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Tuesday March
30th 1999
- Making
The Most of Extra Seat Time By
Matt Kenseth - Country.com
Motorsports
- Some sad news to report today.
Al Schill Jr., Late Model Driver from Wisconsin has died from carbon monoxide
poisoning. Al was a great race car driver and a great person, we will miss
him dearly.
RACINE, Wis. — Al Schill Jr., who followed his father into stock car racing
at 16 and became a frequent winner at area tracks, was found dead in his
garage Monday.
One day after a second-place finish at Rockford, Ill., the 24-year-old
Schill was found by his girlfriend. She was
awakened by a carbon monoxide detector, the Racine County Sheriff’s
Department said.
After the race in Rockford, Schill celebrated with family and friends and
returned to his town of Norway home about 2:30 a.m.
Schill stayed in his car to listen to a song on the radio while his
girlfriend went to bed, the statement said. She was awakened by the detector
about 6:30 a.m. and found him in his car, which had its ignition shut off
and the radio on.
The cause of death remained under investigation pending results of
laboratory tests. A friend of the family, speaking on behalf of Schill’s
parents, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel they did not think he would
commit suicide.
Schill’s father, Al Schill Sr., won four track championships at Hales
Corners Speedway in Franklin and six at Slinger Speedway.
The younger Schill began racing late-model stock cars when he was 16, earned
rookie of the year honors at Slinger Speedway and was winning regularly by
1995, the year he won his first championship in the late-model division at
Lake Geneva Raceway.
At the same time, he raced regularly at Slinger and Madison International
Speedway in Oregon, while also working fulltime as the manager at the
salvage yard.
In June 1997, the Schills became the first father-son duo in Slinger
Speedway history to finish 1-2 in a feature event.
The son passed the father for the lead and pulled away.
“He didn’t even wave when he went by,” the elder Schill said
afterward. “I wanted to race some more, but he went right on around.”
Schill also was a champion wrestler, winning the 135-pound title in the 1993
state public schools meet as a senior at Franklin High School.
Over the last few years, Schill made 53 starts in the NASCAR Re/Max series
and its predecessor, the ARTGO Challenge Series.
He finished second Sunday in the season opener for the Re/Max Series, a
touring series that races primarily in the upper Midwest. That tied his best
finish in the series.
In addition to his father and mother, Gwen, Schill is survived by two
sisters.
Monday March
29th 1999 • Texas
- The LTN
Hour now has an archive of the weeks show on the internet
in RealPlayer format. Listen to Todd Behling and Ed Cluka give the inside
scoop on Nascar. Todd Behling is an announcer at Slinger and Oregon, WI
where Matt used to race and Ed Cluka supplies wheels for many of the Winston
Cup teams. These guys have the news you want to hear and aren’t afraid to
say it! (Thanks Mike
for the heads up on the archive)
- Dewalt Racing put on a
dominating performance Saturday at the Texas Motor Speedway. Matt led 127 of
the 163 rain shortened laps. Matt easily had the field covered but an early
green flag stop followed by a caution left Matt a lap down. The crew decided
to pit early when it was discovered not all the fuel had made it into the
car. A quick stop and Matt was back out and up to speed. That is when
the caution came out and the trouble started. Matt knew he had to race
to the caution if was going to get buy leader Jeff Green to stay on the lead
lap. Coming out of turn 4, Matt discovered the front stretch was blocked by
spinning cars and he took to the infield to avoid wrecking. The car got
sideways and Matt just went for a long ride through the grass infield. The
car had a little damage to the front where grass had pushed the front
spoiler in. The Reiser crew put a sheet metal bandage on the car and lots of
duct tape to help the aero-dynamics of the car. Matt would re-start the race
in 19th but never had time to get around traffic because of wrecks in front
of him. The rain came several laps after the spin and Matt was stuck with 18th
place. Matt radioed in to Robbie after the spin that he just
made the dumbest mistake of his life trying to get his lap back like that. I
say he is only human and had the move worked, Matt would have been a hero.
At least the car and driver are in one piece and Matt still salvaged a
decent finish.
“It wouldn’t have mattered if I had a million laps around Texas Motor
Speedway ... I still couldn’t have run with Matt Kenseth,” Martin said.
“I am a pretty big Matt Kenseth fan. I was more disappointed to see him
have trouble than I was elated to win the race. I am a big supporter of his.”
- Matt Kenseth is now 2nd in
Busch
Series Points, 8 behind leader Jeff Burton, who is not a
Busch series regular.
- After
cooling off, Kenseth finds lesson in costly spin
- Dallas Morning News (Thanks Dixie)
By Matt McKay / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH - After Matt Kenseth went spinning late in Saturday’s
Coca-Cola 300 Busch Grand National race, he wasn’t in the mood
to consider any positives that might be gleaned from the
experience.
But 24 hours later, the driver of the No. 17 DeWalt Tools
Chevrolet had reflected on the incident. A spin on lap 142 ended
up putting a car that led 117 of the 163 laps in the
rain-shortened race into 18th position.
While it was a disappointment, considering that the competition
called his car the best in the field, Kenseth said he had
learned a lesson and something about his team.
“There were around 20 Winston Cup drivers in [Saturday’s]
race, and we had the fastest car,” said Kenseth, who stood by
in Bobby Labonte’s pit Sunday ready to serve as a relief
driver for the injured racer in the Winston Cup Primestar 500.
“We had the fastest laps, and the team had some great pit
stops. The only thing that wasn’t good was our finish.”
After pitting on lap 142, Kenseth said he “panicked” when a
collision involving Casey Atwood and Jeff Krogh brought out a
caution flag. Concerned that he would lose a lap, Kenseth said
he became too aggressive racing back to the start-finish line
and didn’t realize the magnitude of the Atwood-Krogh wreck.
When he emerged from turn 4, he lost control of the car trying
to avoid debris, and it spun into the grass beside the front
stretch.
Stalled in the grass, Kenseth told his crew the move was “the
stupidest thing I’ve done in my life.” In a state of
post-race depression, he refused to speak to reporters
afterward. But Sunday, he was more receptive - and
philosophical.
“I made a mistake. I should have waited, knowing that the
other guys on the track hadn’t pitted yet,” said Kenseth,
who will race in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday. “But I’ll
learn from it. We’re still in the points race, and we know we
have a great team with a great program. But the race car is
still my responsibility. I’m the one pushing the buttons in
there.”
Thursday March
25th 1999
- Matt Kenseth was a guest on the
MCI Teleconference on Tuesday.
- Bill Weber of ESPN has written a
great
article about Matt and Bobby at Darlington. Thanks Bill and
well done.
- Matt’s practice times were
6th
and 2nd
fastest today.
- Matt has qualified
5th for Saturdays Coca Cola 300.
Wednesday March
24th 1999
- Roush:
Kenseth could drive for Martin
(Nascar.com)
- Kenseth
& Caution Too Much For BGN Field
(John Close - Country.com
Motorsports)
- The Merchandise
page has been updated, go get yourself some DeWALT Racing
gear!!
- Matt makes his second appearance
at the Texas Motor Speedway this weekend for the Coca Cola 300.
Bud Pole qualifying is set for Thursday at 3:45 with second
round at 3:30 on Friday. The race gets underway Saturday at 1pm
and will be televised live on CBS. All times Eastern.
- DeWALT Notes
Matt Kenseth grabbed his first win of the season last weekend at Darlington.
Leading 97 laps of the possible 147, Kenseth grabbed the Gatorade Front
Runner Award leading at the half way point and captured the MCI Worldcom
Fast Pace Award for his fast speed of 159.761 mph on lap 35.
Kenseth brought the DeWALT Tools Monte Carlo to victory lane for the first
time in 1999 this past weekend. Darlington was DeWALT’s first win in the
Busch Series after seven years of primary sponsorship.
Matt sits on top of the Busch Series championship points race after his
first place showing at Darlington. Kenseth is 22 points ahead of second
place holder Kevin Lepage.
The DeWALT Racing Team will be running the same Monte Carlo they won with at
Pikes Peak International Raceway on June 14, 1998. The team ran the car
earlier this season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, finishing 30th.
Matt Kenseth was the relief driver for Bobby Labonte’s Winston Cup Team at
Darlington. Matt practiced and qualified the #18 car after Bobby was injured
in a Busch Series practice session. Labonte started the race but turned over
the wheel to Matt during an early caution flag. Kenseth went on to grab a
10th place finish for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Matt will again be ’on call’ for the #18 Winston Cup Team this weekend
at Texas Motor Speedway, filling in as a relief driver for Bobby Labonte if
the need arises.
-
MATT’S THOUGHT’S
ON TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
“The track is supposed to
be a lot like Atlanta now,
with the transitions being
smoother. I didn’t mind
the track before so I think
I’ll like the changes. We
haven’t tested at Texas
since the last race, so it
may take me a little while
to adjust but I think the
track will be fast. These
are the types of race tracks
I really like to run on. The
team is really strong right
now. We’ve got an awesome
motor program with Kippley
Engines and our pit stops
have been quick. I hope we
can keep the momentum
rolling into Texas this
weekend.”
Tuesday March
23rd 1999 Darlington Busch/Cup
- In case anyone thought last falls
race at Dover was pure luck, he did it again!! After a strong
victory in Saturdays Busch race, Matt takes Bobby Labonte’s #18
Pontiac from the back of the field in a rain shortened race to a
10th place finish. That makes two top tens in two Cup starts,
quite a showing of talent.
- Saturdays Busch series victory
was an all team effort. The Kippley motors have finally arrived and true to
their word, develop the horsepower. The Reiser Raiders burned off a couple
blistering pit stops to keep Matt in the lead and Matt drove the DeWALT #17
Chevrolet on a fast but patient pace, putting many good cars a lap down.
Congratulations all you guys on a well deserved win and I hope DeWALT
enjoyed their first Busch series victory. (Kenseth
can cross Darlington off ’to do’ list - Nascar.com article)
- DeWALT Racing Report
MATT
KENSETH WINS AT DARLINGTON
DeWALT Captures Their First Victory
Matt Kenseth and the DeWALT Racing Team dominated at Darlington Raceway,
bringing home their first win of the season and DeWALT’s first ever
victory in seven years of sponsorship.
Matt qualified for the 200 mile race in ninth
spot, his second top ten qualifying effort of the season.
Kenseth took the lead from pit road on lap 28 after coming into the pits in
5th position. After a 17.40 second stop by the Reiser Raiders, Matt
took the lead and didn’t look back. Kenseth led 97 of the 147 laps during
the Diamond Hill Plywood 200, bringing the DeWALT Tools Chevy home in first
place.
-
MATT THOUGHTS ON DARLINGTON
“Darlington and Charlotte
are at the top of my list of
places to win at. This place
because it is so difficult
and their is so much
history. It’s hard to win,
so we are pretty happy to
win here.” “We ran as
hard as the tires would
allow us. We had a pretty
conservative setup in there
for a long run. And we made
some guesses last night
after happy hour and really
didn’t run that good, so
we made some guesses this
morning and everything we
did went in the right
direction. The car handled
really good; the guys were
up to par, and we had
awesome pit stops.”
-
MATT KENSETH TAKES
BUSCH SERIES POINTS LEAD
Following his win at
Darlington, Matt Kenseth
takes a 22 point lead in the
NASCAR
Busch Series Championship Points Battle over Kevin Lepage.
Kenseth has a 28 point lead
over third place sitter and
Busch Series regular Elton
Sawyer.
- MATT
KENSETH RELIEF DRIVER FOR BOBBY LABONTE IN WC RACE
Matt Kenseth, driver of the NASCAR Busch Series #17 DeWALT Tools
Monte Carlo, subbed for injured driver Bobby Labonte in the
Winston Cup race at Darlington. Matt practiced and
qualified the #18 car after Bobby suffered a broken shoulder in
an early practice session at the track on Friday. Bobby
Labonte started the WC race but turned over the wheel to Matt
Kenseth after the races second caution flag. Matt went on to
capture at 10th place finish for Joe Gibbs Racing in only his
second Winston Cup race.
Wednesday March
17th 1999
- Matt makes his return to
Darlington this weekend, a track that has been pretty good to
him. Qualifying for the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 starts Friday
at 2:00pm and the race is Saturday at 1pm, tape delayed on ESPN
to be shown at 5:30pm. All times Eastern. I will be on a golf
outing in South Carolina so will not be updating until Tuesday,
Go Matt!!
-
DeWALT Racing
Darlington Raceway has been good to
Matt Kenseth. With only three races to his credit, Kenseth has
managed to grab two top tens finishes, both coming in 1998. His
worst finish, a 12th, came in his first race at Darlington in
August of 1997.
Matt will be running the same Monte Carlo he raced with at
Rockingham earlier this season. This is the same Chevy that
Kenseth won with at Dover Downs International Speedway in
September of 1998.
-
MATT’S
THOUGHTS ON DARLINGTON
“I’m looking forward to
racing again at Darlington. I’ve
had a few good races there.
Darlington is a pretty tough
track to master and I’ve
only raced there three times
but I’ve been lucky enough
to grab some strong finishes.
I would like to lead a few
laps at Darlington, something
I haven’t done, and get back
into finishing up front. I’m
ready to shake this monkey
that has been on my back the
last two races and get this
DeWALT Monte Carlo a top ten
finish.”
Tuesday
March 16th 1999 Atlanta
- 1999 DeWALT Race Report
ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY
ANOTHER TOUGH WEEKEND AT THE TRACK
After running as high as 4th during the Yellow Freight 300 at Atlanta Motor
Speedway, the DeWALT Racing Team were victims of another dose of bad luck.
Matt Kenseth qualified the #17 DeWALT Tools Chevy in 13th
spot, beginning the race on the inside of seventh row. It
didn’t take Kenseth long to move up the field. Matt was running in 5th
spot when the first caution flag flew, heading into the pits for the teams
first pit stop. Unfortunately, the front tire changers gun broke, causing a
long stop, relegating Kenseth all the way back to 30th spot when green flag
racing resumed. Matt didn’t let the stop bring him down, turning up the
wick and climbing up the field, breaking back into the top ten by the races
half way point.
Kenseth was cruising in 4th position when the caution flag flew once again
and Matt went into the pits for his final stop. Many cars decided not to
pit, putting Kenseth back in 17th position for the restart. When the green
flag dropped, the front two cars tangled, sending cars spinning everywhere.
Matt looked at though he was going to miss the huge wreck entirely, but was
clipped from the side, sending him spinning into several other cars. Matt
drove the car directly into the pits and the crew repaired what they could,
losing several laps in the process. Kenseth fell back to 24th spot following
the accident and was never able to make up any positions on the race track
before the checkered flag dropped. Matt fell from fourth in the drivers
points standings to sixth following his 24th
place finish.
- MATT’S THOUGHTS ON ATLANTA:
“We were running really good, we just had
some bad luck. I’m disappointed in our finish but the DeWALT Monte Carlo’s
performance today was great. I was extremely happy with the way the car
handled. Racing involves a lot of luck and we just didn’t have any at
Atlanta. We’ll make up for it in Darlington next weekend”
- (The following article has been
floating around the net and was copied from Jayski)
Martin Car Owner? Mark Martin could become a Winston Cup car owner as soon
as next year. With Dale Earnhardt setting the precedent (driving for one
team, owning a rival team with another driver), Martin could emerge in 2000
as owner of a Cup team for Matt Kenseth, possibly with DeWalt sponsorship.
Martin’s personal interest in rising star Kenseth, a 26-year-old from
Wisconsin, gave the youngster’s career a boost during an exciting rookie
campaign in the Busch Series last year. Kenseth’s Busch team is owned by
Robbie Reiser. It receives no cars or engines from Roush Racing, but it
receives guidance and sponsorship support from the Roush group. Under the
Roush plan, Kenseth faces several career options, all apparently favorable.
He could be graduated to one of Roush’s Cup cars, or the Reiser team could
become a companion team to the Roush-supported Wood Brothers outfit. At
Atlanta, however, Roush suggested a third option with Mark Martin as an
owner (This info from the Racer Magazine Site/Ben
Blake, thanks to Team
Roush Fans Site for the heads up)(3-15-1999)
Thursday March
11th 1999
- Darrell Waltrip’s Racers (9
p.m. EST Saturday on TNN) will feature the NASCAR Busch Series Grand
National Division. Included are interviews with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt
Kenseth, Casey Atwood, and Adam Petty.
- Matt has qualified
13th for Saturdays race at Atlanta.
- Matt
Kenseth/DeWALT merchandise
will be available to order very soon at Village Video in Cambridge WI from
Matt’s sister. Check the merchandise
page in a few days for prices and availability.
Wednesday March
10th 1999
Happy B-day to you... Happy B-day to
you.....
- A couple of Birthday
announcements today. Matt Kenseth turns 27 today and his brother-in-law Mike
is another year older :) Happy Birthday guys!
- This weekends race at Atlanta has
rain in the forecast, just like last year. Lets hope the weather
is wrong. First round qualifying for the Yellow Freight 300 is
scheduled for Thursday at 2pm and Friday at 11:30am for second
round. The race is on Saturday at 1pm televised live on ESPN.
All times Eastern.
- Kenseth
hopes No. 2 takes him to No. 1
(Nascar.com article)
HAMPTON, Ga. (March 10, 1999)
Matt Kenseth will be running the DeWalt Chevrolet “No. 2” in the Yellow
Freight 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This car has a great deal of history
within Reiser Enterprises. The “No. 2” car is one of the oldest cars
owned by Robbie Reiser, competing in seven races in 1998. Of the seven races
ran last year, the worst finish was an eighth-place run at Texas.
Kenseth tested at Atlanta prior to the NASCAR Busch Series Grand National
Division race in November. At the test, he crashed the Monte Carlo,
destroying the race car. Reiser Enterprises brought the car back to the shop
and put it together again, bringing it back to Atlanta for the race. Kenseth
went on to qualify second and finish fourth.
“I’m anxious to run again at Atlanta Motor Speedway,” Kenseth said.
“I’ve only raced there once before and that was last November. We’re
taking back one of my favorite cars, car number two, which ran well there in
the fall race. We’ve never won with this car but grabbed several top five
finishes with it last season, including the fourth place run at Atlanta.
“Last weekend in Las Vegas was a little disappointing. We didn’t quite
hit it right with our setup and our pit stops weren’t at our best. The
guys have worked really hard all week practicing pit stops at the shop and
have prepared a strong race car for the Atlanta race. I ready to get back to
the track and maybe grab a win for DeWalt Tools at AMS.”
Kenseth will be making an appearance at The Home Depot in Griffin, Ga. on
Friday, March 12. Kenseth will be signing autographs from 7-8 p.m. ET.
Monday March
8th 1999 Las Vegas
- Lets hope Matt and the Reiser
Raiders got their bad luck out of the way for the year. Matt started the DeWALT
Tools #17 in the 20th
position for the Sams Town Las Vegas 300 on Saturday. The
team was quite busy the night before, changing out an engine after final “Happy
Hour” practice. The beginning of the race on Saturday had a few caution
flags and Matt was running around 7th place by the half-way point. The rest
of the race was under green flag conditions and this is where the problems
started. The first green flag stop was slowed a bit by a jammed air gun, not
too slow but it hurts when Mark Martin is out there setting a blistering
race pace. The next series of green flag stops really hurt Matt’s track
position when one lug nut came off and he was called back to the pits, going
2 laps down and finishing a disappointing 30th.
- Matt got some good TV time with
the Briggs and Stratton in-car camera showing himself and Jeff
Gordon racing together in Gordon’s first Busch series race in
many years. Gordon was one of 17 Cup drivers who were in this
race, while 22 entrants had to make the long drive home after
failing to make the field. Next week at Atlanta, 80 teams are
scheduled for qualifying!!
- Despite a 30th place finish, Matt
still hangs on to 2nd place in the points
standings (after removing Mark Martin and Jeff Burton from
1st and 3rd place) now trailing Randy LaJoie by 55 points.
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