| DHL 400 News: |
| Ryan Newman, in the ALLTEL Dodge, battled back from an over-heating engine that put him a lap down early in the race to capture the NEXTEL Cup Series DHL 400 at Michigan International Speedway Sunday.
Kasey Kahne also struggled early in the race after starting 34th, but rallied to finish second. He was closing fast on Newman before a caution flag on the last lap for a crash involving P.J. Jones froze the field with the race finishing under yellow. "Being Father's Day is the biggest thing and first of all I want to wish a happy Father's Day to mine (Greg)," Newman said. "We had to fight our way back, obviously. We had a bunch of stuff on the grille in the first part of the race and got a lap down, but we had a good, fast car. We got the lap back and we just had to work our way forward. The car started to get pretty hot and we pitted under green early because it's better to be safe than sorry and we're lucky it worked." Kahne, in the Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge gave the manufacturer a one-two finish with his fourth second-place finish of the season. "It was really a good run for us," said Kahne, who was 35th on lap 60 of the 200-lap, 400-mile race before the 27th consecutive sellout crowd at MIS. "We were on newer tires. I think at any time we could have caught him (Newman). We were pretty good at the end. It was just a matter of getting there. "Ryan got a little loose in Turn Two and I could have probably finished about a car length behind him but it would have been a good finish. I couldn't believe what was going on with the car early in the race but Tommy Baldwin and the crew fixed it." |
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| I've said it all year that I personally and Hendrick Motorsports builds a team slowly but solidly," Vickers said. "We don't always come out of the box like a blazing bullet, but in the long run we're going to build a team that becomes more competitive week in and week out and I think that's what we're doing.
Johnson, coming off a victory at Pocono last Sunday, said he was very interested in pit position if the pole didn't fall his way. "Our first priority is to win the pole, but out next priority is to qualify high, in the top five or 10 so we can get a good pit opening," he explained. "It's very important to get a good a good exit and entry into your pit." Dave Blaney was the only driver who failed to complete a qualifying run, tagging the Turn Two wall on his attempt. He had to take a provisional starting position. |