Officials of ALLTEL and Penske Racing South announced today a 23-race “blended” 2001 schedule for driver Ryan Newman in preparation for a full NASCAR Winston Cup effort in the 2002 season. ALLTEL will sponsor the former USAC champion in a schedule next season that will see the 22-year-old Purdue University senior compete in four ARCA, twelve BGN and seven CUP events. The Ford Taurus cars and teams for all races will be fielded out of Penske Racing South’s Mooresville, N.C., shop. Penske Engines Company will supply all of the racing engines. ALLTEL also announced that Nokia will participate as an associate marketing sponsor for the 2001 racing season, continuing its racing affiliation with ALLTEL. Plans call for Newman to make his Cup debut driving an ALLTEL-sponsored Ford Taurus in this year’s Nov. 5 race at Phoenix. At Penske Racing South, Newman will become a teammate to former Cup champion and 53-time series race winner Rusty Wallace. Wallace likes what he sees in this young driver(Tom Roberts/ALLTEL PR) Newman will drive the #02 Ford(10-4-2000)
