• I would like to welcome Kraft back as an associate sponsor on the Reiser #17 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. The article can be seen here.

• The NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division Awards Banquet will be televised on ESPN2 on Saturday, Jan. 16, 1999 at 6pm/et from the Regent Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, California.

• There have been a couple good articles about Matt and Reiser Enterprises at Nascar.com this week. Shop Tour: Reiser Enterprises and No rest for Reiser, Kenseth, 17 team

• Not much happening as far as news stories but you can be assured that the guys at the shop are working hard to be ready for the 99 season which starts on February 13th in Daytona.

• No word yet on availability of DeWALT merchandise, there was supposed to be something ready by Christmas. I will post news on merchandise as soon as I hear about it. The only Lycos items available from Matt’s sister are the 1/24th black diecast cars, everything else has been sold out. You can find details on the merchandise page.

• The season ending race was not very dramatic for the Busch series champion, Dale Earnhardt Jr. The championship was his as soon as the green flag dropped and he would start to celebrate after his motor failed in the backup car on lap 89. Matt Kenseth had his own problems in the Lycos #17. After a poor first round qualifying attempt, the engine was swapped for a fresh motor which unfortunately failed on the first lap of second round practice. Matt had to take his first provisional, starting back in the 37th position. Matt and the Reiser Raiders made up for the back of the field start by being fast on long green flag runs and quick pit stops. Matt would go on to finish 4th, highest of the Busch series regulars. Miami Jiffy Lube 300

• Matt Kenseth finishes 2nd in Busch series points, 48 points out of first. The stats show that Matt had more consistent finishes then Dale Jr, Matt’s average finish was 9th compared to Dale’s 10th. The difference in points was Jr’s bonus points in laps led. It should be quite exciting watching these two great young drivers in the years to come.
    

• MATT KENSETH
  No. 17 LYCOS.COM Chevrolet
  
  “That was really good for us, because we weren’t expecting to run very good. We ran terrible all weekend. We had a problem and didn’t get to practice much yesterday, so that was a very good run for us today. We came all the way up to fourth place. We were the highest-finishing Busch car, but I would’ve liked to have beat those Winston Cup guys. To run fourth was really good for us today. “It’d be real easy to beat myself up over losing the (Busch Series) championship since we were so close, but there’s 31 races in a year and every single point matters all year long. We lost too many points. We didn’t run good enough on short tracks and we didn’t run good enough on flat tracks. Basically, we just lost it on performance. They (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) performed better than we did — they had four more wins that us, but we had more top-fives and more top-10s. They led more laps and won more races, and anytime you can do that, you can win the championship. The bonus points made the difference. The difference in bonus points between us is probably what the overall difference was in the championship. Those points play a big part in winning the championship.”

• I would like to thank Lycos for a great year, your involvement with the internet fans has been fun. We will all miss the chat sessions and hope you can do a few next year.

• It is now time to welcome DeWALT Tools and Luxaire Heating and Cooling. Welcome aboard and here is to a winning season in 99!!

• Dale Earnhardt Jr. almost clinches the Busch Grand National Championship this weekend by gaining 20 points on Matt Kenseth with his second place finish. Matt finished the race in 4th after starting from the outside pole position. It was looking like Jr would easily clinch the championship when Matt went a lap down early in the race by taking a green flag pit stop and getting caught a lap down when a caution came out just 2 laps later. Matt would later get his lap back by making an incredible move to get by race leader Casey Atwood when the leaders got stacked up at a restart causing a few cars to wreck. Mark Martin went on to win the race, despite a damaged rear bumper.

• Dale Jr. now leads Matt by 166 points, and only needs to start next weekends race at Homestead to win the Championship.

• Matt will race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend for his first time. First round qualifying for the Stihl Power Tools 300 starts Thursday at 3pm eastern. The race is Saturday at 1pm televised live on ESPN. Tim Bender sat on the pole last year in the #17 at Atlanta.

• Matt tested at Atlanta a few weeks ago and turned the fastest times of the test session. He did wreck the car by going into the wall but the car has been fixed and should be back up to speed. Earnahardt Jr. can win the championship by finishing 17th or better in the next 2 races, he clearly needs to have some bad luck if Matt hopes to catch him in points.

• A very interesting story was developing Friday afternoon, Matt was qualified on the front row along with pole sitter Tony Stewart. It was going to be a replay of this springs dramatic finish.....  Unfortunately this story didn’t play out. On the first lap of happy hour Busch practice, Matt was taken out by Phil Parsons. The car was heavily damaged and the backup car was brought out, putting Matt at the back of the field for Saturdays race. The only good thing about this misfortunate wreck was that it happened early in the practice, giving the crew more time to work with the backup car.

• Saturdays race had several early race cautions and Team Lycos took advantage of them by pitting on every yellow flag lap, making many adjustments to the car. After the 3rd caution, Matt started to make his move towards the front, getting as high as 10th. They missed the setup on the car and paid for it in tire wear, slipping back to a 27th place finish. The race was won by pit strategy. The leaders, including Matt made green flag stops late in the race and paid for it by being caught a lap down after a caution. Elliott Sadler went on to win the race, Earnhardt Jr. was leading most of the day but was also caught a lap down and finished 14th. Matt is now 146 points behind Jr. in the championship battle with just 2 races remaining. - Title slipping away from Kenseth (Nascar.com article)

• Matt goes back to Rockingham this weekend with plans to sweep the 2 race series (see article from Nascar.com). Qualifying for the AC Delco 200 starts Friday at 12:45 Eastern and the race is Saturday at 2pm, televised live on TNN.

• Matt will not be in the car that won the race earlier this year, that car was destroyed at the first Dover race when the right front gave out putting Matt hard into the wall. Instead they will have the car that dominated at Dover in the second race. The team clearly expects to win this weekend, good luck all.

• Kevin Lepage withstood the pain in his shoulder last weekend and did not need relief from Matt Kenseth. Matt did practice the car Saturday Morning to be eligible for the race.

• Matt practiced at the Atlanta Motor Speedway this week. The good news is that the #17 had the fastest lap times (Matt Kenseth 184.430mph; #87-Joe Nemechek 184.235; #80-Mark Krough 181.180; #77-Ed Berrier 180.473; #35-Lyndon Amick 179.800; #23-Lance Hooper 179.800) The bad news is that on Matt’s last run, he got a little too close to the wall, getting into the marbles and just lost the car. The first hit was pretty minor from what I hear but the second hit was to the front end, causing considerable damage to the car. The other good news is that Matt is fine and the car can be repaired to be ready for the race in November.

• Matt will be at Phoenix on Friday to practice the #16 with the possibility of driving for Kevin Lepage if his shoulder is bothering him. Kevin Lepage has a bruised right shoulder and he feels confident he can race.

• I think us Matt Kenseth fans are getting a little spoiled lately... Sure is nice being disappointed with a second place finish. Team Lycos had an excellent car at Gateway this weekend, qualifying in the 10th spot and leading several laps before being passed by race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr.

• “Really, this is like a win for us because our flat-track program really hasn’t been all that good this year,” said Kenseth, who is now 102 points behind Earnhardt Jr. in the standings with three races remaining in 1998. “We didn’t do very well here at all last year, so this is a big improvement. We’ve got to take this second-place run and be happy with it. We’re going to a couple of tracks I really do like in Rockingham and Atlanta, so we’re not out of this thing yet. We’ve still got time to win it.”

• Matt Kenseth lost 5 more points to Dale Jr this weekend, they both led several laps but Jeff Purvis got the extra bonus points for leading the most. Matt has 102 points to make up in the next 3 races if he is to claim the Busch Series Title.

• Kevin Lepage fractured his right Scapula Saturday night in the Daytona race. Matt Kenseth will be in Phoenix this Friday to relieve Kevin if needed. Matt Kenseth will practice the #16 Primestar Ford and the team and Lepage will make a decision on if he will qualify the car and take it day-by-day on if Lepage will run the DuraLube/Kmart 500. Matt has some laps on this track in a South West Touring Late Model.

• Matt tested at the Miami-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex this week with some great results. He was fastest in the practice session and should be in great shape for the race there in November, hopefully fighting for the championship.
    
• Here is an excellent article about the points battle and how the “Reiser Raiders” have done a tremendous job in the pits.
    

• LUXAIRE JOINS KENSETH AS ASSOCIATE SPONSOR FOR 1999
  NORMAN, OK - Luxaire Heating and Air Conditioning announced today that an associate sponsorship agreement has been reached with Reiser Enterprises for the 1999 Busch Grand National season. Luxaire will be displayed on the C-Post of the #17 Dewalt Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven by Matt Kenseth. This agreement marks the 7th year for Luxaire involvement in Busch Grand National racing.
  
  “We are excited about our new involvement with Reiser Enterprises and Matt Kenseth for 1999,” said Ted Altmire, Marketing Manager for Luxaire. “Our dealers, contractors and employees are all motorsports fans and the NASCAR program has developed into one of their top sales tools.”
  
  “I’m excited to have Luxaire Heating and Air Conditioning as part of our 1999 program,” Kenseth said. “It’s exciting to see strong companies that have been involved with NASCAR as long as Luxaire has, hopefully we can win a championship with them on board next season.”
  
  In addition to the Reiser Enterprises sponsorship, Luxaire announced an associate sponsorship agreement in The Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series with driver Andy Hillenberg. The sponsorship will mark the first year of Luxaire’s involvement in the fast growing dirt track series.

• Fuel Mileage kept Team Lycos out of victory lane this weekend as Mike McLaughlin was able to keep his car out on the track for the last 93 laps without pitting. Matt was right there in second, ready to take the checkered flag if the #34 ran out of fuel but McLaughlin held on for the win. Matt started from the second position after an awesome qualifying run. It looked like a certain pole position until Dave Blaney rocketed around the track late in the qualifying session to beat Matt out of the top spot. It was the Matt and Dale show though as Matt led for 53 laps and Dale JR for 93. The Reiser Enterprises crew pulled out some killer pit stops and ultimately helped Matt stay out in front of Dale Earnhardt JR at the end of the race.
  
  The points battle was a wash today as Matt and Dale finished 2nd and 3rd, with Dale picking up the 5 bonus points for leading the most laps. Matt Kenseth still trails Earnhardt JR by 97 points with just 4 races left in the season.
    

• Matt’s off this week. He has hit stardom and is signing autographs for all of his adoring fans. Luckily, John Reiser has volunteered to fill in and will be chatting with us this Monday. John is responsible for telling Matt where the other drivers are during the race. This weekend, Matt will be racing at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. We’ll see how Matt and John did on Monday.  Chat with Matt - Monday night 7pm Eastern.

• The big news today is the unveiling of next years new sponsor. DeWalt Industrial Tool Company has announced sponsorship of Matt Kenseth and the Reiser Enterprises #17 Chevrolet Monte Carlo for the 1999 Busch season. See the press release here. Welcome aboard!!

• Matt starts his 5th race at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend with intentions on winning. The All Pro Bumper to Bumper 300 is one of the biggest races of the year and there will be a lot of cars trying to make the field. Qualifying is Thursday at 2pm Eastern followed by the 40 lap Hooligan race Friday at 2pm. The race is Saturday at 1pm, televised live on TBS. This article sums up Matt’s experience at Charlotte.

• Matt is testing the Busch car at Gateway International Raceway in Madison IL. The test session looks like it will be rained out today.

• There was an MCI teleconference with Matt Kenseth and Rick Carelli on Tuesday, you can listen to this conference using the Real Audio software. Another great article from Nascar.com - Kenseth Turns Heads at Dover

• The Busch cars have off this weekend, they return to Charlotte next weekend where Matt will be announcing sponsorship plans for next year.

• The World just got a glimpse of a future star. Matt Kenseth, making his first Winston Cup start in Bill Elliott’s Ford Taurus, showed that he has what it takes to be among Nascar’s elite. Starting from the 16th position, Matt carefully picked his way through traffic, and settled into the top ten for most of the race. There were some tense moments as Matt pitted twice during a yellow flag stop because the car had a vibration or miss. The McDonalds crew did a quick check under the hood but were unable to find any problems. Despite an occasional miss in the engine, Matt was able to get as high as 2nd place, racing with Martin, Wallace, Jarrett, Labonte and Gordon. Matt would eventually bring the #94 Ford home in 6th place, after an exciting run with Rusty Wallace.

• Matt will be in a chat session (I hope!!!) this Monday night (and every Monday night) at http://chat.lycos.com . The chat starts at 7pm Eastern and lasts for one hour. Please stop by and ask Matt about his incredible weekend. I want that room filled!!

• Matt Kenseth’s sixth-place finish was the best debut performance by a driver in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series since Rusty Wallace finished second at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 3, 1980.

• Listen in on Mark Martin’s media conference after winning the MBNA 400, he is asked a few questions about Matt. Real Audio required. Also a nice article from Nascar.com - Kenseth’s Promise shines through

• Team Lycos gets their third victory today at Dover Delaware in the MBNA Gold 200!! (Race results) Matt pretty much dominated the whole race, leading 158 of the 200 laps. The #17 Lycos Chevrolet consistently outran the competition, getting as much as a full straightaway advantage on long runs. Matt tightened up the points race a bit, gaining 43 points on Dale Jr. and is now 97 points out of first. Congratulations Matt, Robbie and the rest of the Reiser Enterprises crew!!

• MATT KENSETH (No. 17 Lycos Chevrolet) — “We had that thing really humming. I was complaining about a real tight race car. They made some adjustments and that thing was so loose. Kevin doesn’t know how close he came to winning his first race. I was hanging on. It was an awesome job. We had to do some awesome pit stops.

• Matt pulls double duty this weekend, driving the #94 McDonalds Cup car for Bill Elliott. After a quick celebration in victory lane, Matt was off to the Winston Cup garage for the final Happy Hour practice where he was 20th fastest.

• Matt Kenseth will make his first Winston Cup start this Sunday in Bill Elliott’s #94 Ford Taurus. Bill Elliott’s father passed away last night and Matt was asked to drive the car this weekend. Kenseth Impresses in McDonalds car.

• Matt has qualified 16th for the MBNA 400 Cup race and 4th for the MBNA 200 Busch race. WOW!!

• MATT KENSETH
  (No. 17 Lycos Chevrolet)
  
  “I picked up a tenth (of a second) from what we practiced, and we usually do the opposite. We had the car just about right. I don’t know if we could’ve run any faster. Everybody said the race track is faster because they did that grinding, but I don’t feel any difference in it. It doesn’t feel any different on the track. We’ve laid some rubber down, and that’s probably part of it. It’s pretty tacky out there right now — it’s probably as tacky at this point of the weekend as I’ve ever seen. The track is much tighter and tackier than it usually is. If we’re in the top-five or six, that’d be awesome. Usually, the way we’ve been qualifying lately, we’re happy if we’re in the top-15. We’re gonna be a lot better off than that.”  (Quotes from the Busch qualifying effort)

• It’s going to be quite a weekend watching Matt run 2 races at Dover. If his practice times are any indication, he should have some great runs in both races. My sympathy goes out to Bill Elliott and his family on the death of his father, George Elliott. For all the Matt Kenseth and Green Bay Packers fans... Keep that remote handy!!

• Matt Kenseth returns to his favorite track this weekend at Dover Downs International Speedway. Qualifying for the MBNA Gold 200 starts Friday at 2:10 pm eastern and the race is Saturday at 1:10 pm, televised live on TNN.

• Earlier this year, Matt qualified outside the front row and led 55 laps before his right front tire blew, putting him hard into the wall.

• The NASCAR Busch Series visits Dover along with the NASCAR Winston Cup Series this weekend. It would again be tough to bet against Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Junior spun out trying to get to pit road mid-way through the race in June and still ran away with the win. If he has a car half as good he can still win the race. His only threats will more than likely come in the form of Matt Kenseth and Jeff Burton. Kenseth was just as good as Earnhardt in June but he cut a tire early in the race and finished way back. Burton is always a threat in a NASCAR Busch Series car, especially at Dover. If Kenseth and Mike McLaughlin are going to make a move on Junior and wrestle that trophy away, they need to start now! (Marty Snider - MRN Notebook)

• Here is a good article from TNN Motorsports. Kenseth Full time in 99 BGN

• It was a wild night at Richmond, everybody seemed to find the wall or each other as a record 11 cautions extended the race late into the night. Even though Matt’s practice times were consistently in the top five, he was only able to qualify 24th. Earnhardt Jr. qualified outside the front row and easily drove away from the field after each re-start, ultimately winning the race. Team Lycos put on a great show of their own, a 2nd lap mishap  put them in the back of the pack, but they quickly moved up through the field, with the help of some great pit stops. Matt made a late race charge to the front and almost had 2nd place locked but smacked the wall with the right side of the car, actually going up on 2 wheels. He made an amazing save, never taking his foot off the gas and maintained his position, finishing the race in 4th place.

• MATT KENSETH
  No. 17 Lycos Chevrolet
  
  “I guess I tried a little too hard there. We had a real good race car. I keep putting my guys behind every single week. I qualified terrible again this weekend, and the first lap people were three wide and knocked my fenders in, and I had to basically start 40th tonight and work our way all the way back up, and should have finished second if I wouldn’t have run into the wall all by myself. The guys did a great job. The Reiser Enterprises team is number one; they just need to get the driver tuned up a little bit.”

• Just got a message from Matt’s sister, Kelley: “The die cast cars will be available mid-October now. They have promised me 1/24 and 1/64 scale cars. In the next two weeks, I should have some interesting junk like acrylic keychains, bumper stickers, license plate frames, and some plastic signs. I will try to get you a photo of merchandise and prices as it becomes available.”  I will get the Merchandise page updated as soon as I get more information.

• Team Lycos ran a good race at Darlington on Saturday, placing 6th. The #17 was in the top 5 most of the race and as high as second for awhile. With some 20 laps to go, a caution came out and Nascar opened the back stretch pits before the front stretch, allowing Jr. to get 4 fresh tires and a 5th place starting position. Matt and a few other leaders pitted after Earnhardt did and lined up behind him for the re-start. Dick Trickle beat Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the final caution of the race by an inch, maybe 2... Congratulations Dick Trickle on your second Busch series victory!!

• Matt Kenseth loses some more points to Dale Earnhardt Jr and is now 115 behind the series points leader.

• The Busch series will be racing under the lights this Friday night at the Richmond International Raceway. First round qualifying for the Autolite Platinum 250 starts Thursday at 5:45 Eastern and the race is Friday at 7:40 televised live on ESPN. Matt placed 3rd at Richmond earlier this year, also a night race.

• Hurricane Earl has left the Carolinas and qualifying was able to take place at Darlington, just 2 hours behind schedule. Matt Kenseth qualified in the 11th position while Mike McLaughlin grabs his second pole of the year. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be starting at the back of the field in 34th and will also have to pit on the back stretch. Maybe we can tighten up the points race a bit this weekend......

• The rumored #21 Citgo ride can be finally laid to rest, Elliott Sadler will be the driver next year. Sounds like the sponsorship for Matt Kenseth and the #17 Busch car has been finalized for next year and an announcement should be made in the following weeks.

• Robbie Reiser will be doing a Q&A session this Tuesday on Nascar Garage, get your questions in early.

• This weekends race is the Dura-Lube 200 at Darlington Speedway. Qualifying starts Friday at 2:05 Eastern and the race is Saturday at 1 Eastern, televised live on ESPN.

• The track that is “Too Tough to Tame” has been a good track for Matt where he finished 3rd earlier this year.

• With the good comes the bad and Team Lycos had their share of the bad last weekend at Bristol. Matt started the race back in the 18th position. The first wreck happened on lap 4 in front of Matt and he spun into the wall to avoid contact. Extensive suspension damage kept Matt behind the wall for much of the race, but the crew was able to get him out and get some laps in to finish 34th.

• Dale Earnhardt Jr. had some problems himself and was just out there making laps but was able to finish in 15th and gain points on Matt. Jr. now has a 95 point advantage on Matt in the championship battle.

• It appears as though Elliott Sadler is the leading candidate to replace Michael Waltrip in the Wood Brothers car next year. Last week Waltrip and the Woods announced that they would not continue their partnership next season. It also appears as though the second Wood Brothers team for 1999, which has been talked about so frequently this season, will not happen until at least the 2000 season. (MRN Radio)

• The Busch series returns to Bristol Motor Speedway this Friday night for some great short track racing. Qualifying for The Food City 250 starts Friday at 4:10 Eastern and the race is at 7:30 PM, televised live on ESPN.

• An article from the JournalNow about Michael Waltrip’s replacement. Note - These are just rumors... as far as I know, Matt plans on being in the #17 full time next year....

• Team Lycos had the fastest Chevrolet and Busch series regular in the field today at the Pepsi 200 in Michigan. Matt started from the 6th position and went quickly to the front, leading one lap early in the race. Dale Earnhardt Jr. starting from the 10th spot went right to the front and led 13 laps but fell off pace due to a tight race car. Jeff Burton was the class of the field, leading the most laps and winning the race by a couple car lengths over Bobby Labonte. Matt brought the Lycos Chevrolet into a 3rd place finish, gaining 10 valuable points over 5th place Earnhardt Jr.

• Matt is now 38 points out of first place with 9 races left in the season. Kenseth tightens up points race.

• After a week off, the Busch cars are headed to Michigan Speedway for the Pepsi 200 presented by DeVilbiss. First round qualifying on the 2 mile superspeedway starts Thursday at 3pm Thursday and the race is Saturday at 11am EST televised live on ESPN.

• Matt will be signing autographs tonight at the Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna for the ReMax Challenge series race.

• My sympathy goes out to Mark Martin and his family on the death of his father, Julian Martin, who was killed in a plane crash in Nevada. (Story)

• Team Lycos had another top ten finish this weekend at the Indianapolis Raceway Park. Matt qualified a career low 32nd for the Kroger 200, he was the last car to qualify on time. Matt was running well through most of the race but really put on a show after his last pit stop. Taking the green flag from 22nd place with about 50 laps to go, Matt put his 4 new tires to work and came all the way up to finish 6th. Dale Earnhardt Jr. continues to prove he has the best car in the field by taking his 5th win of the year and a 48 point advantage over Matt in the championship battle.

• Matt Kenseth fought a hard battle Saturday night and came out battered but not beaten. The Team Lycos Chevrolet was spun out by Kerry Earnhardt and put a lap down, Matt almost got his lap back a few times to Dale Jr. who was doing a good job of stealing the show again, until Nascar put an end to his punting of drivers into the wall. Jr. got the black flag after sending Joe Bessy, the last car on the lead lap, into the wall. Matt finished the race in 12th, after a 24th place qualifying position.

• Matt is only 13 points out of the series lead, not too bad considering the hard luck he has had the last few races.

• Lycos will be sponsoring the race this weekend at South Boston Speedway. The Lycos.com 300 gets the green flag this Saturday night at 6:30 pm eastern, qualifying is just 3 hours earlier. The race will be televised live on TNN.

• Matt led 7 laps here last year until he was spun out, he went on to finish in 6th. Can Team Lycos repeat their performance like the Pikes Peak event????

• Team Lycos gets another top five yesterday,  placing 3rd in the Kenwood 300. Matt Kenseth started in the 3rd position and ran in second a few times before Kevin Lepage took over the position for good. The #3 car was the class of the field, leading all but 9 laps and taking over the points lead. Matt is now 6 points behind Earnhardt Jr. Mike McLaughlin is 82 points off the lead after having problems late in the race when his hood came loose, forcing him to take a green flag stop.

• MATT KENSETH
  No. 17 Lycos Chevrolet
  
  “We’d love to win every week, and that’s what we do this for is to win.
  We had a decent car and a good solid run. The points thing looks better. We’ll just have to try a little bit more next week. Dale pretty much dominated the show again. But our crew did a good job. Good pit stops, good adjustments. We had the car handling pretty good there at the end but they were still driving away from us. We just have to do a little work. The heat wasn’t bad at all. It wasn’t very hot. It was a little warm out. The car was just a little on the tight side all day. I got beat real bad by Dale Jr., and pretty bad by Kevin, so we had a decent day. Last year, we finished third here and I was real happy with that. Only difference was that we run third and had a car fast enough to win the race, but fell back because of the fuel mileage thing. Today we had a third place car and finished third. We just need to be a little faster. Dale’s beating us by a lot. But for the big picture it looks pretty good. We’re only six points behind Dale for the lead and we pulled away from everybody else. So we’ll just have to go to South Boston and do a little bit better job.” (Nascar.com)

• Matt has qualified 3rd for Sundays race at California. His Friday practice times were 1st and 2nd fastest.

• MATT KENSETH
  No. 17 Lycos.Com Chevrolet
  
  “My laps were all right, it was about what I expected. I ran a four-sixteen in practice and a four-sixteen in qualifying. So I don’t know what happened, but usually what I run in practice is about what I can run. Other guys seem to be able to pick up a little bit, but not me. It’s usually about what we expect.”  (Nascar.com)

• The Busch cars are in California today for this weekends 2nd annual Kenwood Home & Car Audio 300 at California Speedway. Qualifying starts sometime this evening, after the trucks qualifying session. The race is Sunday at 4pm eastern, televised live on ESPN.

• Matt placed 3rd at California last year, Todd Bodine won the race by fuel mileage. Matt is looking forward to racing on the fast 2 mile track and feels good about his chances on winning.

• Matt raced at Slinger Speedway in Wisconsin Tuesday night in the Miller Nationals. Matt drove one of Scott Ollerman’s cars, it was black with the #17 outlined in blue, here is a picture. He qualified 2nd, breaking the track record. Unfortunately the car developed problems early in the race, a plug wire fell off putting Matt 2 laps down. The problem was fixed and Matt put on a show, getting 1 lap back and almost a second by the time the race ended, finishing 5th. Check out Slingers website for the complete story and a whole bunch of pictures of Matt and the rest of the drivers.

• Team Lycos slips a bit in the points this weekend, falling 3 behind leader Mike McLaughlin. Matt qualified the #17 in 17th position for Saturday nights race. There are some rather interesting rules for this race, you are not allowed to change the setup on the car after your qualifying effort, just make wedge adjustments. This means you need to qualify on a race setup and hope it qualifies well. This race also had competition yellows like the trucks do because of pit congestion. All the cars come in at laps 80 and 160 for 5 laps, taking tires fuel and even making spring and shock changes. This led to a rather un-eventful race because most of the drivers were just biding their time and waiting for the last series to get racy. Matt moved up into the top ten by the first stop and moved into the top five towards the end of the race where him and Earnhardt Jr. put on a nice side by side show for many laps. It was announced Matt tapped the wall late in the race, making him lose several positions but still finishing a respectable 8th.

• Matt Kenseth will be racing at Slinger Speedway tonight for round two of the Miller nationals.

• The Busch cars are heading to Myrtle Beach this weekend for the Myrtle Beach 250. Qualifying on the .538 mile “D” shaped oval is Saturday at 5pm eastern and the race is at 9:00 televised live on TNN. This is a track that Matt has had previous experience at in Late Models, this also happens to be Earnhardt Jr.’s home track...

• Here is an article written by Dave Kallmann of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel from last weekends race.

• It was quite a busy weekend for Matt Kenseth and Team Lycos crew at the Milwaukee Mile. During the first practice session, they discovered the engine had some problems and there was water in the oil. With qualifying coming up soon, the crew re-sealed the intake manifold and filled the motor up with fresh oil just in time to take to the track. Matt managed to qualify in the 13th position despite a very loose setup, enhanced by the sun coming out on Matt’s first lap. As soon as Matt got back into the pit area, the Team Lycos crew went to work, pulling out the old engine and replacing it with a fresh Katech motor, in time for happy hour. Then it was on to the Jefferson Speedway where Matt signed autographs for hundreds of fans at his old home track.
  
  The race on Sunday began under clear blue skies and the hometown fans were eager to watch Matt fly through the field. Matt moved from 13th to 9th, looking fast and smooth until a “racing incident” involving Matt and Randy Lajoie sent the #17 spinning out of turn 4, just missing the outer wall. Matt found himself pointed the wrong way with a line of cars screaming by blocking his way. By the time Matt was able to get turned around and back on track, Earnhardt Jr. was within a half a straight away of him and Matt was in very last place. At this point I thought Matt would soon be lapped and all hope for a top ten gone, but he proved me wrong and busted out some very fast lap times, actually increasing his distance from the ultra-fast #3. A few cautions and pit stops later, Matt was back with the leaders and finished the race in 5th, his ninth top 5 of the year.

• Team Lycos hangs on to the points lead with a great 5th place finish. (I think Matt has a 20 point advantage over Mike McLaughlin and a 22 point lead over Jr. The Un-Official results from Nascar.com appear to be wrong)

• Matt comes home this weekend to the Milwaukee Mile!! Qualifying for the DieHard 250 is Saturday at 12 Eastern and the race is Sunday at 2 pm (Eastern) televised live on CBS. Matt has a busy schedule this weekend and will be making several appearances...

• July 3, 9:00 a.m.: Will be at the “Firecracker Breakfast”
  at the City Hall, corner of Greenfield Ave. and 76th
  Street, West Dallas, WI
  
  July 3, 5-6 p.m.: Signing autographs at the Solid
  Gold McDonalds in West Allis, WI
  
  July 3, 7:00 p.m.: Grand Marshall of the 4th
  of July Parade which is at the corner of Greenfield Ave.
  and 70th Street, West Dallas, WI
  
  July 4, 6-8 p.m.: Signing autographs at the
  Jefferson Speedway, Jefferson, WI

• Last year at this race, Matt destroyed the primary car when the throttle stuck wide open during a practice session, putting Matt hard into the turn one wall. They were only able to put a few laps on the backup car before qualifying started. Starting from the 27th spot, Matt was able to finish in 12th with a car that was not setup to be raced at this type of track. Look for Matt to be very fast this weekend in front of his home town fans.

• Matt survived Watkins Glen and heads to Milwaukee with the points lead. Team Lycos qualified a disappointing 31st and started the race with trouble right away. Phil Parsons, checking up to avoid an accident in front of him was tapped by Matt and sent into the wall, causing considerable damage. Matt had some damage on the front of his car and went into the pits on an early caution to get some sheet metal adjustments for better cooling of the engine. Matt did not pit with the rest of the field on a scheduled pit stop because he already had pitted for fresh tires and fuel. Matt was running 3rd on the restart and quickly went into the lead for 7 laps, gaining valuable championship points. After the next scheduled pit stop, Team Lycos was running well in the top ten until Matt got on the brakes a little too hard going into a corner and spun the #17 Lycos Chevrolet harmlessly in the grass. Matt was able to get going right away and made up several positions to finish 17th. Not a bad race considering his inexperience on road courses and qualifying position.

• The Milwaukee Mile race is this weekend and many Matt Kenseth Fans will be there to cheer him on. We are planning an informal get together at the track before the race. If you are interested, send an E-mail to Jim Warren and he will add you to the list of attendees. Please give some details such as name, where your from, and seat location. We will have some details on when/where to meet soon.

• I have added a small page on how to order Shirts and Hats from Matt’s sister. I hope to have some pictures of the merchandise soon, models can contact me for a photo session. :)

• The first road course is this weekend at Watkins Glen International Qualifying for the Lysol 200 is Saturday at 2pm Eastern and the race is Sunday at 12:30, televised live on ESPN.

• The racetrack is setup so that the cars go to the right instead of the left around the track. This requires that the pitting is done on the right side of the car instead of the left. The fuel filler needs to be moved to the other side of the car and the tire changers must adjust to the change in car position. Last year, Matt’s first and only road course race, the #17 qualified in the 17th position and they were running well until a transmission failed. With some advice from Mark Martin on road course racing and his journeys on the backroads of Rockdale and Cambridge, Matt should be prepared for a great race this Sunday.

• I have added a message board to the web page. It is unmoderated for now, please don’t abuse.

• Matt’s sister Kelley, is selling Hats and T-shirts at the Cambridge Village Video store. She will do mail order. I will have a page up soon with all the prices and ordering details. You can call her at 608-423-4709

“Thursday, we didn’t have a very good race car. We had a lot of problems with it. And so Rob decided to change the whole combination of the car, and basically changed everything except for the paint job — for Friday. And then right off the truck Friday, we were one of the fastest three cars out there and pretty much maintained that during practice all weekend long. We had a great qualifying set-up, won our first career pole.

Yesterday, we were the only car out there making super long runs — you know, 40 or 50 laps in a row because we were kind of concerned about tires. And that really paid off today because we knew what was going to happen when we were 40 or 50 laps into a run. We knew when we needed tires and when we didn’t, so everything worked out really well.
 
“We really have to commend NASCAR for the decisions they made (regarding tires). We knew what was going to happen with the tires. You know, we’re in a points race and we didn’t need to cut down a tire, be wrecked and finish 40th. So really, we would have been out of tires. NASCAR gave everybody one extra set of tires which was really good and probably saved some race cars. In the beginning of the race, we kind of short-pitted. We ran to lap 50 to make sure our tires were okay. We pitted one extra time. Rob had it all figured out and it played into our hands.
  
“This facility is awesome. The groove moved up about three grooves from the bottom down there in one and two and in three and four, so I was having a real problem when we got to the back trying to pass cars because the outside was so good they could run off the corner and you couldn’t finish the pass. So the race track was great for two- and three-wide racing. The key — just like at all these races — was good pit stops and good track position.
 
“Being in the points lead is great. We want to be in the lead after the Miami race, that’s our goal. I’d rather be ahead than behind, obviously. I’m not a big points-counter myself. I like to win races. This is why I race is to win. If we don’t win the happiest guy in the world, I guess. I feel that if we can win races, the points will take care of themselves. So I’m happier than I was yesterday and I hope we can win a couple more of these things yet this year. And I think we’ll be there at the end of the year for the championship.” (Quotes following the Lycos.com 250 —  Nascar.com)

• It was a picture perfect weekend for Team Lycos and Matt Kenseth. In the Inaugural Busch series race at Pikes Peak, sponsored by Lycos, Matt Kenseth gets the #17 Chevrolet on the pole then follows it up by winning the race. I would like to congratulate Matt, Robbie and the rest of the crew for some excellent work this weekend, Awesome Job!!! (Also congrats to Mark Martin at Michigan)

• Today’s win propels Team Lycos into the points lead, having a 73 point lead over Mike McLaughlin who got into a little trouble towards the end of the race and went 2 laps down.

• Team Lycos starts the Lycos 250.com from....  The Pole Position!!!  Way to go Matt and the crew of the #17!!!

• The Lycos.com 250 is this weekend at the new Pikes Peak International Raceway. This is a new track for the Busch cars and it will be a race to find the best setup for qualifying. There will be 4 hours of practice today to let the drivers get a feel for the track. First round qualifying is Friday at 6 pm, Second round is Saturday at 2 and the race is Sunday at 4, televised live on ESPN. All times Eastern.

• For you in Wisconsin.... Matt will be racing at the Slinger Nationals this Tuesday Evening. It was announced on the Todd and Eddie Show that his prior commitments had changed and he would be available for the Tuesday race. I will be down in the pits if anybody would like to stop by and say hello.

• Matt springs back from his wreck last week, taking 3rd place at Richmond. The #17 Lycos Chevrolet looked great under the lights and the in-car camera was used quite frequently. Team Lycos gained a lot in the points race when Mike McLaughlin had a oil line fitting fail, putting him several laps down. Matt is now within 9 points of first place, followed by Earnhardt Jr., 45 points off.

• Team Lycos will be at Richmond International Raceway this Friday evening for the Hardee’s 250. First round qualifying is at 11 am eastern, followed by second round qualifying at 2:30. Racing gets underway at 7:40 eastern and will be televised live on ESPN2.

• After a disappointing DNF last week at Dover due to a failed tire, Team Lycos is hungry for a great finish at Richmond. Mike McLaughlin has increased his points lead by 113 over Matt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. has pulled within 51 points of Matt in the championship battle.

Matt Kenseth saw his day end abruptly against the Turn 1 wall when the right front tire let go on his No. 17 Lycos Chevrolet. The sophomore had set the pace for much of the first half of Saturday’s race, holding eventual winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. and runner-up Bobby Hillin Jr. at bay while he led 55 of the first 102 laps.

Track safety crews quickly doused a minor fire after Kenseth clouted the wall on lap 137.

“We had really good race car. It was extremely disappointing,” Kenseth said as he clutched an ice pack to his bruised right shoulder and right side. “It ruined a pretty good race car. I’m all right but we tore up the race car and that’s the worst thing.”

The 40th place put a dent in Kenseth’s championship quest, as point leader Mike McLaughlin finished fifth to stretch the gap to 113.

“It hurt us a little bit in the points race, but it’s early and we’ll come back,” Kenseth said. “I just bruised my right shoulder and my right side.”

• Matt had his career best Busch qualifying effort today, he will be on the outside front row!! Matt missed the pole position by 55 thousands of a second, he shares the front row with Kevin Lepage.
  
  Kenseth said he wasn’t surprised that Lepage beat him out for the Bud Pole.
  
  “I knew it was going to be close,” he said. “There were quite a few cars that I was worried about. Kevin was one of them, because he didn’t go out in that final practice and I was only 1/1000th faster than he was this morning. I’d like to win the pole someday, but the race is a little more important. Every time we start near the front, we have a much better day.”

• Matt was in a chat session Wednesday with Nascar.com, here is the transcript. Matt is also interviewed on MRN Radios Nascar Today, hear the interview here. You will need the Real Audio player.

• Starting Monday June 1st, Matt will continue his weekly chat sessions at http://chat.lycos.com. See you there at 7pm Eastern.

• Team Lycos makes their way over to Dover Delaware this weekend for the MBNA Platinum 200. Qualifying is this Friday at 2:10 PM Eastern and racing gets underway Saturday at 1:30, televised live on TNN. This will be Matt’s third time at Dover, last year he placed 11th at this race and 3rd in the fall race.

• Matt Kenseth continues to impress, bringing the #17 Chevrolet into a 5th place finish, highest of the Busch series regulars. Starting from the 5th position, Matt quickly moved to the front and led several laps with Mark Martin in tow. Then trouble struck, Matt damaged the front end of his car when he drove into the rear end of Dale Earnhardt Jr. after Jr. went into the wall to avoid a collision with Kevin Schwantz. The Team Lycos crew did a great job bandaging up the car and getting him out on the tail end of the lead lap. With a aerodynamically challenged race car, Matt flew through the field and was quickly back up with the leaders.

• Matt Kenseth and Mike McLaughlin are starting to run away with the points race. Matt gained 9 points today on Mike and is now just one point away, followed by Earnhardt Jr., 189 points off the lead. The pit crew continues to have excellent pit stops and Matt’s consistent finishes are proving that this is a championship team.

• No Hooligan race for Matt this year!! The Team Lycos #17 will be starting up in 5th place. Matt held the provisional pole for awhile before being knocked off by Dale Fischlein and pole sitter Bobby Labonte.

• Local news — Nascar.com has an article about the RE/MAX challenge series being at Madison International Speedway this Friday. According to the article, Ron Breese Jr. is the favorite to win the race, I’m putting my money on Jason Schuler, holder of the track record.

• The biggest race of the year takes place this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Over 60 Busch cars will be trying to make Saturdays race, a difficult feat since only the top 28 are done on time. Qualifying for the Carquest Auto Parts 300 starts Thursday at 4:30 Eastern, the last chance Hooligan race is Friday at 2:30 and the race is Saturday at 1:00, televised live on TBS. This will be the 4th time Matt has raced at Charlotte, and each time he has had to run in the Hooligan race to make the field.

• Starting in the 6th position, Matt Kenseth brought the Team Lycos Chevrolet into another top five finish, placing 4th. Matt ran in the top five all day and was running as high as second a few times. With 5 laps to go, Matt seemed to find some extra speed, passing Joe Bessey and catching up to points leader Mike McLaughlin. McLaughlin beat Matt across the finish line by half a fender, taking a 10 point advantage in the points race.

• MATT KENSETH
  (No. 17 Lycos Chevrolet Monte Carlo)
  
  “I haven’t had enough experience here at this track to know what makes it different, but it’s definitely changed since this morning. The track’s OK, the car’s OK, we just need it to turn a little better. I hated this place last year, but everyone’s been saying how much fun it is to drive here. This year, I really like it so far.
  
  “We were way too loose (in qualifying) — we were out of control. We’re just going to get it ready to race. Hopefully, we’ll find a good race setup. Qualifying and racing are two different things. This car always races good.”

• Matt Kenseth and Team Lycos will be headed for the difficult 5 corner raceway at Nazareth Pennsylvania this weekend. Qualifying for the First Union 200 is Saturday at 2pm Eastern and the race is Sunday at 1pm, televised live on ESPN.

• Check out some cool images of Matt and the #17 at Lycos Headquarters in Waltham Massachusetts, taken just before the New Hampshire race. Go to the Team Lycos page and click “Photographs”

• The rain stayed away from Loudon today and Matt brought the Lycos #17 into a 16th place finish despite a very tight car. Matt was unable to get on the gas soon enough coming off the corners because of a bad push, he went back through the field quickly and was close to being lapped when a much needed caution came out. 2 cautions later it looked like the team had managed to get the car loosened up enough to run in the middle of the field, I wonder if the ball peen hammer had anything to do with it  :)

• Team Lycos lost a little ground today in the points race. They are now in 2nd place 5 points behind Mike McLaughlin.