FIERY DAY AT THE ROCK

Matt Kenseth and the DEWALT Racing team had a smoldering race at Rockingham this weekend, with the car not running at its best and a scary fire in the pits.

Kenseth qualified for the 400 mile race in 28th spot. Matt was quick in happy hour, the last practice prior to the race, and the team was expecting a good finish. Kenseth took the green flag but immediately experienced a handling condition in the corners. After several adjustments during routine pit stops, Matt was able to climb into the top twenty. Kenseth was running in 21st spot when he came into the pits for a fresh rubber on lap 318 under the green flag. A fire broke out when burning pieces of rubber fell onto some spilled fuel on the ground. The fire spread quickly, causing burns to gasman, Rick Machinski. The fire was extinguished and Matt was sent back out onto the track. The caution flag was waved due to the fire and Kenseth went one lap down. The remainder of the afternoon was a blur with Matt and the team more concerned about their teammate, Rick, than the race. Kenseth took the checkered flag in 25th spot, continuing to hold onto 13th position in the point standings.

“I was just a really bad day,” stated Matt Kenseth. “At least we finished better than we have the last two times here in a Cup car. The car never handled good. With the fire and all, I am just glad to get out of here and know Rick is going to be OK. We will just have to go to Phoenix and try and do better.”

GASMAN UPDATE

Rick Machinski was immediately taken to the North Carolina Infield Care Center with 2nd degree burns on his neck and throat. At the conclusion of the race he was transported to Carolina Medical Center in Charlotte, NC. He was admitted for overnight observation and is expected to be released Monday afternoon.

NASCAR Winston Cup Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year Standings

1 Matt Kenseth	276
2 Dale Earnhardt Jr.	248
3 Dave Blaney	197
4 Stacy Compton	182
5 Scott Pruett	181

NASCAR WC Drivers Pt. Standings

1 Bobby Labonte	4545
2 Dale Earnhardt	4444
3 Jeff Burton	4394
4 Dale Jarrett	4315
5 Ricky Rudd	4272
6 Tony Stewart	4210
7 Rusty Wallace	4115
8 Mark Martin	4042
9 Jeff Gordon	3904
10 Ward Burton	3809
13 Matt Kenseth	3436
16 Dale Earnhardt Jr.	3207

Matt Kenseth / Visine Racing Post-Race Notes for Rockingham

15 TOP-10 FINISHES IN 18 STARTS: Matt Kenseth finished seventh in the Sam’s Club 200 at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham, N.C. It marked his 15th top-10 finish in the Visine Chevrolet, including four victories.

EIGHT TOP-FIVE STARTS: Kenseth’s qualifying time of 24.005 seconds put him fifth on the starting grid for the 197-lap event. It was his eighth top-five start of the season.

RACE RECAP: Kenseth brought the Visine Chevrolet down pit road for the first time at lap 29 for new tires and fuel. Still displeased with the handling of the car, Kenseth returned for his second stop at lap 80 and the team made rear tire pressure adjustments. The Visine Chevrolet entered the pits in fourth position but returned to the track in 10th place after trouble with the right front tire. Back on the track, Kenseth maneuvered to gain positions and worked his way into the top five by his third and final stop at lap 138. No adjustments were made, only fuel and four fresh tires were added to the Visine Chevrolet.

SCHULER RETURNS IN MEMPHIS: Jason Schuler returns to the seat of the Visine Chevrolet this weekend at Memphis Motorsports Park in Tennessee. It will be his 11th start for Reiser Enterprises this season.

KENSETH ON THE RACE: “I was pretty happy with our run considering our last set of tires. They were really tight and it was almost impossible to pass. We struggled with tire pressures almost all day just to get the car to handle decent. I tried running every different line on the track to get the best run and we were always keeping with the lead pack, just didn’t have anything extra to get around them.”

KENSETH ON SCHULER: “Jason (Schuler) will be back in the car next weekend at Memphis. I know he’s anxious to be driving again. They tested there earlier this month and it went really well. I think Jason will do just fine there, we didn’t have such a great run there last year, started 10th and finished 21st.”

North Carolina Speedway • Rockingham, NC 
October 22, 2000

Notes of Interest

Matt Kenseth and the DEWALT Racing Team tested at North Carolina Speedway on October 10 and 11 in preparation for the Pop Secret 400.

Kenseth grabbed his second top ten finish in a row this past weekend at Talladega. Matt finished 9th at Charlotte two weeks ago and 10th at Talladega.

Matt has increased his lead to 27 points over Dale Earnhardt Jr., in the 2000 Rookie of the Year battle. This is the largest lead Matt has experienced over Dale Jr., season.

Matt Kenseth’s Thoughts on Rockingham

“A lot has changed since I won my first Busch Series race at Rockingham in 1998. We seem to struggle at ‘The Rock’ in a Winston Cup car. In the spring race we qualified well but I made a mistake during the race and got into the wall and bent the suspension. We tested there last week and it went OK. We didn’t find anything earth shattering. I am glad we’re getting back into my favorite tracks again. Racing on a one mile banked track is something I really enjoy. Rockingham is a track I have fun racing on.”

Matt Kenseth / Visine Racing Pre-Race Notes for North Carolina Speedway

EVENT INFORMATION: Site - North Carolina Speedway, Rockingham, North Carolina; Time and Date - 2 p.m. ET, Saturday, October 21; Live Coverage - TNN (cable television) and MRN (radio); Qualifying - 12:30 p.m. ET, Friday, Oct. 20.

THREE IS NOT A CROWD: Another trophy won’t clutter Kenseth’s showcase so he’ll go for his third consecutive win this weekend at “The Rock.” Kenseth will pilot the same Visine Chevrolet that took him to victory lane in the last two Busch Series events.

DID YOU KNOW?: Kenseth won his first Busch Series event at North Carolina Motor Speedway on February 21, 1998, in the No. 17 Chevrolet. He qualified 27th and led only the final lap of the event.

TIE BREAKER: Kenseth only has a handful of chances remaining to break his season win record in the No. 17 Chevrolet. He currently has four wins with four races remaining on the circuit. In 1999 he tallied four wins and in 1998 he recorded three trips to victory lane.

TUNE IN FOR SEASON FINALE: Visine driver Jason Schuler returns to the No. 17 Chevrolet at Memphis Motorsports Park in Tennessee for his final run of the season. Schuler tested at the speedway on October 10-11. In 10 starts, he tied his best finish of 14th-place at New Hampshire International Speedway and Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis.

IN THE STANDINGS: The Visine Racing Team currently holds fifth in the owners standings. The No. 17 entry has 3,485 points and is 133 points behind fourth place, 154 points from third place, 309 points from second place, and 835 behind first spot.

MATT KENSETH COMMENTS: “I told Russ (Strupp) after Charlotte that I definitely wanted to bring this car to Rockingham. Our chassis setups have been good and the body is as close to perfect as they come.

“We’ve tried some different things because tires have really changed our setups this year. This is a place where you usually don’t have too many cautions so pit strategy could play a big role. You have to conserve your tires but stay out front to be competitive. It’s easy to go a lap down at a mile track with so many fast cars and so few cautions.”

RECAPPING THE ALLTEL 200 (February 26, 2000): Visine Racing driver Matt Kenseth finished ninth in the Alltel 200 at North Carolina Speedway. Kenseth started 28th but quickly cracked the top 10 by lap 39. The Visine Racing Team changed four tires and refueled under green flag conditions at lap 85. Unfortunately, the first caution flag fell at lap 86, trapping Kenseth in the pits. On the restart at lap 96, the Visine Chevrolet was one lap in arrears to the leaders. The Visine Racing Team learned a hard lesson in the pits, but Kenseth raced his way to the team’s second consecutive top-10 finish.

RECAPPING LAST YEAR’S KMART 200 (October 23, 1999): Kenseth put his No. 17 machine in seventh place for the start of the 197-lap event. He quickly moved into the top five pack of cars, eventually taking the lead at lap 123 for nine circuits. As the field battled for positions in the remaining laps, Kenseth was shuffled into fourth position before the checkered flag.

RECAPPING THE ALL PRO BUMPER TO BUMPER 300 (October 7, 2000): Savvy pit strategy and a few ounces of fuel saved the day for the Visine Racing Team, enabling Matt Kenseth to roll to his fourth victory of the season in the Visine Chevrolet. It was Kenseth’s first NASCAR Busch Series win at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and the second consecutive win for the team after taking top honors at Dover Downs International Speedway in Delaware. Following the race, NASCAR officials impounded the No. 17 Chevrolet for further inspection of the motor. After a review the next morning, NASCAR determined that no rules were broken and the Visine Racing Team was credited with the win.

SPONSOR NOTES: Partners on the Visine Chevrolet for the Sam’s Club 200 are BenGay and Cortizone, products produced by Pfizer Warner-Lambert Consumer Healthcare.

DeWALT Racing Notes
MATT GRABS ANOTHER TOP TEN AT TALLADEGA

Matt Kenseth and the DEWALT Racing Team qualified for the Winston 500 in 36th spot. Kenseth took the green flag and immediately went to the back of the pack. Matt cruised with teammates Jeff Burton and Chad Little, at the tail end of the field, running half throttle and just trying to sort things out.

Kenseth pitted on lap 49 for tires and fuel and resumed the race in 18th spot. Matt was running in the lead pack most of the afternoon, coming in to the pits for his second stop of the day in 5th position. Kenseth hung with the lead pack after the stop, leading the race twice before ducking into the pits for his final stop of the day. Kenseth took the green flag in 20th spot with 15 laps till the checkered flag. It was a intense battle to the end, with Matt going from 7th to 16th in one lap. Kenseth managed to sort through the chaos and finished the race in 10th position, claiming his second top ten finish in a row. Kenseth maintains his 13th place showing in the points race and continues to command a large lead over Dale Jr. in the rookie battle.

“Our car was pretty good,” stated Matt Kenseth. “We were really careful in the beginning. I was real paranoid about the big wreck happening and I didn’t want to be in the middle of it. So, we pretty much rode around in the beginning and then after our first stop I didn’t really have a drafting partner anymore so we just started driving hard and staying up in the draft — we handled good. A couple of times we drove all the way to the lead and stayed up there. Our car was real slow by itself, we were the last one to make it on time, but when you get in a big group of cars, it can take a last-place car, almost, and make it a car that can fun up front. We still have some work to do to improve our speedway program, but it was a real good finish for us”

NASCAR Winston Cup Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year Standings

1. Matt Kenseth	266
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.	238
3. Dave Blaney	188
4. Stacy Compton	175
5. Scott Pruett	172

NASCAR Winston Cup Drivers Point Standings

1 Bobby Labonte	4537
2 Dale Earnhardt	4327
3 Jeff Burton	4229
4 Dale Jarrett	4135
5 Ricky Rudd	4102
6 Tony Stewart	4064
7 Mark Martin	3999
8 Rusty Wallace	3955
9 Jeff Gordon	3729
10 Ward Burton	3667
13 Matt Kenseth	3348
15 Dale Earnhardt Jr.	3146