Pontiac Excitement 400 • Saturday, May 3
Richmond International Raceway • .75 miles • Richmond, Virginia

Matt Kenseth at Richmond International Raceway:

DATE	START	FINISH	LAPS	WINNINGS	STATUS
05/06/00	37	15	400/400	$41,660	Running
09/09/00	20	32	376/400	$35,305	Engine
05/05/01	19	8	400/400	$52,475	Running
09/08/01	38	35	301/400	$42,425	Running
05/04/02	7	6	400/400	$68,000	Running
09/07/02	25	1	400/400	$163,595	Running

Matt Kenseth on racing at Richmond:

“I’ve been looking forward to getting back to Richmond since we won last fall. This is just a perfect racetrack that I think all of the drivers love. The fans are always excited about a night race. I’m hoping that we can put a great handling package together for the DeWalt Taurus. We’re aiming for a win and hopefully things will go our way.”

Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at Richmond:

“We’re bringing the same car that won here in the fall. It’s got a lot of adjustability built into it. We’re going to be crunched for time on Friday, but we’ll make the most of it and hopefully extend our point lead. The crew is performing great and I know they’ll have good stops Saturday night.”

Notes:

• Matt will use chassis MMR23, the same car that won at Richmond last fall

HUNTERSVILLE, NC (April 28, 2003) — Roush Racing driver Matt Kenseth will join other NASCAR stars and dignitaries as they take time out of their schedule this week to visit the Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. The purpose is to talk with many of the soldiers who were injured in Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq and those injured in Afghanistan. Also scheduled to make the round-trip are NASCAR officials and fellow drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Todd Bodine, Michael Waltrip, Jerry Nadeau, Johnny Benson and Ken Schrader.

“People say that we have a very busy schedule during the race season and that’s certainly true,” said Kenseth. “But, I think we’ve always got time to do something as special as this. We’re over here in America trying to win races on Sunday afternoons, but these guys are out there trying to win something much bigger each and every day — and that’s to protect this country and the freedoms we enjoy,” he added.

In the pre-race ceremony for the Auto Club 500 at California Speedway, the No. 17 DeWalt Tools pit crew were awarded the first quarter Mechanix Wear Pit Crew of the Year Award. Each quarter, a team is nominated by the crew chiefs with the season ending winner presented with a $75,000 check.

FONTANA, CA (April 27, 2003) — Matt Kenseth chalked up yet another top-10 today in the Auto Club 500 at California Speedway, bringing the DeWalt Tools Ford to a ninth-place finish at the 2-mile oval in Fontana, California. The race becomes Matt’s eighth top-10 finish in the 10 starts in 2003—currently the series record. Consequently, Matt Kenseth finds himself once again leading the 2003 Winston Cup point standings for the seventh consecutive week.

Rolling off the starting grid in 23rd place, Kenseth & Co. had to avoid a lap one, turn one accident involving pole-sitter Steve Park and Ryan Newman. The two spinning cars sent the entire field diving for cover coming off of the second turn. Luckily, they made it through unscathed and the first restart of the day occurred on lap four. Just three laps later, the second caution flag of the day flew and this time, Kenseth came down pit road for service. Crew chief Robbie Reiser elected to take gas only and a round of wedge out of the left rear to improve the handling.

Kenseth deftly moved into the top-15 by lap 30, reporting to the crew, “I’m tight, but it’s [the race car] mostly there,” meaning that Matt had a good handle on the setup. Less than ten laps later and after a spinout by teammate Greg Biffle, Kenseth once again returned to pit road, this time for tires. Things only got better on the ensuing restart on lap 44. By lap 53, Kenseth had the No. 17 DeWalt Tools Ford in 13th place, knocking on the door of the top-10. He reported that the car was loose at the beginning of a run, but tightened up as the run continued. When the car had enough green flag laps in a row, Kenseth was tough to beat.

Between laps 60–87, Kenseth chewed up the field, advancing six positions to fifth overall with a pass on Dale Earnhardt, Jr. just before a green flag pit stop on lap 90. By the halfway point of the race on lap 125, Kenseth had moved into fourth place past Bill Elliott while logging the fastest timed laps on the track. As Tony Stewart lost an engine four laps later, Kenseth grabbed the third spot before pitting for tires and fuel.

Kenseth remained in the top-five until the race complexion changed drastically following a caution period on lap 156. Many teams coming down pit road saw this as a premier opportunity to gain track position by changing only two tires or taking fuel only. Kenseth returned to the action 13th on the ensuing restart after taking four tires. Worse still, he found himself mired in lapped traffic to the inside, which hindered his ability to advance positions in a timely manner.

Robbie Reiser kept Kenseth patient and focused, urging him to “dig in” over the final 80 laps to go. Following only the second long-green flag run of the day, Reiser wisely kept Kenseth out on the track as the leaders pitted so that the team could lead a lap and gain five bonus points. Kenseth was credited with leading lap 205–206. When Kenseth finally did pit, his over the wall crew knocked out their best stop of the day—a blistering 13.49 second four-tire stop.

After the field cycled through their pit stops, Kenseth restarted the race in 9th position, but found the short green flag runs frustrating as his car was set up for longer runs. Kenseth dropped a few positions, but fought back valiantly at the end, dicing his way right back into the top-10 at the finish. It was a familiar finishing spot for the No. 17 DeWalt Tools Ford this season, and afterward, Kenseth was circumspect about his day:

“I don’t know, it was frustrating at times. We struggled all day. We didn’t have very good pit stops and we didn’t have a good car on short runs. We didn’t get the circumstances that we needed. If we would have had a 40-lap green to the end, I think we could have run in the top five, but we just had short runs. It’s just tough. I tried getting by those guys, but I just couldn’t get it done — it was just too short of a run for us. The long runs at the beginning of the race were good for us. I think we drove up to third and did pretty good there, but we didn’t get the long runs we needed at the end. My car would change. Every time we’d pit, it would change a little bit for some reason. We just never could get it. It was real hard to drive in traffic. It was real loose in the beginning of a run and had to wait until I got halfway through a tire run and then we were decent.”

Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 DeWalt Tools team maintain a 44-point lead over second place Dale Earnhardt, Jr. as the team heads to Richmond International Raceway this weekend for a Saturday Night Shootout. Richmond was one of Kenseth’s five victories in 2002.

Auto Club 500 • Sunday, April 27
California Speedway • 2.0 miles • Fontana, California

Matt Kenseth at California Speedway:

DATE	START	FINISH	LAPS	WINNINGS	STATUS
04/30/00	23	3	250/250	$114,325	Running
04/29/01	23	17	250/250	$61,500	Running
04/28/02	20	20	249/250	$77,550	Running

Matt Kenseth on racing at California:

“I’m kind of looking forward to getting back to some racing where you have room to maneuver. California is so wide on the straights and the corners. We had a lot of success here my rookie year we had a shot to win the whole thing, but we didn’t close the deal. Hopefully, we can take the DeWalt Ford the rest of the way.”

Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at California:

“Working the setup for a place like California is a bit of a relief compared to a couple of weeks ago at Martinsville. We never could get anything consistent going, but I know we’ll have something good at Fontana. This is a place Matt enjoys and I enjoy.”

Highlights:

• The DEWALT team will bring chassis MMR20, the same car that won at Las Vegas last month
• Matt Kenseth continues to lead the Winston Cup point standings by 51 points over Dale Earnhardt Jr.
• Kenseth has finished in the top-10 in seven of the nine races in 2003.
• In 2000, Kenseth led 120 laps at California en route to a third-place finish.

MARTINSVILLE, VA (April 13, 2003) – Matt Kenseth brought the DeWALT Tools Ford home in 22nd place today in the Virginia 500 at Martinsville Speedway. It was a gutsy performance by the No. 17 DeWALT team as they fought, scratched and clawed their way to the finish at the series’ smallest track. Several long green flag runs also complicated the team’s ability to adjust on the car at key times during the event.

Rolling off the starting grid in the 34th position, Kenseth cautiously moved up through the field as an unusually long green flag run started the event. He had moved up to 27th position before the setup on the car began acting up. Kenseth radioed that the car was so tight at the beginning of the race, “…it plowed through the center of the corners.” Then, as the run continued uninterrupted, the car became so loose “…it was like driving on ice.” Kenseth ended up going a lap down to then leader Jeff Gordon on lap 61—the first time he had been down a lap all season. Crew chief Robbie Reiser got his first chance to adjust on the car following a caution on lap 79. The team took a rubber out of the left rear spring and changed four tires. The pit stop took longer per the service and Kenseth returned to the track in 36th for the restart on lap 84.

Kenseth didn’t fare much better on the ensuing run. That finally came to a halt as the second caution of the day flew after Ricky Rudd hit the left rear of Kenseth’s car, spinning Rudd out. “I’m still loose in and loose off,” Kenseth reported. After he returned from pit road for service, he was now running 40th.

Things got much better following the restart on lap 124 as Kenseth’s DeWALT Ford seemed to awaken. He methodically moved his way up through the field in the manner that most have become accustomed to seeing in 2003. By lap 234, he was running in 29th position. After another caution flag pit stop, Kenseth worked his way up to 24th by lap 281 on another restart. Robbie Reiser’s decision not to pit at the next yellow flag opportunity gained Kenseth key track position and he moved up to 20th on the lap 298 restart.

Kenseth was running in 19th position, his best spot all day when a debris caution on lap 317 brought the No. 17 DeWALT car down pit road for service. The pit crew had their fastest stop of the day—a 14.82 second stop for four tires and fuel.

As the race wound down, crew chief Robbie Reiser continued to play catch up with Kenseth’s track position, leaving him out on the track after a lap 348 caution. Kenseth decided to gamble and start up front hoping for a caution, which would place him back on the lead lap. Instead of the quick caution, which would have allowed Kenseth to restart at the tail end of the lead lap, he wound up running 80 green flag laps hoping for a break. Even booth announcer Darrell Waltrip exclaimed, “What does Matt Kenseth have to do to get a break?”

Kenseth hung around 20th position over the remainder of the race until a late event incident involving two of his teammates cost him four positions at the finish. The cars of Mark Martin, Kenseth and Kurt Busch were all running nose to tail on worn tires when the room on the racetrack ran out coming off of turn four. They all made contact with less than ten laps to go, but all made it to the finish line in one piece. It wasn’t the best of days for point leader Matt Kenseth, but he spoke of his team’s effort with perspective:

“We got to the tail end of the lead lap one time, but we never really got our lap back. We just ran real badly. Everybody worked on it hard and we got it respectable at the end if we could do a real, real long run, but it just wouldn’t go anywhere. That’s all we had.”

When pressed for a comment regarding how these types of finishes effect the yearly effort for a championship, he replied, “You do the best job you can do every week. You never want to run bad, so you just go and do the best job you can do every week and that’s all you can do.”

Kenseth continues to hang onto the 2003 Winston Cup point lead heading into the Easter break. The team next competes at California Speedway in Fontana, California in two weeks.

HUNTERSVILLE, NC (April 8, 2003) — Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 DEWALT team are prepared to make a dramatic transition this week as the NASCAR Winston Cup Series heads from the largest track on the circuit to its smallest, Martinsville Speedway. The 2.66-mile run of last week changes to a half-mile flat track just over the Virginia border.

“It’s definitely quite a change from what we dealt with a week ago,” said Kenseth. “Martinsville does have one big similarity to the restrictor plate track—patience,” he added. “You’ve really got to keep your head in the game at all times in both places. You can have adversity, yet overcome it. I think last week was a great example. We caught just a small piece of the big accident, but we had plenty of laps to deal with our situation. The same thing can happen at Martinsville where you can go from a spin to a win like our teammate Kurt Busch did in the fall race last year.”

Kenseth is still the point leader, with a 129-point advantage over second place Dale Earnhardt Jr. He stretched his lead over third place Kurt Busch to 233 points. This is his sixth week in a row atop the charts.

“We’re building that base of consistency that sets the groundwork later in the year," said Kenseth. “It’s a long season with plenty of races to go. Things can go wrong for you and you can have a bad stretch, but the lessons we’re learning now will help us draw upon those confidence factors if and when the time comes,” he added.

Virginia 500 • Sunday, April 13, 1:00 p.m. (EST)
Martinsville Speedway • Martinsville, Virginia

Matt Kenseth at Martinsville Speedway:

DATE	START	FINISH	LAPS	WINNINGS	STATUS
04/09/00	31	21	498/500	$38,625	Running
10/01/00	37	34	447/500	$32,700	Running
04/08/01	25	6	500/500	$57,750	Running
10/14/01	22	36	459/500	$37,725	Rear End
04/14/02	26	2	500/500	$97,165	Running
10/20/02	17	19	499/500	$55,875	Running

Matt Kenseth on racing at Martinsville:

“Though we’ve just gone from the circuit’s largest track to the smallest, there’s one big similarity—patience. You’ve got to keep your head on straight and take care of your equipment. This place is hard on engines and hard on brakes and you need both in optimum condition to compete at the end. I think this DEWALT crew will be ready for anything.”

Robbie Reiser on racing at Martinsville:

“We’re going to get a great setup going for this short track. I think our guys got a great dress rehearsal last week at Talladega in the event that we run into trouble. Nobody panicked and we had plenty of time to fix things and get right back in contention. If this crew performs like that again Sunday, we’ll be a threat.”

Highlights:

• The DEWALT team will bring chassis #22 to this week’s event. It is the same car used last year at Martinsville Speedway, but has not yet run in 2003.
• Kenseth continues to lead the Winston Cup point standings by 129 points over Dale Earnhardt Jr. He is 233 points ahead of third place teammate Kurt Busch.
• Kenseth has finished in the top-10 in seven of the eight races in 2003.

TALLADEGA, AL (April 6, 2003) — Matt Kenseth notched his seventh top-ten finish of the 2003 season with a ninth-place showing in the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. Kenseth was rarely out of the top-ten all day long, but the day nearly ended before it could begin.

Rolling off the grid in 28th place, Kenseth was cautious during the first few laps. He even reminded his crew during the pace laps that patience is the key to the 2.66–mile track. Kenseth had made it up to 21st position when a devastating accident occurred in the middle of turns one and two on lap three. The car of Ryan Newman cut a rear tire and his car veered sharply to the right, careening off of the wall and back into traffic collecting over a dozen cars in the process. Drivers caught behind the melee were mere victims of the carnage. Kenseth did a masterful job of holding his line and cruising through the middle, but the No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford sustained some minor right front damage before coming back around the track. Immediately, Kenseth was on the radio, relaying instructions to crew chief Robbie Reiser. The toe-in was knocked out, but not too bad, and the right front tire was going down. “Sorry guys,” he radioed to the crew. “I couldn’t miss that, there was just no place to go,” he added.

Kenseth brought the car down pit road for service, and during the lengthy cleanup on the track he was able to pit every lap under caution without losing the lead lap. The crew, led by car chief Jeff Vandermoss, concentrated on re-setting the toe and taping up the damage to the right front of the car. As Kenseth pulled away after the final stop for repairs, he radioed, “How does it look?” “Just like new,” replied Vandermoss. “That’s what I like to hear,” Matt replied.

When the mess was finally cleaned up, Kenseth restarted on the lead lap with the 26 survivors of the carnage. On lap 13, he was shown in 24th. Within a couple of laps, Kenseth radioed the crew and reported, “It doesn’t drive like brand new, but if I’ve got someone pushing behind me, it’s fine.” It was, in fact, better than fine as by lap 25, Kenseth worked his way up to second place overall, behind then-leader Michael Waltrip.

The caution flag flew again for debris on lap 36 and Kenseth was able to pit twice—once for right side tires and once for left side tires. The crew continued to check over the right front and make sure the tire wasn’t rubbing the sheet metal. Kenseth gave up some spots in the process, but Robbie Reiser was insistent that it was a long day and this was the time to make sure the repairs were done right. On lap 40, Kenseth restarted in 17th, but moved up to 5th by lap 54. The No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford just seemed to like the view up front. Kenseth also kept a keen eye on his gauges, and let the engine breathe as the water and oil temperatures climbed. Locked tight in the draft is no way to get air to the radiator vents.

Following another caution period and subsequent restart, Kenseth moved back into second place. One circuit later on lap 80, he took the point for the first time, gaining five bonus points for leading a lap. Three laps later, the caution flag flew for an incident involving Michael Waltrip, and Kenseth returned to pit road for service. Kenseth elected to change all four tires, as there was concern that one of them was rubbing. Kenseth left the pits in eighth place for the subsequent restart on lap 89. At the halfway point on lap 94, Kenseth was running in fifth. One lap later, it was up to second with Dale Earnhardt Jr. pushing him up through the field from behind. Earnhardt’s push swept Kenseth back into the lead on lap 100.

Soon after, the give and take nature of restrictor plate racing moved Kenseth back to 10th, but he kept clawing his way back into the top-five. The DEWALT pit crew performed a green flag pit stop on lap 126. The crew changed right side tires only in 7.35 seconds and Kenseth left pit road with teammate Greg Biffle to rejoin the draft. At this time, it was relayed to the crew that rain could be moving into the area soon. Kenseth stayed in the top-ten over the next 30 laps, running as high as third and as low as seventh.

On lap 161, another green flag pit stop scenario presented itself. It would be the last stop of the day and the pit crew’s performance held the race in the balance. The crew changed two tires and took on fuel, but several other competitors took fuel only. There were some anxious moments as the No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford found itself hanging on to the end edge of the lead draft. Thankfully, Matt Kenseth found a couple of lapped drafting partners and worked his way right back into the pack by lap 166.

For the remainder of the nail-biting laps, Kenseth again continued to haunt the top-five. With nine laps to go, he was running second behind Ward Burton. Kenseth took the lead with just three laps remaining, but got shuffled back during the last two laps until the checkered flag flew.

Afterward, Kenseth spoke about the hectic last few laps.

“Junior got under me and passed me for the lead and had a run on me and I just couldn’t get down in front of him. Then the 29 was pushing me really good and we had a run to the outside of the 8 and he kind of faked right like he was gonna go with me and then went behind the 8. I shouldn’t expect that. There’s nothing wrong with that because everybody has to make their own decisions, but I couldn’t win the race without anyone pushing me. That’s just the way it works, but if you line up behind the 8, it’s hard to beat him.”

Though Matt Kenseth finished in 9th, it was his seventh top-ten finish of the eight-race season, excluding only the season-opening Daytona 500. Kenseth and the DEWALT Team continue to hang on to the 2003 Winston Cup point lead by a margin of 129 points over second-place Dale Earnhardt, Jr. It’s been said that consistency breeds championship caliber teams. If so, Kenseth and Company are on the right track. The series next heads to the smallest track on the circuit, Martinsville Speedway (.523 mile) in Martinsville, Virginia.

HUNTERSVILLE, NC (April 2, 2003) — The No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford of Matt Kenseth has a problem many Winston Cup teams wish they could experience: a lack of space on the race car. With the advent of the 2003 season, the No. 17 Roush Racing entry has seen four new major associate sponsors join their program.

The new associate sponsorship opportunities orbiting the DEWALT team open new doors for joint marketing ventures, creation of additional value and a chance for more combined exposure over a singular effort. Several of the new sponsors have the chance to sample product on the DEWALT Rolling Thunder interactive display rig, which appears trackside each week. Each has the opportunity to combine efforts behind Matt Kenseth and Roush Racing for additional licensing opportunities as well.

Just prior to the Daytona 500, Smirnoff Ice Triple Black announced their intentions to become involved with the team. An eight-race special paint scheme is set for 2003, with the debut of the No. 17 Smirnoff Ice Triple Black Ford at the Winston all-star event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May. Smirnoff Ice Triple Black is a flavored malt beverage, which was recently launched. The company hopes to reach the devoted fan base of adult NASCAR fans. The program includes hospitality events and a solid social responsibility program based around their slogan, “Be Smart, Drink Responsibly.”

GE LEXAN appears on the TV Panel of the No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford. Lexan resin is the world’s foremost engineering thermoplastic and is used in the production of products ranging from cordless drills to cell phones. Lexan windows are also found in every window of each NASCAR cars.

Carhartt, appearing on both the B and C Posts of the No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford, is an American-made outdoor wear clothing company. The company also has supplied crew members with their line of black jeans. Since Carhartt bills itself as a tool for the workingman, there is no better place than the Winston Cup garage for a proving ground.

Rounding out the final new associate sponsor is American Woodworker, a leading woodworking magazine that features complete how-to information on a variety of woodworking project techniques. DEWALT and American Woodworker are natural partners since their products are a great fit for this leading industry trade publication. The logo for American Woodworker can be found at the base of the C-Post.