UAW Daimler Chrysler 400 • March 3, 2002
Las Vegas Motor Speedway • Las Vegas, NV

Matt Kenseth’s Performance Summary at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Date	Start	Finish	Laps	Money	Status
03/04/01	22	17	266/267	$73,275	Running
03/05/00	21	14	148/148 (rain)	$76,785	Running

Matt Kenseth’s thoughts on racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:

Test results at Las Vegas Motor Speedway…
“We had a pretty good test out in Vegas at the end of January. We took two cars out there, and then decided to take one of our newest cars that we ran in Homestead. We just ran laps in race trim and we were really satisfied with the results. Testing at Vegas is good because its like a cookie cutter type of track. We can use the information from the test there to take to other similar tracks like Chicago and maybe even Kansas.”

Las Vegas is one of Kenseth’s favorite races of the year…
“I really like to race on tracks like Vegas and Atlanta. We’ve run pretty good at those places and would hope to keep that momentum going. With the win at Rockingham behind us, we can focus on winning more races and staying competitive week in and week out. I really like going to Las Vegas, and sometimes get lucky in the casinos. On the track, it’s always a treat to race there because it’s a great show for the fans and a nice facility.”

No Bull…
“I am thrilled that we are going to get a chance to run for the Winston Million. We earned that chance when we finished fourth at Talladega last fall. The No Bull 5 is a really cool promotion put on by RJ Reynolds and Winston to get fans involved in the sport. I hope for myself and the fan lucky enough to be paired up with the DEWALT team that we can bring it home.”

Crew Chief Robbie Reiser’s thoughts on racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:

“We are taking car No. 20 to Vegas. That is the car we tested out there and were very happy with the results. Our engineers have worked hard on this car. It was a really busy week at the shop with winning at Rockingham and the trucks having to leave on Monday to make it to Vegas, so we have not really had a chance to soak it all in. I’m really proud of this team for the effort put forth last Sunday. They were just so efficient in the pits. We work hard on pit stops and even though we hold the championship crew title, that does not mean we can let ourselves slack in the pits. We are in this business to run competitively every week, and winning races shows we can be there at the end. We are going to be just as competitive at Vegas.”

Spotter Mike Calinoff’s views from above Las Vegas Motor Speedway:

“Our Rockingham win was really a great testimony to what teamwork is all about in NASCAR. The DEWALT guys were virtually flawless and that, combined with Matt’s smooth driving, was the key to the win.

“Not winning for 60 races might have a tendency to bring a team down, but Robbie (Reiser) is a very powerful leader — he never let that happen — and it paid off. I’m ready to win a Million at Vegas this week.

“Moving on to Vegas, the scenario couldn’t be better set for this week. After coming off a strong win at Rockingham we’re ready to keep that momentum rolling and go for a Million in Vegas. We tested very well there and I think we’ve got a great shot at scoring a back-to-back win.”

Notes of Interest:

Big Jump…
Kenseth went from 32nd to 9th in the point standings gaining 23 spots with his win at Rockingham.

Laps led…
Kenseth has led in both the Daytona 500 and the Subway 400 at Rockingham for a total of 156 laps out of the 593 run so far this season.

DEWALT Million Dollar Challenge…
Matt Kenseth, his spotter Mike Calinoff and Bobby Hamilton will be at the DEWALT trackside Rolling Thunder display on Saturday, March 2nd at 8:00am to take the DEWALT Million Dollar Challenge along with FOX Sports’ Jeff Hammond and the Totally NASCAR Crew.

ROCKINGHAM, NC (February 24, 2002) — Matt Kenseth’s supposed “Sophomore Slump” is officially over. On Sunday afternoon at North Carolina Speedway, Kenseth and the DEWALT Power Tools crew ended a race where they belong — in Victory Lane.

It had been 60 races since the DEWALT crew last saw the winners circle, but to Kenseth it seemed like 160.

“I am so happy right now,” said Kenseth with a smile. “I knew we had this in us, it was just a matter of getting it to all fall into place at once. The win in the Coca-Cola 600 seems like it was a lifetime ago.”

Kenseth started the Subway 400 in the 25th position. By lap 40 of the 393 lap event, he was in the 8th position. After Kenseth entered the top-10 he never looked back. The No. 17 car was a little bit loose, so the team led by crew chief Robbie Reiser came into the pits on lap 100 to make adjustments. The next pit stop came on lap 146, when Kenseth came onto pit road 5th and was sent back out as the leader.

This would be the case in four separate pit stops on the day. The DEWALT crew demonstrated their championship style as they made adjustments on the No. 17 car,  and changed four tires during each stop, keeping Kenseth as the leader and within striking distance of the win all day.

“The pit stops were the key to winning this deal,” Kenseth said as he praised his crew. “These guys came out last year and won the Pit Crew championship and showed that it was for real today. You can do one good stop and get lucky anytime, but when you do about 10 in one day, that’s something to write about.”

“This morning in the team meeting I told the guys if we got all of our stuff together, we had a good car and a shot at the win,” added Robbie Reiser. “I am just so proud of this DEWALT team, and everyone at Roush Racing. We worked hard for this, and its awesome to be back in Victory Lane.”

Kenseth led the event four times for 152 laps. The only shadow to cast doubt on the possibility of a win came during a late race caution when Kenseth was leading and decided to pit for tires. The No. 32 car of Ricky Craven stayed on the racetrack. Kenseth’s crew sent him back out in second place for the restart on lap 368.

Kenseth got shuffled into fourth place due to lapped traffic. By lap 377 he was back up to third, and by lap 386 he passed the No. 18 of Bobby Labonte for second place. Another caution flag flew on lap 389 due to debris on the track as Kenseth drove past Sterling Marlin for the lead. The race ended under caution on lap 393 with Kenseth leading the way to the checkered flag.

“I was pushing really bad on that last set of tires,” explained Kenseth. “When that caution came out, I think the 18 and the 40 slowed up or got into oil or something. I am not really sure what happened there. I just know I stayed in the throttle and passed them coming off of turn four.

“Winning at the Rock is something special. It’s where I had my first Busch win with Robbie and its a track we usually struggle at in Winston Cup.

“Last night my wife Katie told me my name was going to be (engraved) on the Rock after today’s race. I wasn’t so sure about that but I felt pretty positive after practice on Saturday, because the car was really good. I could not have done this without my guys today — they were the heat all day. They were just awesome.”

Kenseth dedicated the win to his father, Roy, who was not present at the Rock for Sunday’s race.

Kenseth and the DEWALT Team will now head to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where they will compete for the Winston Million in the No Bull 5 on Sunday, March 3, 2002.

RacingOne.com: Kenseth Wins With Yellow Fever
RPM.ESPN.com: Kenseth Wins Cautiously
RPM.ESPN.com: Kenseth still a heck of a driver
SpeedFX: Rockingham Race Recap
That’s Racin’: Yellow Then Checkers Fly For Kenseth 
That’s Racin’: Kenseth strong and aggressive, too 
CNN/SI: Kenseth Dominating in Subway 400 Victory also video clip 
CNN/SI: Hard Charger   
Nascar.com: Kenseth rallies to win Subway 400 
Nascar.com: Pit crew vital in ending Kenseth’s losing streak 
Fayetteville Online: Kenseth wins Subway 400 under caution flag 
Insider Racing: Kenseth Beats the Rock 
Speedway Media: Kenseth wins, Marlin left wondering 
TeamRacin: Subway 400 
Roanoke Times: Good luck spills over in win 
Richmond Times-Dispatch: Kenseth claims victory 
Orlando Sentinel: NASCAR helps Kenseth flag down win 
Inside the Pitbox: DeWalt by Default 
Augusta Chronicle: Kenseth Wins Subway 400 
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Kenseth follows caution to win 
Stock Car City: Kenseth brings home second Cup win 
The Tennessean: Chance comes late for Kenseth 
USAToday: Kenseth Feasts in Subway 400 
MSNBC: Kenseth rallies to win Subway 400 
FoxSports: Caution to the Win 
FoxSports: Kenseth wins Subway 400  
CBS Sportsline: Kenseth dominates...
Motorsportstv.com: Sponsor Celebration Station 
The State: Kenseth holds on to take checkered flag 
AL.com: Caution, Matt at Work 
AL.com: Kenseth wins under yellow; fine to come 
Autoracing1.com: Matt Kenseth prevails under yellow 
Autoracing1.com: Race report from Rockingham 
Catchfence: Kenseth claims 2nd Career Win 
Charleston.net: Controversy clouds Kenseth’s 2nd win 
Stooges Racing: Kenseth wins 2nd of career 
That’s Racin’: Wallpapers 

Subway 400 • February 24, 2002
North Carolina Speedway • Rockingham, NC
             
Matt Kenseth’s Performance Summary at North Carolina Speedway

Date	Start	Finish	Laps	Money	Status
02/27/00	6	37	383/393	$31,200	Running
10/22/00	28	25	391/393	$36,775	Running
02/25/01	38	28	389/393	$45,200	Running
11/04/01	40	10	392/393	$57,375	Running

Matt Kenseth’s thoughts on racing at The Rock:

Best finish…
“The last time we raced at the Rock, we finished 10th — our all time high in the DEWALT car. We felt like we won the race, since we have always been pretty bad there. I think we can better that 10th place finish this time at the Rock.”

Tire wear at Rockingham…
“Its like rubbing sandpaper on your tires. Rockingham is in the sand hills of NC, and I guess the sand has taken its toll on the track surface. The track is very abrasive—you will see teams changing as many tires as they can throughout the race.”

First Busch Series win…
“It’s always good for me to revisit Rockingham, because it reminds me of how far we have come. Back in 1998 when I was racing in the Busch Series for Robbie Reiser, we had no sponsor. We had a one race deal for Daytona, and ended up finishing well and making enough money to go enter Rockingham. We wanted to thank the sponsor so we put their decals on the car. I passed Tony Stewart to win that race. It’s still by far one of my favorite racing memories.”

Robbie Reiser’s thoughts on racing at The Rock:

“I know finishing 33rd in Daytona was nothing to write home about, but we really had a good performance—we were competitive. It was amazing to see the DEWALT car leading the field at Daytona. If anything, it gave us confidence. Rockingham has not been so kind to us in Winston Cup. Last fall was our best effort yet. We won the Pit Crew competition and then we finished 10th for the race. It was a great effort. We tested at Rockingham before we ran that race and learned a lot. I think we can take experience and test results, throw a little confidence in there and we will have a decent run.”

Spotter Mike Calinoff’s views from above North Carolina Speedway:

“During the race, the fast lines will change periodically so I will have to keep Matt informed as that happens. While Rockingham is not a tough track to spot, there is a lot of information that I’ll have to relay so I usually count on being pretty busy.”     

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 17, 2002) — Matt Kenseth and the DEWALT Racing team started the Daytona 500 in 40th position. Kenseth was relegated to a 33rd place finish which clearly was not indicative of the strong effort and showing displayed by the No. 17 team throughout the event.

Kenseth charged through the field to the 19th position within six laps of the start of the race. He continued on the same pace and was 14th on lap 23 when the team pitted for two right side tires under the caution flag. The World Champion pit crew sent Kenseth out in first position as they took on right side tires only. He led for four laps, and then remained in the top-five until the left side tires became so worn he fell back through the field. Kenseth developed a tight condition and brought the DEWALT Ford back into the pits on lap 81 for adjustments.

By lap 90, Kenseth was third on the board when another caution flag flew because of a spinning car. He remained in the top five when he lost the draft. He was running 14th when on lap 148 Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon tangled in turn one in front of the entire field. With smoke blocking his view of the track, Kenseth had no where to go as 21 cars were collected sending 13 cars to the garage. Crew chief Robbie Reiser and the DEWALT crew worked hard to get Kenseth back on the track. He was able to return to the race by lap 176 but only made it an additional six laps before NASCAR forced the team to pit.

“All I saw was smoke,” said Kenseth in the garage. “It looked like where I was sitting that Harvick was trying to block Gordon and Gordon turned Harvick. Once you turn somebody here, if you are in the front of the pack your going to collect a whole mess of cars.

“I thought our DEWALT Ford was pretty darn good today. It really ran well and we made some adjustments that really worked in our favor. Today was the most competitive we have been all week. We seemed to have an advantage, and it seemed like other people who were good this week had some handling problems.

“When it comes to wrecks like the one that started in front of me, you just try and make it through the best you can. Sometimes you make it, and sometimes you don’t.”

Robbie Reiser was proud of his team as it seemed the momentum gained from the end of 2001 carried over into the Daytona 500. “I am really proud of this entire team,” said Reiser after the race. “It feels good being competitive.”

Kenseth, Reiser and the DEWALT Crew will try it again in Rockingham next weekend as the NASCAR Winston Cup Series makes its second stop of the season at the North Carolina Speedway.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 14, 2002) — Matt Kenseth and the DEWALT Racing team started the first heat of the Gatorade Twin 125’s in the 23rd position and finished 15th.

When the green flag dropped, Kenseth was able to work his way into the 14th position on fresh tires. Throughout the 50 lap sprint that would determine the starting order for Sunday’s Daytona 500, Kenseth was running as high as the 11th position. The No. 17 car handled very well until lap 24 when Kenseth said the car was pushing off of the corners. He then dropped to the 13th position and rode comfortably until the final ten laps.

While leading a pack of cars in the draft, Kenseth encountered lapped traffic with five laps to go. Brett Bodine passed Kenseth shuffling him back to 16th position. On the final lap, Kenseth worked back up to 15th to take the checkered flag.

“We ran that race just like we have been running all week,” said Kenseth after the event. “We got pretty tight there for a while but for the most part I never let off the gas. At the beginning of the race it was pretty exciting, when everyone was on fresh tires you could pass three wide and use the whole racetrack. Then at the end everyone was single file, and if you had a partner you could catch someone, but if not, you could not really pass too well. It really hurt us when Brett Bodine went with his brother who was a lap down and I got shuffled out of the transfer spot.”

As the field was set at the conclusion of the second Twin 125 event, Kenseth will start the Daytona 500 in the 40th position.

From Mike at the Fan Club: 

John Reiser just called me at the fan club store at 3:15 pm and said:

The sponsor for Daytona and Texas will be Jani-King. White car with black hood with black lettering. Of course it will be a Ford, they will keep the #17 and Kippley will be building motors as well. John expressed interest in people emailing the company (how I’m not sure) to support their decision of going with Matt and the Reiser team and hopefully picking up the rest of the 2002 season.

Not much news yet, but ... Directly from Matt to Roy to Kelly & Mike and finally to the website: “A sponsor, not sure who yet, will sponsor the Busch team for Daytona and Texas.”

Stay tuned for the details, we’ll post them as soon as we get them!!

CONCORD, NC—(January 30, 2002) — Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 DEWALT Power Tools team tested at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Monday and Tuesday. Kenseth posted a speed of 167.338 mph, one of the fastest speeds in race trim.

“One of the reasons we decided to go to Vegas and test because we are in the No Bull 5 for the Winston Million in March,” said Kenseth. “We took the car we ran in Homestead last year, and an older car we built from the first year to compare the two. We only ran in race trim so we got a lot of laps in.

“Testing at Vegas is good because its sort of a cookie cutter track. The information we learned there will help us with other similar tracks, like Kansas. Its a consistent track and the weather is usually good there this time of year. It was a little chilly this time, but I think when we go back we will be good. With the long schedule, its good to test in the off season, because once we go racing, there is little or no time for it.

“Overall, it was a pretty good test. We decided what car we are going to take and we didn’t run into many problems at all.”

Upon their return from Las Vegas, Kenseth and the team will take advantage of the last week of the off-season to make final preparations for the upcoming Daytona 500 on February 17, 2002.

TOWSON, Md. (January 17, 2002) — DEWALT Power Tools is preparing to introduce the promotion that will leverage their presence in NASCAR racing and in the Power Tool industry in 2002 and beyond. The DEWALT MILLION DOLLAR CHALLENGE will allow tool users everywhere to drill screws for a million dollars.

Each year DEWALT has been in racing, fans across America have participated in the DEWALT CHALLENGE. Developed in the spring of 1992 by members of the DEWALT Marketing Team, the DEWALT CHALLENGE revolutionized event marketing within the Power Tool industry and has become a fixture at every DEWALT event since its inception.

This year, DEWALT plans to elevate the stakes. The DEWALT MILLION DOLLAR CHALLENGE will launch in the city known for its high stakes, Las Vegas, the same time DEWALT Racing’s driver Matt Kenseth will battle for the Winston Million, on the track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“The DEWALT Challenge is relatively simple yet it seems to magnetize folks with any level of competitive juice in their body,” said Jon Howland, Motorsports Manager for DEWALT. “Using one of the most common tools on a job site, a DEWALT cordless drill, the DEWALT Challenge tests speed and accuracy while demanding nerves of steel. Partakers are required to drive five drywall screws into wood as quickly as they possibly can in order to win a wide array of prizes.

“Contractors become obsessed by it, distributors demand it, and competitive tool manufactures attempt to duplicate it. The DEWALT CHALLENGE is unique, and from a marketing standpoint there is not a better way to get our tools into the hands of users in a practical application type of setting.”

The course of the challenge will last for approximately six months throughout the prime builder’s season. Contenders will have over 300 opportunities to take the challenge at DEWALT events throughout the United States as they vie for the chance to win a million dollars.

Qualifying events will be held at various power tool distributors, on residential and commercial job sites, and at various NASCAR Winston Cup races. Throughout the course of the events, contestants will also be eligible to win one of 16 Chevrolet Utility vehicles, over $50,000 worth of DEWALT power tools and accessories, one of four Bombardier ATVs, and various other DEWALT prizes.

Participants with the fastest times will advance to one of 16 regional events held at Chevrolet Truck dealerships. Regional winners will then advance to the DEWALT MILLION DOLLAR CHALLENGE finals in Phoenix, Ariz. The sixteen finalists will win an all-inclusive trip to Phoenix International Raceway during the NASCAR Winston Cup weekend to compete for the chance to win the grand prize of one million dollars.

To learn more about the DEWALT MILLION DOLLAR CHALLENGE log onto www.dewalt.com for details surrounding this promotion.

View the Million Dollar Challenge Paint Scheme