MOORESVILLE, NC (Feb. 4, 2004) — For the second consecutive season, Bayer HealthCare is pleased to announce that it will partner with Reiser Enterprises and 2003 NASCAR Champion Matt Kenseth to compete in 10 selected Busch Series events throughout the 2004 racing season. The Bayer HealthCare products of Bayer Aspirin, Alka-Seltzer, Alka-Seltzer Plus and One-A-Day Weightsmart Vitamins will alternate as primary sponsors on the No. 17 Ford Taurus owned by Wisconsin natives, John and Robbie Reiser.

The 2004 season will mark the 12th season that Bayer HealthCare has served as a primary sponsor in the NASCAR Busch Series. Last season, Kenseth and Bayer HealthCare teamed to produced two wins (California and Charlotte), seven top-five and nine top-ten finishes in 14 appearances. Of his seven top-five performances, Kenseth notched three runner-up finishes at Daytona Int’l Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway and the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

With Matt Kenseth, Bayer HealthCare will once again have the opportunity to align itself with one of the most successful drivers in the sport of NASCAR. In 146 Busch Series starts with Reiser Enterprises since 1996, Kenseth has compiled 14 wins, 7 poles, 64 top-five finishes and 91 top-ten finishes. Kenseth’s statistics are equal to a win every 10.4 starts and a finish in the top-ten in over sixty percent of the events in which he competes. In addition to his on-track accomplishments in the NASCAR Busch Series, Kenseth is also a well-proven performer in stock car racing’s premier division, the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. In just four seasons at NASCAR’s highest level, Kenseth has already joined the sport’s elite by capturing the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Championship crown and the 2000 Raybestos Rookie of the Year title.

“I am really excited about Bayer HealthCare returning as our primary sponsor for the upcoming season,” commented Kenseth. “We had solid success last season and I believe we will be able to deliver much of the same this coming year. Our new alliance between Reiser Enterprises and Roush Racing will allow us to access the technology and resources that will help to enhance our performance at the track. I am looking forward to a strong season and pulling the No. 17 Bayer Ford back into victory lane.”

Kenseth will carry the Bayer HealthCare colors for the first time in 2004 during the season opening Busch Series event at the Daytona International Speedway on February 14th. The race will be broadcast live on NBC starting at 12 PM EST. Below are the races Kenseth is scheduled to run in the No. 17 Bayer HealthCare Ford.

Track
February 14 • Daytona International Speedway
April 3 • Texas Motor Speedway
May 1 • California Speedway
June 19 • Kentucky Speedway
July 10 • Chicagoland Speedway
July 24 • New Hampshire International Speedway
August 27 • Bristol Motor Speedway
October 15 • Lowe’s Motor Speedway
November 20 • Homestead-Miami Speedway

Click to visit the Bayer Racing website

8 Matt Kenseth shone in 2003, a season that was otherwise not kind to Ford
8 Roush teams expect faster cars in ’04
8 Hail the Hometown Hero
8 Kenseth happy with testing, hoping for more Packer games
8 Kenseth, others to test at Daytona
8 Roush & Yates to merge Ford engine programs
8 Kenseth, Earnhardt Jr. line up with playoff plan’s opponents
8 Fast times at Expo Center: Stock car stars will be in Fort Washington for the Motorsports 2004 event
8 Welcome Matt: Kenseth’s NASCAR title keeps home fires burning
8 Two Champions

Matt Kenseth will participate in a revamped IROC series in 2004 as reigning Winston Cup Champion. Changes to the series, including new title sponsor Crown Royal, were announced on Thursday. The series’ drivers are expected to compete for a $1 million prize after four races: Daytona, Texas, Richmond, and Atlanta (and Matt does well at those tracks!). Visit irocracing.com for more information.

As announced in November, Matt will take part in a Pennzoil “Super Team” during the 2004 NASCAR Busch Series season. He will share driving duties with Roush Racing teammates Mark Martin and Jeff Burton. Matt is tentatively scheduled to run the March 6 Las Vegas, October 9 Kansas, and November 13 Darlington races for the team. Martin will run the Daytona, Texas, and Michigan races, and Burton will take the wheel for Chicago, Richmond, and Phoenix.

Breakfast with Matt at Rockingham
Have breakfast with 2003 NASCAR Champion Matt Kenseth! Package includes full breakfast in Turn 2 Hospitality area, 20-minute Q&A session (no individual autographs please), Race ticket in Hamlet high-rise grandstand, commemorative Matt Kenseth ticket, and chance to win a variety of autographed door prizes. Cost is only $95! To order, call NC Speedway toll-free, 1-866-451-7223. Order deadline is February 6.

The American Speed Association has announced the ASA Late Model Series will begin its 2004 season at the .50-mile Madison International Speedway in Oregon, Wis., on Saturday, May 8.

Matt Kenseth, the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Champion and former ASA competitor, will compete in the season-opening event. Labeled as the fastest half-mile oval in Wisconsin, Madison International Speedway is one of the premier short tracks in the Badger State with a full array of suites in turn 1 and seating capacity for more than 10,000. ASA National Tour car owner and Chicago-businessman Terry Kunes purchased the track in November 2002. Kunes appointed Roy Kenseth, father of NASCAR Winston Cup Champion Matt Kenseth, to promote and manage Madison.

“I can’t think of a better start of the ASA Late Model Series season than at Madison in 2004,” said Roy Kenseth. “The series will receive significant exposure with Matt (Kenseth) returning to the speedway. It’s going to be a highlight of the season.”

 Matt Kenseth, of Cambridge, Wis., made 16 starts in the ASA National Tour, recording a best finish of second at the 1997 season-opening race at Southern National Speedway. He produced three top-five finishes and nine top-10s. Kenseth earned the 1994 Madison International Speedway track championship.

(ASA Site/PR)
Thanks to Jayski.com

DAYTONA BEACH, FL (January 7, 2004) — Roush Racing driver Matt Kenseth shared his thoughts with the general media today regarding his feelings towards a newly proposed point system rumored to be in place for the 2004 NEXTEL NASCAR Cup Series. The proposed system has been described as a “Playoff” scenario, in which the top-10 in points after the September Richmond race (the 26th race on the schedule), would all revert back to zero points and begin a 10-race run for the first NEXTEL NASCAR Championship.

While testing the No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford Taurus down in Daytona Beach, Fla., Kenseth shared some of his thoughts.

“First, I haven’t really seen anything final. I don’t really know exactly what the plan is. I’ve heard rumors just the same as you have and you might know more than I do, but nobody has really talked to me about it or asked me about it or told me about it or discussed it with me really from NASCAR. I don’t really know what the plan is, but the rumors about the last 10-race deal, I have to wait until I see how they structure it before I say too much about it.

“But if you start it at zero with 10 races to go, I don’t like that idea at all because in the last 10 races, there are no Daytonas, there are no Bristols, there are no Poconos and there are no road courses. I don’t think a champion should be rewarded off of how good they are at a mile-and-a-half track. I think it should have to be rewarded on how good you are at all the tracks like it always has been.

“I’ve heard a lot of comparisons to football, but in football there might be inside and outside stadiums but they’re all played on a 100-yard field. All of the dimensions are the same, but we’re not football. We’re NASCAR Nextel Cup racing and we race at all different venues, so I think it still needs to reward the team and driver that can do the best at all the different tracks.”

Kenseth continued his remarks about a possible compromise to the current point system and how it will affect viewership of the sport.

“I have my own ideas of what I’d like to see. Do I have any input? I don’t think so. I don’t really know how they’re going to structure it. I understand their idea. I understand we’re after the TV [ratings] and stuff, but I just hope that we find out what the fans want too, because without those 180,000 people sitting up in the stands, we wouldn’t have much to do. I hope we do what the core base of fans that got us here want to do. I have my own ideas that I think would help it, but it all depends on what they’re after. I’m kind of a traditionalist and I don’t think about the TV ratings or how many people are watching.”

By the time he’d finished up his remarks, he had one final old adage to add to the conversation.

“Like I said, I don’t know how they’re going to structure it or how it’s going to work out, but I’m sure it’s going to be the same for everybody. Like it always has been, everybody starts out at zero at Daytona. I just hope we know what it is pretty soon so we can plan our testing schedules and things like that.”

8 Kenseth, others to test at Daytona