DeWALT Racing Notes - Talladega Race Report

Matt Kenseth and the #17 DEWALT Ford Taurus took their first provisional starting position of the year at Talladega, beginning the race in 42nd spot. Despite the race car not being the fastest by itself, it proved to be very 
quick in the draft.

The green flag waved and Matt was heading to the front. Kenseth was as high as 16th position on lap 32, but was battling an overheating problem. Matt pitted on lap 62, and lead a few laps prior to diving into the pits for a routine stop. Four tires were put on the car as well as fuel and tape was removed from the nose to cool the motor. Kenseth went back out on the track but was behind the lead draft pack by half a straightway. Matt went one lap down to the leader on lap 114.

The second and final pit stop of the day for the #17 car was made on lap 125. Kenseth continued to cruise in the top 25 the remainder of the race, avoiding the big wreck on lap 137. Matt grabbed several more positions before the checkered flag waved, finishing in 18th spot. Kenseth was the top finishing rookie for the second race in a row, and has claimed that title at both superspeedways in 2000.

“I thought the race was pretty good,” stated Kenseth. “Even though we didn’t have a very fast car by itself, it was fast enough to be competitive in the draft. I had to back up at the end of the pack there before our first pit stop because we were having a heating problem again. We got in and out of the pits too slow and lost a lap, but other than that, we had a car that 
could stay with the lead draft.”

Honorary Race Day Crew Member

Bobby Jones of Warner Robins, GA was DEWALT’s Honorary Crew Member at the TalladegaSuperSpeedway, representing Warner Robins Supply.

NASCAR Winston Cup Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year Standings

1. Matt Kenseth	94
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.	92
3. Stacy Compton	72
4. Dave Blaney	70
5. Scott Pruett	52

Kenseth Has a Black and Blue Weekend

TALLADEGA, Ala. (April 17)— Despite leading more than a dozen laps in the Touchstone Energy 300, Matt Kenseth finished 21st at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday.

Kenseth was in second place with 11 laps remaining when he made a dive for the inside lane of the track. Without a follower for drafting support, the Visine Chevrolet drifted back in the field and faded to 21st.

“I had a lot of help in Daytona, but I couldn’t get anyone to run with me this time,” said Kenseth, whose team is second in owners’ points. “I had a strong car, but it seemed like whenever I pulled out of line to pass nobody would go with me. I guess that’s just the way it goes sometimes, but I’m a little frustrated that our finish doesn’t show how well we ran.”

Because he had to use a backup car, Kenseth started 43rd and moved up to 21st place by the first caution of the event on lap 19. The Visine Racing Team changed two right side tires, added fuel and made a track bar adjustment. Just 20 laps later, Kenseth took the lead.

The second and final pit stop came at lap 61, when the Visine Chevrolet was refueled and received four new tires. Kenseth restarted eighth but was at the front of the pack by lap 84, 18 laps before he made his fateful move.
It’s not surprising that Kenseth said he was frustrated, considering his right rear tire blew out during the final practice on Friday. The body of the car was severely damaged, and the team was forced to use a backup car. The Visine Chevrolet that appeared on track for the Touchstone Energy 300 was painted black, accompanied by the white Visine decals.

The black Chevrolet was once owned by Reiser Enterprises and had been driven by Kenseth in all three of his showings at the 2.66-mile superspeedway. Kenseth tested the car at Talladega Superspeedway in January but sold the car to Hank Parker Jr.’s team shortly thereafter. Parker was using the car only as a secondary machine.

Team owner Robbie Reiser helped to make the final decision to repurchase the Chevrolet Monte Carlo. He said he felt the performance of that car was a better option than the intermediate-track car that was in the Visine Racing hauler as a backup.

The NASCAR Busch Series takes a break this weekend before traveling westward to California Speedway. Kenseth returns as the past winner of the Auto Club 300.

DeWALT Racing Notes

Matt Kenseth tested at Talladega on April 4 & 5 in preparation for the Diehard 500, his first Winston Cup race at Talladega.

Kenseth has never finished outside the top ten at Talladega in his three previous Busch Series races. His average finish at Talladega is 6.3.

Matt will be competing with the same Ford Taurus he ran with at Daytona in February, where he captured at 10th place finish.

Kenseth will be making his 15th career Winston Cup start in the Diehard 500.

Matt Kenseth’s Thoughts on Talladega

“We are running the same car we ran at Daytona. We redid some things on it, hopefully we got it back to where it was. It was never real fast by itself, but I think it will race OK. If we can just get qualified for the race, I think it will draft all right. But it’s real slow by itself, which is a bad thing. We have a good record on the superspeedways, so hopefully we can continue that. If we could get a top fifteen finish that would be good.”

DeWALT Racing Notes— Martinsville Report

The race at Martinsville was a difficult event from the onset, with the DEWALT Team having a disappointing qualifying run and a frustrating 500 lap race.

Matt qualified for the Goody’s 500 in 31st position, a plight, considering it’s only a half mile track. Despite the 16th row starting spot, Matt was able to move up the field quite quickly. By lap 100, Kenseth was cruising in 22nd position but battling a severe handling problem in the corners. Matt was fighting a loose race car in and out of the corners and a very tight condition in the center of the corners. To make matters even more complicated, the pit crew was having an off day and had several lengthy pit stops.

Kenseth went one lap down to the leaders on lap 158 while in the pits and then was accessed a stop and go penalty for speeding on pit road. The culmination put Matt in 34th spot. However, Matt and the team didn’t give up, making several changes to the car every stop, trying to improve the handling problem. Kenseth managed to climb into 21st spot before the checkered flag dropped and was two laps down to the leader. Matt was the top finishing rookie for the fourth time this season, gaining a few valuable points on Dale Jr. in the Raybetsos Rookie of the Year battle.

Honorary Race Day Crew Member

Al Huntz of Boone , NC was DEWALT’s Honorary Crew Member at the Martinsville Speedway, representing Mountain Lumber. 

NASCAR Winston Cup Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year Standings

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.	87
2. Matt Kenseth	83
3. Stacy Compton	66
4. Dave Blaney	63
5. Jeff Fuller	46

DeWALT Racing Notes — Tough Day at Texas

Matt Kenseth and the DEWALT Racing Team had a race filled with many highs and several lows during the running of the DIRECTV 500.

Kenseth qualified for the 500 mile race in 13th spot, making him one of only 7 drivers to make all seven races in first round qualifying. Kenseth cruised most of the day in the top five, while battling a tight handling condition and a mystery vibration underneath the car. Matt was penalized while making his 6th pit stop of the day on lap 169, because his right front tire wasn’t in the pit stall. The one lap penalty put Kenseth in 24th spot with half the race yet to complete. Matt and the DEWALT team didn’t give up and got back on the lead lap with just under 100 laps to the end. Kenseth persevered and broke back in to the top five on lap 279. Matt looked like he was going to grab another top ten finish when something blew up and he lost his brakes, crashing in turn three, ending his day permanently. Kenseth finished in 31st spot and fell to 20th in the points standings.

“Something was wrong with the car all day,” stated Kenseth. “I radioed in about 20 laps in and thought I had either a motor or drive train vibration, but it came and went back and forth all day. Plus, there was something wrong with the brakes, it had a real bad shake to it when you hit the brakes, so whatever was wrong finally let loose. I don’t know what it was but it blew up something going into turn three and I just couldn’t keep control of it. Whatever blew up, it made it lose the brakes, so I was just kind of along for the ride. We had a super-good race car, but its not gonna show in the standings. It’s hard to get points and get experience when you can’t finish these things. It’s too bad we had a mechanical problem because I felt like we had a real good car and a chance for a top five.”

Honorary Race Day Crew Member

Bill Disney of Janesville, Wis., was DeWALT’s Honorary Crew Member at Texas Motor Speedway, representing ABC Supply.

NASCAR Winston Cup Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year Standings

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.	77
2. Matt Kenseth	72
3. Stacy Compton	59
4. Dave Blaney	57
5. Jeff Fuller	46