Jason Schuler Rebounds from Qualifying Setback

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 26) — Despite an accident during qualifying that damaged the front clip and rear bumper of the Visine Chevrolet, Jason Schuler finished 22nd in Sunday’s NASCAR Busch Series Lysol 200 at Watkins Glen International. The setback during time trials forced Schuler to miss the event’s final practice session while the team replaced the damaged parts.

“Jason did a great job for his first time at this race,” said crew chief Gary Cogswell. “This certainly isn’t an easy place, and we’ll take what we learned this year and improve on that for next season.”

Schuler finished the race on the lead lap, and once he worked his way up to the top 25 after starting 29th, Schuler stayed there for most of the race. Schuler made his first pit stop for tires and fuel under caution at lap 12. On the second pit stop during lap 39, the Visine Racing Team made a track bar adjustment after Schuler informed his crew the car was difficult to turn in the corners. His final pit stop came during lap 47 as the team added fuel and made a chassis adjustment.

A native of Cambridge, Wis., Schuler continues his stint in the Visine Chevrolet this weekend at The Milwaukee Mile in Wisconsin in the Sears Diehard 250. Qualifying begins on Saturday, July 1, at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Wisconsinite Jason Schuler Makes Milwaukee Mile Debut in Reiser Entry

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (June 27)— Jason Schuler will compete near his hometown of Cambridge for the first time as the driver of the Visine Chevrolet in Sunday’s DieHard 250 at The Milwaukee Mile.

Schuler has taken over interim driving duties for Visine teammate and Cambridge classmate Matt Kenseth. Kenseth, along with team owner Robbie Reiser, will miss the DieHard 250 for the first time since 1997 to compete in Saturday night’s Winston Cup Series Pepsi 400.

“Everyone’s really excited about racing in Milwaukee this weekend,” said Schuler, whose team is third in the owners standings. “I know the fans will miss not seeing Matt and Robb, but we’ve got a lot of people supporting us this weekend; and I hope we’ll have our best start and finish yet.”

It will be Schuler’s sixth race on his schedule of 12 in the Visine Chevrolet. Thus far his statistics from five races indicate that his best finish was 14th at New Hampshire International Speedway in May. Circumstances of the other races have resulted in strong runs, unavoidable accidents and subpar finishes.

With the guidance of team owner Reiser and advice from Kenseth, perhaps the DieHard 250 will be a turning point for Schuler.

“I’ve only raced at Milwaukee once in 1997 for a Hooters race, but I really like this style of track,” Schuler said. “We’ve got good cars, good equipment, and an awesome team. I have five races under my belt now plus testing time at other tracks. I know Matt, Robb and the team have confidence in me, which eases the pressure a little. We just need some luck to fall our way so we can finish in the top 10.”

The Reiser Enterprises team behind Schuler is the same team that helped Kenseth finish 12th in his first NASCAR Busch Series race at The Milwaukee Mile in 1997. Kenseth went on to secure fifth place in both the 1998 and 1999 DieHard 250 events.

Time trials at The Milwaukee Mile begin on Saturday, July 1 at 12:30 p.m. ET.

SEARS POINT RACE REPORT

Matt Kenseth and the DEWALT Racing Team had a frustrating race at Sears Point Raceway, experiencing a disappointing starting position and an equally frustrating race.

Kenseth started the 112 lap event in 38th position, using his third provisional starting spot of the year. The green flag dropped and Matt was battling a tight race car. The car seemed to improve only slightly despite many adjustment during the races several pit stops. Kenseth managed to make the best of the circumstances and finished the Save Mart 350K in 32nd position. Many things were learned by Kenseth during the first road course race of the 2000 season, which Matt hopes will carry into the Watkins Glen race in August.

“It’s real tough to come out here. It’s a real tricky road course to come to without testing and without shaking your car down. It’s real difficult to keep up with these guys. I followed a lot of drivers and tried a bunch of different lines and still couldn’t run with them. So, we’ve just got to learn something about our car. It’s not brain surgery to get around here, so we just have to figure out what’s wrong with the car and make it run faster.”

Honorary Race Day Crew Member

The honorary crew member at Sears Point Raceway was Gil Munz of San Rafael, CA. Gil is customer of Home Depot.

NASCAR Winston Cup Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year Standings

1 Matt Kenseth	202
2 Dale Earnhardt Jr.	191
3 Dave Blaney	132
4 Stacy Compton	131
5 Scott Pruett	108

NASCAR Winston Cup Drivers Point Standings

1 Bobby Labonte	2400
2 Dale Earnhardt	2333
3 Dale Jarrett	2271
4 Ward Burton	2196
5 Jeff Burton	2134
6 Ricky Rudd	2130
7 Mark Martin	2123
8 Tony Stewart	2115
9 Rusty Wallace	2089
10 Jeff Gordon	2059
13 Matt Kenseth	1864
14 Dale Earnhardt Jr.	1786

Notes of Interest

Matt Kenseth is running a brand new #17 DEWALT Ford Taurus at Daytona. The team tested the car at Talladega on Wednesday, June 21, in preparation for the Pepsi 400.

DEWALT Tools is proud to announce a new strategic alliance with Motorola Sprint Professional Two-Way Radio, the leader in the two-way radio category, beginning July 1, 2000. This partnership will feature Motorola as an associate sponsor located on the B-pillar of the #17 DEWALT Racing Ford.

Matt Kenseth’s Thoughts on Daytona

“I am looking forward to running Daytona because I have never run a night race at a speedway like that before. I think it will be exciting being down there for the Fourth of July race. Daytona is always a fun weekend anyway. And now it’s a little shorter race on Saturday night, so it should be an exciting atmosphere.. They say Daytona is real slippery for the night race, so the car is not going to handle as good as when we were there in February. The car will slide around a lot more. Hopefully you will have to let off the gas and whoever makes their car handle the best will have a shot at winning. Instead of being like a Talladega race, where it’s a plate race and you just hold it wide open and whoever is the fastest, wins. We built a brand new car for Daytona that we tested at Talladega. It’s a little faster than the car we had in February. The thing is everyone gains on their speedway program from the Daytona race. We just hope we have gained in the speedway program as well.”

DeWALT RACING— Notes of Interest

Matt Kenseth has never seen Sears Point Raceway before. Kenseth did attend a road course driving school in preparation for the Save Mart/Kragen 350K.

Kenseth will be running a brand new #17 DEWALT Ford Taurus at Sears Point Raceway.

Matt will be taking in a few sights while in San Francisco. This is Kenseth’s first visit to the Bay area.

Matt Kenseth’s Thoughts on Sears Point

“The road course is a track that I have never been very good at. We have run good at times on the road course in the Busch Series, but haven’t finished the greatest. We did not test at Sears Point, but I did go to a driving school to work on my road course skills. The team built two new road course cars that have never been raced or tested. This is a track we may struggle more so than others. I just want to finish and get some experience. If I could leave Sears Point and feel like I learned a bit more on how to tackle the track, I’ll be happy.”

Wild Animals Can’t Contain Schuler at Watkins Glen

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 21) – Jason Schuler didn’t know that testing for Watkins Glen International back in May was going to include a crash course in the fauna of Watkins Glen, New York. As Schuler approached turn 11 on fresh Goodyear tires a woodchuck ran across the track, causing Schuler to spin around in the Visine Chevrolet. 

Of course, the Visine crewmembers thought Schuler’s excuse for the spin was just a tale.

“I came on the radio and told them I almost hit a woodchuck,” Schuler said. “They thought I was making things up but it would’ve really damaged the nose of the car if I hit it so I tried to stop and spun out.”

It wasn’t until an innocent witness, who had been watching from turn 11, came forward and told the team what he had seen. In fact, Schuler dodged the backwoods creature and avoided serious damage to his Visine machine.

Under the guidance of fellow teammate Matt Kenseth, Schuler completed 130 laps of testing in May. It was his first time at the 2.45-mile track but not his first time driving at a road course. In 1998 Schuler competed at road courses in Topeka, Kan., and Los Angeles.

“Watkins Glen is definitely faster than my previous experience on road courses,” Schuler said. “There’s a lot more shifting up and down but it’s fun. We had a good test, and I’m looking forward to the race.”

Barring any wild animals on the track, qualifying for the Lysol 200 begins at 11:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, June 24. The race begins around noon ET on Sunday, June 25. ESPN television and MRN radio will broadcast the event live.

DeWALT RACING— POCONO RACE REPORT

Matt Kenseth competed at Pocono Raceway for the first time in his Winston Cup career, qualifying in 29th spot. Kenseth fell back slightly in the field at beginning of the race, battling a very tight race car. Despite making adjustments on each pit stop, the tight handling condition didn’t diminish, and Matt was forced to fight the push most of the race. Kenseth raced in the top twenty most of the event, breaking into the top ten after great pit stops by the DEWALT Team. Although Matt was running competitive lap times, Kenseth was never able to run up with the front runners. Matt finished in 14th spot and moved to 12th in the points standings.

“It was an uphill struggle all day,” stated Kenseth. “We were way too tight on our set-up and me being a rookie around here trying to learn where I’m going. A top 15, that was my goal when I came here, to finish 15th or better, and we did that, so I guess I gotta be happy with that. We were pulling for a top 10 there at the end and we got shoved up in the marbles and I got too loose on our last set of tires and couldn’t get going. We just fought a push so bad all day we just made sure we adjusted out there at the end, and we got it too loose.”

Honorary Race Day Crew Member

The honorary crew member at Pocono Raceway was John Krueger of Waterloo, NY. John owns 11 Hep Sales stores in the New York— Pennsylvania area.

NASCAR Winston Cup Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year Standings

1 Matt Kenseth	195
2 Dale Earnhardt Jr.	181
3 Stacy Compton	123
4 Dave Blaney	123
5 Scott Pruett	102

NASCAR Winston Cup Drivers Point Standings

1 Bobby Labonte	2240
2 Dale Earnhardt	2183
3 Dale Jarrett	2125
4 Ward Burton	2096
5 Jeff Burton	2019
6 Rusty Wallace	1999
7 Tony Stewart	1976
8 Ricky Rudd	1975
9 Mark Martin	1958
10 Jeff Gordon	1874
12 Matt Kenseth	1797
14 Dale Earnhardt Jr.	1695

DeWALT RACING— Notes of Interest

Matt tested at Pocono Raceway with fellow 2000 rookie contender Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Thursday, June 1. This was Kenseth’s first time at Pocono.

Kenseth continues to lead in the Raybestos Rookie battle, commanding a 13-point lead over Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Wood Magazine joins the DEWALT Team as an associate sponsor the remainder of the 2000 season. Wood Magazine is the world’s largest woodworking publication serving over 555,000 active and dedicated woodworkers since 1984.

Matt Kenseth’s Thoughts on Pocono

“I tested for a day at Pocono. It’s a really weird track and kind of difficult. I think we may struggle a little more there than other places. But it’s an interesting track and has a real different shape to it and you drive it different than any other oval track I have ever been to. I am looking forward to the challenge and trying to get used to the place”

No. 17 Visine Chevrolet

NASCAR Busch Series ¨ Myrtle Beach 250 ¨ June 17, 2000
Myrtle Beach Speedway ¨ Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Team News: Jason Schuler tested his Visine Chevrolet at Myrtle Beach Speedway on June 5-6 in preparation for the Myrtle Beach 250. He will race car No. 7 in the Reiser Enterprises stable. The team originally planned to take the car that was damaged in an accident this past weekend at South Boston Speedway in Virginia.

Team News: Reiser Enterprises’ record at Myrtle Beach Speedway is impressive. From 1997-1999, Kenseth competed 100 percent of the laps and earned a third-place finish last season.

Last year’s Myrtle Beach 250, July 17, 2000: Matt Kenseth improved from his ninth-place starting position to finish third in the Myrtle Beach 250. It is his best finish in three starts at the .538-mile track. Kenseth led laps 66-100. It was his 10th top-five finish in 19 races on the 1999 Busch Series circuit.

Last Race: In only his third NASCAR Busch Series race, Jason Schuler thought he had tamed South Boston Speedway until the unruly bullring unleashed the ninth caution of the Textilease Medique 300, claiming the Visine Chevrolet. An accident on lap 173 took Schuler from a strong 12th-place run to a disheartening 38th-place finish. Schuler, who started 37th, carefully kept the Visine Chevrolet on the lead lap through the first quarter of the race. On lap 97, Schuler came in for a second pit stop and returned to the field in 26th place. Several laps later under a caution at lap 113, the lead pack of cars entered pit lane for service while the Visine Chevrolet remained on the track, enabling Schuler to crack the top 10. Schuler showed a great deal of patience in the tight racing conditions. As he exited turn two during lap 173, the Visine Chevrolet made contact with several cars, forcing Schuler to the garage.

Jason Schuler, Driver Comments: “I hope to get in a better starting position this weekend so we don’t have as far to go to get to the front of the field. We’ve got good cars but we just need to stay out of trouble and be there in the top 10 at the end of the race.”

Gary Cogswell, Crew Chief Comments: “The whole team thought Jason did an excellent job in South Boston. We utilized some pit strategy to get us up in the field and he did the rest. Unfortunately, your good race can go bad in an instant at these short tracks, but he’s been doing his job just as we expected.”

Sponsor Notes: Partners on the Visine Chevrolet for the Myrtle Beach 250 are Desitin, BenGay and Cortizone, products produced by Pfizer Consumer Health Care.

DeWALT RACING— MICHIGAN RACE REPORT

Matt Kenseth qualified for the Kmart 400 in 23rd spot, getting the DEWALT Ford Taurus into the field during the first round qualifying session.

Kenseth started the race and immediately began to experience a handling problem. Matt was extremely loose in the corners and was struggling to maintain his track position. After several adjustments during early pit stops, Kenseth was still fighting a handling condition, but was making some ground up on the track. Matt was in 15th spot on lap 148, when rain began to fall
and the red flag came out. The race was delayed for over an hour before the track was dry enough to continue. The race restarted and Matt pitted for tires. A lug nut was left off the rear tire, so Kenseth was forced to pit again and fell back to 31st at the restart. Matt managed to make it to 17th position before rain came again and the race was called with just 6 laps to go. Kenseth moved up one position in the points race and continues to lead the rookie battle.

“We just didn’t hit the right set up today,” stated Matt. “I struggled all day with the handling of the car. No matter what changes we made, it didn’t seem to remedy the problem. We’ll just take the 17th place and get ready for Pocono.”

Honorary Race Day Crew Member

The honorary crew member for the Michigan Speedway was Kevin Barpenberger of Cleveland, OH. Kevin works for Home Depot.

NASCAR Winston Cup Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year Standings

1. Matt Kenseth	184
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.	171
3. Stacy Compton	118
4. Dave Blaney	115
5. Scott Pruett	95

NASCAR Winston Cup Drivers Point Standings

1. Bobby Labonte	2116
2. Dale Earnhardt	2018
3. Ward Burton	2014
4. Dale Jarrett	1955
5. Jeff Burton	1868
6. Rusty Wallace	1855
7. Tony Stewart	1821
8. Ricky Rudd	1810
9. Mark Martin	1798
10. Jeff Gordon	1732
11. Matt Kenseth	1676
15. Dale Earnhardt Jr.	1589

MATT GRABS 2ND AT DOVER

Matt Kenseth and the DEWALT Racing Team captured their third top five finish in two weeks, grabbing a second place position in the MBNA 400 at Dover Downs.

Kenseth qualified for the event in 26th spot, claiming the quickest time during Saturday’s second round qualifying session. Matt took the green flag and steadily made his way towards the front. Kenseth jumped into the top ten after a quick stop by the DEWALT team on lap 42 and remained among the front runners the entire race. Kenseth battled with Tony Stewart for the lead the final ten laps of the race, but settled for second place. Matt captured his third top five finish in four weeks and moved to within 42 points of tenth spot in the points battle.

“It was a real good run, I’m real proud of these guys. We probably didn’t have as good a car as we had here last year, but it was pretty decent. I just didn’t make the right call there at the end, I got the car too tight and couldn’t run with Tony, but it was a real good run. That’s two weeks in a row that we’ve run real strong and I’m glad we’re getting a little bit of consistency”

NASCAR Winston Cup Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year Standings

1. Matt Kenseth	174
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.	160
3. Stacy Compton	113
4. Dave Blaney	107
5. Scott Pruett	86

NASCAR Winston Cup Drivers Point Standings

 

1. Bobby Labonte	1946
2. Ward Burton	1864
3. Dale Earnhardt	1848
4. Dale Jarrett	1790
5. Mark Martin	1755
6. Jeff Burton	1733
7. Rusty Wallace	1704
8. Ricky Rudd	1678
9. Tony Stewart	1641
10. Jeff Gordon	1606
12. Matt Kenseth	1564
15. Dale Earnhardt Jr.	1465

Kenseth Conquers Monster Mile to Finish Third

DOVER, Del. (June 5)— It was a monster of a day for Visine Racing driver Matt Kenseth at the one-mile concrete oval of Dover Downs International Speedway. Kenseth recovered from a spin on lap 72 to finish third in the MBNA Platinum 200 on Saturday.

“We made some contact with another car which caused our left rear tire to go flat,” Kenseth said. “We were more lucky to not hit anything. I was concerned with our pit strategy because we used two sets of tires before we had that flat so we used our last set after the spin. That long green flag run for the last half of the race helped us stay in the top five.”

Kenseth, who started 16th, made his first pit stop during lap 31. The Visine Chevrolet got four fresh tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. During the next caution period during lap 55, Kenseth returned to pit road for four new tires and a wedge adjustment. A mere 18 laps later, the left rear tire of the Visine Chevrolet went flat, sending Kenseth into a spin. The Visine
Racing Team changed four tires once again and topped off on fuel at lap 87 to go the duration of the race without stopping.

When the next caution flag was waved at lap 101, Kenseth remained on the track while the majority of the field went to pit lane for service. On the restart of lap 105, Kenseth was third. At lap 111, the Visine Chevrolet was on the point for three laps. The remainder of the race was caution free, and Kenseth remained in third place.

Kenseth competed in 12 of the first 14 NASCAR Busch Series events. He posted nine top-10 finishes, eight top-five finishes and two wins. Jason Schuler will take the seat of the Visine Chevrolet for the next eight races.

Schuler started 10th and finished 14th in his last Busch Series race at New Hampshire International Speedway on May 13.