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Newman Pulls Off Last-Lap Pass To Win Crown Royal IROC

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., (Feb. 13, 2004) -- Ryan Newman slipped past Kurt Busch coming to the checkered flag to win the Crown Royal IROC race at historic Daytona International Speedway on Friday night.

Entering the tri-oval, Newman ducked his No. 12 car underneath the yellow line to pass Busch's No. 97 car. Officials ruled the pass legal because Busch blocked Newman's attempt to pass.

"I could've leaned into him and spun him coming to the line, but that's not the way to win because he was blocking me down," Newman said.
Said Busch: "I was in the middle of the race track and I went to go down to the yellow line and I left just enough room I guess. I thought I left no room. The way it went, I'm just as much at fault as he is.

"I'm a bit upset with myself and maybe the call that was made. But it's more myself because I left the door open."

Rounding out the top five was Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson and Steve Kinser.

The Crown Royal IROC race was a wild one with 14 lead changes among six drivers. The average speed was 151.007 mph and the margin of victory was .035 seconds.

Tickets for Speedweeks 2004 events are available online at http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or call 1-800-PITSHOP.

INDYCAR SERIES STARS FINISH SIXTH, EIGHTH AND NINTH IN IROC RACE

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla, Friday, Feb. 13, 2004 – IRL IndyCar® Series stars Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon and Scott Sharp finished sixth, eighth and ninth, respectively, in the first round of the Crown Royal International Race of Champions on Feb. 13 at Daytona International Speedway.

While the IndyCar Series trio finished out of the top five, two of the drivers played key roles during the all-star event featuring 12 top drivers from different series in equally prepared stock cars.

NASCAR Nextel Cup driver Ryan Newman passed fellow Nextel Cup star Kurt Busch on the final lap to win the 40-lap race on the high-banked Daytona oval.

Castroneves, the highest finishing IndyCar Series driver, rebounded from a penalty to finish just outside the top five. The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner was running third, when he was forced to move to the back of the pack.

Sharp, who was fourth at the competition caution at lap 25, ran as high as second before losing the all-important draft when he couldn’t secure a drafting partner in an attempt to improve positions.

Round two of the Crown Royal IROC is April 2 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas.

The 2004 IRL IndyCar Series season begins with the Toyota Indy 300 at 2 p.m. (EST) on Feb. 29, 2004, at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The race will be broadcast live on ESPN and the IMS Radio Network.

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