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Friday April
30th 1999
- The Busch series moves out west
this weekend to Fontana California for the Auto Club 300 at
California Motor Speedway. Qualifying is Friday at 6:45 and the
race is Saturday at 2pm. Eastern time.
- Matt Kenseth moved into second
position in the Busch Series points races after his fourth place finish at
Talladega. Kenseth is now 100 points away from leader Dale
Earnhardt Jr.
Matt will be running the same car he ran at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March,
a Hutcherson Pagan standard snout Monte Carlo.
Kenseth’s been to the California Speedway just twice and has walked away
from both races with third place finishes. Matt has led just two laps at
the speedway.
Matt is just $57,340 away from earning 1.5 million dollars in his Busch
Series career. Kenseth will be making his 63rd Busch Series start in the
Auto Club 300.
- California Speedway Breakdown
Starts: 2 Laps Completed: 300/300 = 100%
Average Start: 3.5 Top 5’s: 2
Average Finish: 3 Top 10’s: 2
- MATT’S THOUGHTS ON
CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY
“I am really looking forward to returning
to California. It is a great facility and a fun place to compete. I enjoy
racing on the bigger tracks. After running the short tracks and
Talladega last weekend, I’m ready to race on a 2 mile speedway. They
are my favorite types of tracks. Both races I ran at California I’ve
finished third. I’m hoping we can maybe surpass that mark and get the
DeWALT Monte Carlo back into victory lane.”
Monday April 26th 1999
Talladega
- DeWALT Race Report
KENSETH GRABS TOP FIVE AT TALLADEGA
Matt Kenseth ended his streak of bad luck, having run three consecutive
races with disappointing finishes, and captured fourth
place at Talladega SuperSpeedway, his fourth top five of the
1999 Busch Series Season.
Kenseth qualified for the event in fifth
spot, his career best qualifying effort at a SuperSpeedway.
It didn’t take long for Matt to get to the front once the green flag
waved. Matt took the lead on lap 10 and held it for twelve laps
before Dale Earnhardt Jr. grabbed the top spot on lap 22. Kenseth stayed in
the lead draft pack the entire day, leading for several laps before
shuffling several positions back in the lead draft pack. Kenseth had several
close calls during the race, barely escaping a few wrecks, thanks to his
quick thinking. Matt took the lead again on lap 102 with just 11 laps to go
before the checkered flag dropped, but couldn’t hold off a strong Joe
Nemechek.
Kenseth fought till the very end, bringing home the DeWALT Monte Carlo in
4th spot.
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MATT THOUGHTS ON TALLADEGA
“Joe (Nemechek) could really push
me. When he got up behind the DeWALT Chevrolet, the thing really
hauled. He gave me a really big push into the lead and I knew once I got
there I wasn’t going to hold him off because I knew he could really suck
up behind me good. It was a great day for the DeWALT Chevy to get back on
track and get back up in the points a little bit.” (Last Lap) “Jr. was
giving me a push on the front stretch but it was at the wrong place. I just
couldn’t get it done. I’m not smart enough to win these races yet. I
just hold my foot on the floor and steer.”
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KENSETH JUMPS TO 2ND IN POINTS RACE
After his fourth place finish at Talladega, Matt Kenseth moved up to second
in the Busch Series Championship Points Battle. Before coming into the
Touchstone Energy 300 Kenseth was in 5th spot, 111 points away from first
position which was held by Elton Sawyer.
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1999 DRIVERS POINTS STANDINGS
1 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 1241
2 Matt Kenseth 1141(-100)
3 Elton Sawyer 1127
4 Mike McLaughlin 1114
5 Jason Keller 1083
6 Jeff Green 1078
7 Todd Bodine 969
8 Casey Atwood 954
9 Randy LaJoie 946
10 Terry Labonte 939
Tuesday April 20th 1999
- Matt was able to go home this
weekend and spend time with friends and family during the Busch
series first off week. The team is now ready to go to Talladega,
the biggest and fastest track on the circuit. The Touchstone
Energy 300 begins with Bud Pole qualifying on Thursday at 4:30,
second round is Friday at 11:30 and the race is Saturday at
3:30, televised on ABC. All times Eastern.
- DeWALT Racing Notes
Matt Kenseth had his first DNF of
the 1999 season at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 10. The last
time Kenseth did not finish a Busch Series event was October 25,
1997 at Rockingham, 39 races ago.
Kenseth has grabbed a top ten finish every start at Talladega as
well as every SuperSpeedway start in his Busch Series Career.
The worst finish for Matt at a SuperSpeedway was eighth last
April at Talladega.
The DeWALT Team tested at Talladega SuperSpeedway in January,
prior to the start of the 1999 Busch Series season.
Matt will be running the same Monte Carlo he raced with in all
four of his SuperSpeedway starts.
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Did you know?
Matt Kenseth builds his own shocks for the
#17 DeWALT Monte Carlo.
Monday April
12th 1999 Bristol
- Matt Kenseth gets his first DNF
in almost a year on Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway. Matt started the
DeWALT #17 Monte Carlo back in the 24th
position and was able to avoid most of the carnage in the
beginning of the race. When the leaders came in to the pits early during a
caution flag, Matt was able to stay out on the track to restart in 2nd
place. There would have been no way to make up this kind of track position
while pitting on the back stretch. Despite having older tires on the
car, Matt was able to run with the leaders for many laps before making his
first yellow flag stop. With fresh tires and fuel, Matt was looking like he
would be in a good position for a top five finish, having an extra set of
tires over the leaders. Unfortunately, Matt’s bad luck streak continues
and he gets tapped from the rear while trying to avoid a crash in front of
him. Matt spun into another car sitting on the apron, taking a very hard
lick to the right side of his brand new Hopkins chassis, as well as himself.
- DeWALT Racing slips to 5th place
in the Points Standings, 111 behind leader Elton Sawyer.
Monday April
5th 1999 Nashville
- You need a little luck on your
side to finish up front and Matt has been needing a little more
luck the last couple of weeks. The #17 DeWALT Chevrolet started
from the 4th
position on Saturday and Matt ran in the top-ten most of the
day, getting great pit stops by the Reiser Raiders. With 50 laps
to go, Matt was riding a comfortable 3rd watching Jeff Green and
Sterling Marlin battle for the lead. Sterling cut a tire down
while racing with Green and spun right in front of the #17. Matt
tried to duck inside of Marlin and almost got through but he
just clipped the front of the car and slid down into the lower
wall, lightly tapping the right front wheel. Matt was able to
stay on the lead lap but never was a contender with the front
steering out of alignment, finishing
15th.
- MATT KENSETH
No. 17 DeWalt Chevrolet
“We made a lot of adjustments and we were just kind of riding around
waiting for things to shuffle out. We didn’t think we had the car to win,
but definitely 3rd at the worst. It’s just unfortunate. I don’t know
what happened to Sterling. He just spun out. I was on the bottom of the race
track and with that inside wall so close there was only one hole to get
through there and he closed that up and came down that inside. It was just a
matter of circumstances.”
- Matt slips to 3rd in the
points
standings, just 9 behind leader Mike McLaughlin.
- Reiser
not eager to shake up Busch team - Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel - (Thanks South
Pacific)
- DeWALT Race Report
NOT SO NICE IN NASHVILLE
Things were off to a great start at Nashville Speedway Easter weekend, with
Matt Kenseth grabbing the 4th starting spot, his third top five qualifying
effort of the season. The first few laps were just as exciting, with Matt
jumping to third spot before the tenth lap.
Despite battling a loose handling car, Matt moved into second position on
lap 40. But the loose condition seemed to get worse and Kenseth slipped back
to 5th spot before coming into the pits under caution for the teams first
pit stop.
Adjustments were made to tighten the car and Matt was sent back out onto the
track in 4th position, gaining one spot thanks to the quick pit work of the
team.
The adjustment wasn’t enough and Kenseth fell back to 7th before pitting
again on lap 173. Major changes were made to the car to tighten it up and
Matt resumed racing in 7th position. This time the adjustments were a little
too
extreme and Kenseth was now tight through the corners. Caution flew on the
speedway on lap 222 and Matt ducted into the pits for his final stop. The
team made some adjustments and put Kenseth out in 3rd position, grabbing
four spots from their fast pit work. The final adjustments proved to be
successful, with Matt cruising in third spot behind Jeff Green and Sterling
Marlin with just 50 laps to go. It looked like a top five finish was at hand
until Sterling spun out in front of Kenseth in turn four. Matt had no where
to go but into Marlin, causing damage to the right front fender.
Kenseth came into the pits for repairs but fell back to 15th spot. The team
was able to patch up the car, but Matt was unable to run competitively.
Kenseth finished in 15th position and moved to 3rd in points standings.
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MATT KENSETH’S THOUGHTS ON NASHVILLE
“I didn’t think we had the car to win
but we definitely would have been third at the worst. I don’t know what
happened to Sterling, he just spun out and I was at the bottom of the race
track. With that inside wall so close there is only one hole to get through
and Marlin came down and closed up the hole. It was just unfortunate
circumstances.”
Friday April
2nd 1999
- Martin,
Kenseth Head To Cup — Country.com
Motorsports
Matt Kenseth will debut a Mark Martin Racing Ford Taurus August 22 in the
Pepsi 400 at Michigan International Speedway. The ride will be a first for
the new Martin team with Kenseth, Martin’s protégé, at the wheel.
The drive represents a new direction for Martin as a car owner. The team
will run chassis and engines provided by Jack Roush, home of Martin’s
Winston Cup effort. Meanwhile, the Michigan effort represents the first
steps to an ascension to Winston Cup for Kenseth, the former Wisconsin short
track ace who broke many of the records set by a young racing wunderkind
Martin as he worked his way through the ranks. The synergy between Martin
and Kenseth came full circle after the 1997 Easy Care 500 K at Talladega
Superspeedway (AL), a race won by Martin. Kenseth, a relative unknown BGN
quantity at the time, finished seventh that day. A week later, Martin and
Roush signed the now 27-year-old Kenseth to a “development contract.”
Kenseth has since gone on to score four BGN wins, including a victory at
Darlington Raceway (SC) this spring. Kenseth has already proved to be a
valuable Winston Cup commodity, turning in a steady sixth place finish
subbing for Bill Elliott last year at Dover Downs (DE). At Darlington this
year, Kenseth stepped in for the injured Bobby Labonte bringing his Pontiac
from the back of the pack to 10th before rain ended the day’s activities.
Kenseth is expected to run the Martin Racing Ford in five Winston Cup events
this season. In addition to the Michigan bow, Kenseth will strap up at Dover
(September 26), Charlotte (October 10), Rockingham (October 24) and Atlanta
(November 21). The team will use the five runs to prepare for the 2000
NASCAR season when it will run the entire Winston Cup schedule.
Thursday April
1st Happy April Fools Day
- After
Mark Martin retires from racing he hopes to become an owner
(Thanks, South
Pacific)
- DeWALT Notes
Matt Kenseth will be making his 60th Busch Series Career Start in the
BellSouth Mobility 320 at Nashville Speedway. In his previous 59 starts
Kenseth has captured 4 wins, 22 top five and 33 top ten finishes.
Nashville Speedway marks the place where history began for Reiser
Enterprises and Matt Kenseth. In 1997, Nashville Speedway was the first race
Matt Kenseth drove for the Robbie Reiser owned team. In just his second
career Busch Series start, Kenseth came home with an 11th place finish for
Reiser Enterprises.
Matt will be driving a brand new Laughlin built race car for the Nashville
event.
Kenseth will be signing autographs at the Wildhorse Saloon on Thursday,
April 1 from 7–9 PM. Matt will be amongst several Busch Series drivers
participating in the event to raise awareness about organ and tissue
donation for the Tennessee Donor Services.
And who says the NASCAR Busch Series isn’t competitive? Matt Kenseth is
one of only 14 drivers to compete is all six Busch Series races thus far in
1999. And that number includes two Winston regulars, Mark Martin and
Kevin Lepage.
- Qualifying for the BellSouth
Mobility starts Friday at 5pm and the race is Saturday at 1pm,
televised live on CBS. All times Eastern.
- Matt Kenseth will be quite busy
next weekend at Bristol. He will be filling in for Jeff Gordon, Mike
Skinner and Jimmy Spencer who were all injured at Texas. “I will have some
great cars under me, we have a good shot of winning the Cup race and
hopefully will bring the other 2 in for a top 10 finish.” The exact
details of driving 3 cars has not been disclosed yet but I have always said
there is nothing this kid can’t do in a race car.
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