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2015 PRESS RELEASE
RYAN NEWMAN NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET SS
EVENT PREVIEW FACT SHEET
Event/Date: Talladega 500 • May 3, 2015
Venue:
Talladega Superspeedway • Talladega, Ala.
NOTES:
• This Week’s Caterpillar Chevrolet SS at Talladega
Superspeedway… Ryan Newman will drive chassis No. 494 on
Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway. This Chevrolet SS was
utilized earlier this season at Daytona International Speedway for
the Duels (Start: 12/Finish: 12) and the Daytona 500 (Start: 22/
Finish: 38).
•
Newman at Talladega… Newman will make his 486th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start when the series embarks
on its second restrictor-plate race of the season at Talladega Superspeedway. In total, he owns five top-five and 10
top-10 finishes in 26 starts. The South Bend, Ind., native has an average start of 13th and average finish of 20th. His
best start of second came in the fall of 2012, while his best finish of third took place in the spring of 2009.
• Featured Caterpillar Dealers… Thompson Tractor Company, Inc., Puckett Machinery Company and Louisiana
Cat will be featured on the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.
Thompson Tractor Company, Inc. is the full-line Caterpillar dealer
for Alabama and northwest Florida and the MCFA lift truck dealer for all
of Georgia (less nine northwestern counties). The company specializes
in the sales and service of Caterpillar products, including earthmoving,
construction, forestry and material handling equipment, as well as diesel
engines used for electric power generation, on-highway and marine
propulsion applications. Headquartered in Birmingham, AL, Thompson Tractor provides a diverse array of
solutions to their customers in its service territory through four divisions: Thompson Tractor Company, Thompson
Power Systems, Thompson Lift Truck Company, and The Thompson Cat Rental Store. Thompson has 25 locations
and the South’s largest fleet of field service vehicles to best serve their customers. For all your equipment and
product support needs, please visit thompsontractor.com or stop by your nearest Thompson location.
Puckett Machinery Company is the Caterpillar heavy equipment, rental
services, and engine dealer for central and southern Mississippi. Puckett
Machinery has six full service heavy equipment facilities conveniently
located throughout the southern half of Mississippi — in Flowood,
Gulfport, Natchez, Meridian, Hattiesburg, and Brookhaven. They also have
five Puckett Rents Cat Rental Store facilities in Biloxi, Hattiesburg, Jackson, Madison, and Meridian, Mississippi
which provide quality rental equipment, Cat Compact Construction Equipment, and a wide range of contractor
supplies. Plus, they have two Puckett Power Systems locations in Jackson and Gulfport serving the engine and
generator needs of central and southern Mississippi. Puckett Machinery is fully and completely committed to
providing higher quality products, more choices, greater expertise, finer support, and ultimately, better overall
solutions.
For over 80 years, Louisiana Cat has served the area with sales and
service of Cat equipment. With 21 locations across the Pelican State,
Louisiana Cat provides an extensive line of equipment, engines and
power systems, work tools, vocational trucks, and more. In addition,
they carry a large stock of used Caterpillar equipment, and with
Caterpillar’s extensive dealer network, Louisiana Cat has access to used equipment on a global scale. Louisiana
Cat’s parts and service departments provide the reliability and availability you have come to expect from
(Continued)
www.catracing.com
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your Caterpillar dealership. Louisiana Rents is your single resource for high quality, low-hour Cat and top brands
construction equipment and attachment rentals. Louisiana Rents locations also sell new equipment from
Caterpillar’s brand allied vendors. Daily, weekly, monthly or longer rentals are available, and to ensure that the
equipment is ready to work when you are, all machines are serviced and maintained by factory trained technicians.
Big or small, Louisiana Rents rents it all.”
•
About Caterpillar… For nearly 90 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making sustainable progress possible and
driving positive change on every continent. Customers turn to Caterpillar to help them develop infrastructure,
energy and natural resource assets. Caterpillar is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining
equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. The company
principally operates through its three product segments — Resource Industries, Construction Industries and Energy
& Transportation — and also provides financing and related services through its Financial Products segment. For
more information, visit caterpillar.com. To connect with us on social media, visit caterpillar.com/social-media.
• Get to the Points… Newman ranks 15th in the championship point standings entering this weekend’s event at
Talladega Superspeedway.
• Last Time Around… With 10 laps remaining, Newman led the field to the green flag and maintained the top spot
when the caution flag waved with just four circuits left. Following a restart, he kept the top spot until a second
yellow flag waved to set up a second green-white-checkered-flag finish, eventually finishing fifth.
•
Richard Childress Racing’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history at Talladega Superspeedway… Richard
Childress began his driving career at Talladega Superspeedway in 1969 and leads team owners for the most alltime victories at the storied Alabama-based race track with 12 wins. Dale Earnhardt visited Victory Lane nine times,
while Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer swept the 2010 events at the 2.66-mile superspeedway. Bowyer added to the
Welcome, N.C.-based organization’s total by claiming RCR’s 100th Sprint Cup Series win when NASCAR’s senior series visited the facility in October 2011. In 153 starts, RCR also has four pole awards, 39 top-five, 62 top-10
finishes and has led 1,832 laps of competition.
•
RCR in the NSCS… In 2,533 Sprint Cup Series starts dating back to 1969, RCR has
amassed 46 pole awards,105 wins, 465 top-five finishes and 986 top-10 finishes, with
an average starting position of 17.8 and an average finishing position of 15.9. RCR has
earned 15 total championships (six Sprint Cup Series championships with Earnhardt in
1986, ‘87, ‘90, ‘91, ‘93 and ‘94, six NASCAR XFINITY Series titles, two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series titles
and one ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards title) and was the first organization to win titles in NASCAR’s
three national series.
• RCR Richmond Rewind… In the Sprint Cup Series’ ninth race of the season at Richmond International Raceway
last weekend, teammates Newman, Menard and Dillon finished 11th, 15th and 27th, respectively.
•
Did You Know… Life threatening injury is the No. 1 killer of kids in America. Nearly
10,000 children lose their lives every year from serious injuries, and many more
are treated in the emergency room. It can happen anywhere, at any time, to any
child. The Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma discovers and shares the best
ways to prevent and treat severe injuries in children. The Institute funds research,
education and advocacy to improve the care and treatment injured kids receive
across the U.S. Visit SaveInjuredKids.org or find them on Facebook and Twitter to
learn more.
•
Interactive RCR… For up-to-date news and exclusive content, visit RCR’s Twitter page — @RCRracing — along with the RCR Sprint Cup Series team Twitter pages: @RCR3ADillon,
@RCR27PMenard, @RCR31RNewman, and driver Twitter pages @austindillon3 and
@RyanJNewman. Information about the 15-time championship winning organization can
be found on Facebook at facebook.com/RichardChildressRacing and at rcrracing.com
along with official driver pages — facebook.com/austindillon3, facebook.com/
PaulMenard27 and facebook.com/RyanNewmanNASCAR.
• Catch the Action… The GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway will be televised live Sunday,
May 3 beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET on FOX and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network
and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
RYAN NEWMAN QUOTES:
What is the key to getting around Talladega Superspeedway?
“It’s all about having a fast car. When you are holding it wide open just like everyone else, you just hope that your
car is faster or your position is better.”
What is the hardest part about restrictor-plate racing?
“The hardest part about restrictor-plate racing as a driver, you are a smaller part of the equation. You are holding it
wide open and you are obviously steering the car, you still have very little influence on making the car go faster.”
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Describe what it is like to race at a facility like Talladega Superspeedway?
“Talladega is a historical figure in our sport. For a lack of a better term, it’s been an integral part of making
NASCAR what it is today. I don’t think we will ever want to turn our back on it.”
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