• 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 back roads 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.

“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.