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Tuesday June 29th
1999 Watkins Glen
- DeWALT RACING NOTES
BUMPY ROAD
AT THE GLEN
It looked as though it was going to be a great race at the Watkins Glen road
course for the DeWALT Racing team until a late race mishap took Matt Kenseth
out of contention for the win.
Matt qualified for the 200-mile race in 5th
position, Kenseth’s best Watkins Glen starting spot. Matt
took the green flag and immediately began picking off positions, working his
way to the front. Kenseth was cruising in 2nd spot behind road course
veteran Ron Fellows, when caution flew on the speedway. The lead pack,
including Matt, came into the pits for fresh tires.
The DeWALT team had an awesome pit stop until the car slipped off the jack
as the jackman was letting the car down. Matt lost only a few positions to
the leaders due to the lengthy stop and began to work his way up the field.
Matt was back up to 4th position by lap 38 and soon after passed Dale
Earnhardt Jr. for second place. Kenseth pitted for a second time on lap 46
under the green flag along with Dale Jr. The DeWALT team had a great pit
stop getting Matt back out onto the racetrack in 16th spot. Caution flew on
the track and the leaders ducting into the pits, moving Matt back into 4th
spot. Kenseth picked off the next two positions quickly and was chasing down
the leader, Ron Fellows. Unfortunately on lap 72, Matt came off of turn 10
too high and got into the marbles. Kenseth was stuck on the outside groove
going into turn one and tried to jump back into the low line when he was
tapped from behind. Matt went spinning, bringing out the caution flag. The
damage was minor but it may have cost Kenseth the win. Matt went on to
finish in 16th
position.
- MATT’S THOUGHTS ON THE GLEN
“I felt like we were in an excellent
position to win the race. I got into ten a little bit too hard and got off
the track. Everyone got a good run on me. I just went down into one and my
spotter said I was clear behind the three car. I pulled in behind the three
car and I guess I wasn’t clear. It’s hard to win these races. You can’t
give them away when you’re in position to win.”
- Dale Jr.’s win at the Glen is
his 3rd of the year and 3rd win in a row, quite a streak. Last year at The
Milwaukee Mile, Jr. almost lapped the entire field on his way to victory
lane. Matt now trails Jr. by 129
points just past the half-way point.
- Matt @ The Milwaukee Mile this
weekend!!
For the most part, the DeWALT Race
team is returning home this weekend.
Matt Kenseth and Robbie Reiser are both Wisconsin natives as well
as several crew members. Matt was born and raised in Cambridge,
Wis., while Robbie was raised in Allenton, Wis..
Matt Kenseth has a busy week scheduled prior to the running of the
Diehard 250. On Wednesday, June 30 Kenseth will be signing
autographs at the Franklin, WI Home Depot from 6-8 PM. Matt will
be the Grand Marshall for the West Allis 4th of July parade on
Friday, July 2 at 7 PM and on Saturday night, July 3, Matt will be
at the Jefferson Speedway near Madison, WI, sighing autographs
from 7-9 PM. *NOTE* Drivers WILL NOT be doing appearances at the
Solid Gold McDonalds like years past.
Friday June 25th
1999
- The Busch series will be at
Watkins Glen this weekend, the series only stop at a road
course. All cars must be equipped with a windshield wiper,
defroster and taillight. Nascar announced earlier this year that
rain tires could be used. The forecast
does have a hint of rain for Sunday.... Racing starts at Noon on
ESPN.
- DeWALT Racing Notes
Matt Kenseth and the DeWALT Racing Team tested at Watkins Glen International
on June 15 & 16 in preparation for the Lysol 200.
Matt will be making his 70th Busch Series start at Watkins Glen this
weekend.
Kenseth has the most top five’s of any Busch Series competitor in 1999.
Matt has grabbed 8 top five finishes in just the first 16 races of the
season.
Kenseth tested at Daytona International Speedway for Roush Racing on June 22
& 23, helping the teams to prepare for the Winston Cup race on July 3rd.
- MATT’S THOUGHTS ON WATKINS
GLEN
“I’ve always struggled on road courses
but I’ve always really enjoyed competing on them. We tested for two days
hoping to improve our performance on the road course. The test session went
well and I feel a bit more comfortable making those right hand turns. I just
hope I can run competitively this weekend and maybe gain a few points on
Dale Jr.”
- NASCAR
Busch Series season hits midway — This is a Nascar.com article
summing up the 99 Busch season to the half-way point. A must read!
Tuesday June 15th
1999 South Boston
- DeWALT Racing Notes
KENSETH GRABS A TOP TEN FINISH AT
SOUTH BOSTON SPEEDWAY
Matt Kenseth came home with a 6th
place finish at South Boston Speedway, grabbing his tenth top
ten finish of the season. Kenseth took the green flag in 21st
position and began his battle towards the front. Right from
the beginning Matt was experiencing a tight handling condition
coming off the corners and a very hot running motor. Kenseth
steadily made his way up the field and was in 14th position when
the mandatory break came on lap 100. Matt pitted for fresh tires
and fuel and the crew made several adjustments on the car to
correct the handling problem and cut the grill open to get
more air into the motor and lower the temperature. Kenseth resumed
racing and jumped into the top ten after barely missing a wreck on
lap 146. Matt was cruising in 6th spot when the mandatory
caution flew again on lap 200. Kenseth took on four tires and a
full load of fuel. The green flag dropped once again and Matt
jumped into 5th spot on lap 202 and then took over the 4th
position on lap 279 from the #36 car. Just a few laps later, Matt
was hit from behind by the #36 car, knocking him into the wall
while coming out of turn four. Kenseth dropped back to 7th spot
with just 14 laps remaining in the race. Kenseth was able to grab
one spot
before the checkered flag dropped, finishing the race in 6th
position.
- MATT’S THOUGHTS ON SOUTH
BOSTON
“Everybody on the DeWALT Racing Team did a
great job today. Just some of these people you can’t race with out here.
All night I tried passing him (Tim Fedewa) and he never gave me a lane. I
waited and waited. He cut me off and I barely nudged him and then he just
plain took me out at the end of the race. It’s very disgusting to me. I
drive as courteous as I can. If someone is faster than I am I give him the
lane and let him go. The car was good but we weren’t any better than a
fourth place today. It’s just too bad we finished 6th.”
- Matt loses 30 points to race
winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. who gets his second win of the season.
Matt now trails Jr. by 64
points.
Friday June 11th
1999 Dover
- Its back to the short tracks this
weekend as the Busch series stops at South Boston Speedway in
Virginia for the Textilease Medique 300. Matt tested at South
Boston on June 1st and will be running the same car he raced at
in Nashville. Qualifying is Saturday at 2:30 with racing set to
go at 5:30, televised live on TNN. (Eastern Time) The Busch cars
must race on the same shocks and springs that they qualify on at
South Boston.
- DeWALT Racing drops to
second
in the points after a DNF at Dover last Saturday. Matt now
trails Dale Jr. by 34 points.
- The #17 Chevrolet blew an engine
during Happy Hour on Friday so they were not able to get a good race setup
on the car. Matt was fighting a badly handling race car for most of the race
but was still able to run in the top-ten. A late yellow flag pit stop
dropped Matt to the back of the lead pack from a long pit stop caused by a
stubborn right rear spring rubber. Matt got caught up in a wreck with Joe
Bessey and Ernie Irvan shortly after the re-start and found Dover’s
un-forgiving concrete walls. They tried to get Matt back out on the track
with a damaged car but the right front broke and Matt hit the wall again,
making his second trip to the in-field care center. Matt would end up in 32nd
place after starting from the 14th
position.
- Dale Earnhardt
Jr. gets his 1st
victory of the year at Dover.
- Testing at the Glen: Twenty-two
Cup and BGN teams will be testing the newly paved surface at The
Glen including: Rusty Wallace, Michael Waltrip, Terry Labonte,
Bobby Labonte, David Green and from the BGN: Dale Earnhardt,
Jr., Matt Kenseth, Randy Lajoie, Elton Sawyer and Jeff Green.
When: Tuesday, June 15, 1999 from 10:00am - 4:00pm/et (Watkins
Glen PR)(6-10-1999)
Tuesday June 1st
1999 Charlotte NC
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DeWALT INDUSTRIAL POWER TOOLS AND MATT KENSETH JOIN FORCES WITH
ROUSH RACING FOR WINSTON CUP IN 2000
Charlotte, NC (May 30, 1999) — DeWALT High Performance Industrial Tools
will make the jump into Winston Cup in 2000, signing a multi year
sponsorship agreement with Roush Racing, continuing their relationship with
Matt Kenseth as he moves up into the top level of NASCAR. DeWALT Tools and
Matt Kenseth will compete in 5 Winston Cup races this season in preparation
for their jump into Winston Cup next year.
DeWALT Tools and Matt Kenseth will make their Winston Cup debut at the
Michigan Speedway on August 22, 1999. Kenseth is planning on competing in
four more Winston Cup races this year including, Darlington (9/5) Dover
(9/26), Charlotte (10/10) and Rockingham (10/24) with DeWALT’s backing,
but will still retain his eligibility for the pursuit of the Rookie of the
Year title in 2000.
DeWALT will make the move into Winston Cup sponsorship after seven years of
primary sponsorship in the NASCAR Busch Series. With 1999 being DeWALT’s
first year with Matt Kenseth, the partnership has proved to be a successful
combination. Matt has already grabbed three wins and nine top five finishes
in the first fourteen races of the season and is currently leading the
championship points battle.
“We think Matt Kenseth is an excellent driver and a great spokesperson for
our high performance power tools,” states Rory Leyden, Director of Event
Marketing DeWALT. “DeWALT Industrial Tools is a high quality product and
is number one in the marketplace. We are extremely proud the DeWALT Race
Team strives for this same goal each week on the racetrack. DeWALT likes
what they’ve seen in Matt Kenseth both on and off the track and we want to
continue this relationship for many years. We are very excited to be part of
the Roush Racing family”
Matt Kenseth is just as excited about driving the #17 DeWALT Ford Taurus in
the Winston Cup Series.
“DeWALT has been a great sponsor to work with this year,” commented Matt
Kenseth. “I am honored they have made a commitment to Roush Racing to back
up our new Winston Cup team for the next three years. I’m anxious to make
our debut at Michigan, but I still really want to focus on winning the Busch
Series Championship for them in 1999. That would be a great way to conclude
our last year in the Series and our new start in Winston Cup.”
The Hampstead, Maryland based DeWALT Industrial Tool Company manufacturers
and markets High Performance Tools and Accessories for building
construction, professional remodeling and wood working applications. For
more information on the full line of DeWALT High Performance Power Tool and
Accessories, phone 1-800-4-DEWALT. DeWALT will be the primary sponsor on the
#17 Winston Cup entry and is open to inquiries about associate sponsorship
on Matt Kenseth’s Ford.
- Another great run for the #17
Busch Team this weekend at Charlotte as Matt brings the DeWALT
Tools Chevrolet across the line in 3rd
place. Starting from the 9th
position, Matt moved quickly into the top-five and went on
to lead laps 20-48. Matt battled a loose car for most of the
race but hung out in the top-ten all day. A late race caution
found Matt running in 5th place with only 8 cars on the lead
lap. They decided to pit the car and see what they could do with
fresh tires for the final 9 laps of the race. Matt had the
fastest car on the track for the 9 lap shootout but ran out of
time settling for third behind race winner Mark Martin and 2nd
place Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Dale Jr. gains 5 points on Matt in
the Championship hunt. Matt now leads Dale Jr. by 84
points.
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