Undefeated in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competition, Ryan Newman, the 2008 Daytona 500 champion, will be making his second career start in the series on May 15, 2009, when he climbs behind the wheel of the KHI All-Stars No. 4 Charter Chevrolet Silverado for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Lowe's (N.C.) Motor Speedway (LMS). Newman's first career Truck Series start came last October at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he drove a Kevin Harvick Inc.-owned truck to victory in the E-Z-GO 200. This will be the first race in 2009 that the No. 4 Chevrolet Silverado will not be driven by KHI rookie driver, Ricky Carmichael. Carmichael is scheduled to return to the seat on June 5 at Texas Motor Speedway for the Winstar World Casino 400.
Crew Chief Monsam Joins Kevin Harvick Inc.:
John Monsam, a veteran of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, has joined Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) as crew chief of the No. 4 Chevrolet Silverado team. Monsam will be present this weekend at Lowe's (N.C.) Motor Speedway for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 to work alongside KHI Nationwide Series team crew chief Ernie Cope before taking over the crew chief duties full-time at Dover (Del.) International Speedway on May 29, 2009.
With his move to KHI, Monsam also reunites with Ron Hornaday and Rick Carelli, as he has led both drivers to victories in Truck Series competition. Monsam guided Hornaday to victory lane in the 1997 NAPA 200 at Tucson (Ariz.) Raceway Park and won with Carelli in the 2000 Kroger 200 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.
Behind the Wheel with Ryan Newman:
In 2008, you competed in, and won, your first career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway driving for Kevin Harvick Inc. Does that provide any added pressure and/or excitement to drive for KHI again this season?
"Winning the race last year in Atlanta in my first and only truck start was pretty cool. In my opinion, winning my first race doesn't put any additional pressure on me as the driver and it doesn't give me any preconceived notions about what's going to happen this week in Charlotte. There is definitely some tough competition in the truck series. Throw in the fact that we are racing at Charlotte and I think the competition just got tougher. Everyone has an added desire to win. This is everybody's backyard, everybody's home track. I would love to come out of Charlotte on top."
What is it about the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series that gets your attention and interests you in competeing in the series?
"I had always wanted to drive in the truck series because all I heard from Sprint Cup guys like Kevin (Harvick) and Tony (Stewart) was how much fun they had when they got behind the wheel of the race truck. And when Kevin and DeLana (Harvick) gave me the chance to drive, I jumped at the opportunity. I don't really know what to say except that it is great racing. I've heard people describe it as racing the way it used to be; beating and banging and a lot of door-to-door racing. It's just a lot of fun."
From your experience at Atlanta last October and with Lowe's and Atlanta being similar tracks, is there anything that you can carry over from the Cup car to the truck or do they drive totally different?
"Atlanta and Charlotte are completely different, in my opinion. I do know that Kevin and DeLana Harvick have given me a great opportunity to compete in their truck again. I know that I have great equipment, and I am really looking forward to having a good showing for them on Friday night."
"In my opinion, there aren't a lot of similarities between the trucks and the Cup cars. They are totally different in the way we drive them. There are definitely some benefits in racing the other series because you learn what the grip is on the racetrack with that tire. You also have additional time to figure out the best entry and exit points in each corner. Overall, I think having the added seat time will benefit me in the All-Star race on Saturday and next weekend in the Coca-Cola 600."
Chassis No. 014 Makes 2009 Debut:
Chassis No. 014 will be making its first on-track appearance in 2009 Friday night in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Lowe's (N.C.) Motor Speedway. This marks the third season of competition for the truck, which won two races in the past two seasons. Ron Hornaday took it victory lane at LMS in May 2007 and Jack Sprague finished second in this truck at Dover (Del.) International Speedway in June 2008. Ryan Newman scored his first career truck series win in his first race at Atlanta Motor Speedway with chassis No. 014 in October 2008 and Cale Gale started on the outside of the front row with the truck at Texas Motor Speedway one week later.
QUICK NOTES
Date: May 15, 2009
Track: Lowe's (N.C.) Motor Speedway
Event Name: North Carolina Education Lottery 200
Race length: 134 laps/201 miles
Banking: 24-degrees in turns
5-degrees on the frontstretch
5-degrees on the backstretch
Track layout: 1.5-mile
Shape: Quad-Oval
Pre-Race Schedule:
Friday:
Practice: 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m., ET
Final Practice: 10:20 a.m. - 11:50 a.m., ET
Qualifying: 3:35 p.m., ET
TV: The North Carolina Education Lottery 200 can be seen live on SPEED at 7:30 p.m., ET.
Radio: The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast the race live at 8:00 p.m., ET.
