2008 Spin:
Following the worst season of his career, which saw Ryan Newman score only two top-5 finishes in 2006, the driver of the No. 12 Alltel Dodge had a word of warning for his competition before the ’07 season got underway.
“I remember how to drive.”

Boy, did he ever. The start of Newman’s season wasn’t much to brag about, but once the team hit its stride at the end of May, the No. 12 car was right up there with Chase-contending teammate Kurt Busch. With Mike Nelson on top of the pit box leading the rebuilding project, Newman came painfully close to ending a winless slump that now finds itself at 80 races following Homestead, and with three top 5s in the last five races of the year, the team served notice it could be a serious contender in ’08.

They’ll have to do it with a new leader, though. Nelson was moved into a management role with Penske Racing, and Roy McCauley, who started ’07 with Busch before taking a leave of absence to care for his ailing wife, will head the Alltel Dodge effort in the upcoming year. His first order of business is to discover why the engine department dealt Newman five failures as opposed to zero for his teammate; it’s the clear scapegoat in what left him out of the playoffs.

“I still feel as a driver I’m fully capable of winning those eight races-plus per year,” Newman claims. “The team and the people are what make the difference.”

Four years removed from those types of numbers, does he feel he can achieve them at Penske Racing ever again? With other offers expected to come his way, a Chase bid may not just be an expectation for Newman in ’08 – it’s a necessity for him to stay with Penske long-term.

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