have so we were getting passed in the center of the corners and that hurt us a lot. We have one Chase race under our belt and we finished 19th. I think championships are defined by your bad days and if that's a bad day for us, I think we have a chance at the championship."

• Kurt Busch: "When I first started out in the Cup series, Dover was one of my favorite tracks. I made my first Cup start there in 2000 and we qualified well at 10th place, and went on to finish 18th, so it was a solid way to kick off our Cup Series efforts. I had won earlier that weekend in the inaugural Truck race at Dover, but since then we haven't had the same success there.

"It's a track similar to Bristol, almost like a bigger brother to that track being a mile in length at Dover versus a half-mile in Bristol, but our success at Bristol hasn't translated as well to Dover."