CONCORD, NC (June 24, 2003) — With the Winston Cup tour in its final hiatus week for the 2003 season, Roush Racing driver Matt Kenseth has chosen to participate in this year’s Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America. Matt and his wife, Katie, will make the trip on their custom Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Motorcycling is one of Kenseth’s favorite activities away from the track. The ride gives Matt and Katie the opportunity to give back to the community, as their participation helps to raise money for several children’s hospitals as well as the Pettys’ Victory Junction Gang Camp.

The Victory Junction Gang Camp, set to open in the summer of 2004, will be a $24 million state of the art facility designed to meet the needs of chronically ill children ages 7–15. It is a not-for-profit medical camping center nestled around Greensboro, North Carolina.

“This is a terrific way for Katie and myself to give back to the community,” said Kenseth after taking a break during the Sonoma weekend. “When you combine something like that with my love of motorcycling, we have a win-win situation.”

The Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America is taking a more southern route this time around. Beginning in Palm Springs, California, on June 22, the tour makes stops in Sedona, Arizona; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Bossier City, Louisiana; Biloxi, Mississippi; Tallahassee, Florida; and finally wraps up in Daytona Beach for the Dale Earnhardt Tribute Concert on June 28.

This is the 8th year for the Charity Ride since its inaugural run in 1995. Over that stretch of time, the ride has generated over $3.5 million dollars for children’s hospitals across the country.

SONOMA, CA (June 22, 2003) — For only the third time in 2003, Matt Kenseth missed out on a top-10 finish on race day as he ended the Dodge/Save-Mart 350 in 14th place at Infineon Raceway. It was still a very respectable finish for a driver whose average finish at the track is 27th. For the DEWALT Racing team, it was all about a successful test over two months ago at the 2.5–mile, 11-turn facility.

In qualifying, Kenseth shocked everyone, including himself, by sitting on the provisional pole position before being bumped back to the fourth starting spot. At the start of the race, Kenseth quickly grabbed third place from road racing ace Ron Fellows, who started in third. Kenseth set a determined pace and raced the track, not his competitors. As a result, he was rewarded with a car that did not have a mechanical failure. He also encountered no on-track incidents that would have ruined his chances for a respectable finish. Hanging around the top-10 for the first quarter of the race, Kenseth looked in control.

Being the Winston Cup point leader, you do find your share of racing luck from time to time and Kenseth got his weekly dose on lap 36. On the lap that he was already scheduled to come to the pits for his regular green flag service, Kenseth radioed the crew that he had a tire going down. It turned out to be the left rear tire throwing a tread. It did so right at the entrance to pit road, thus saving Kenseth a two-mile trip back around the track on a bare rim. The caution came out as a result, and Kenseth dropped back to 24th on the restart as half of the field already completed service and the others had not yet made a green flag stop.

In just 11 short laps, Kenseth pitted again, this time after a caution. It appeared as if crew chief Robbie Reiser wanted to put the No. 17 DEWALT Tools in position for a fuel mileage finish, if at all possible. On the restart on lap 54, Kenseth avoided a close call as the car of Kenny Wallace knocked the car of Bobby Labonte out of the way on the treacherous 11th turn with Kenseth just in front of the both of them. He took evasive action and avoided any funny business.

Another caution flag flew on lap 59 as the cars of Jack Sprague and Steve Park had their days ruined by Kyle Petty cutting across in front of them after he spun out. Kenseth stayed out as some of the other cars pitted. He restarted in 21st and on lap 62 and avoided the only serious multi-car melee of the day as Kurt Busch, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Rusty Wallace all went flying through turns seven and eight in a spin. They collected several cars, but Kenseth squeaked by unfazed on the inside rumble strip.

As cars pitted after the caution flag flew, Kenseth found himself back where he started the race, solidly in third place. He had not, however, pitted in the same sequence as all of the other cars. Kenseth got his opportunity to pit under caution just seven laps later as the car of Christian Fittipaldi slammed into the tire barriers. On lap 73, he came down pit road to the attention of his crew and changed four tires and added fuel. He dropped back to 23rd on the restart on lap 74. Though it was the last stop needed for fuel, Kenseth gambled on the next caution period, which started with just 22 laps to go by pitting for four tires. Earnhardt Jr. ducked onto pit road at the last second and Kenseth (who was almost at a dead stop at the entrance of pit lane) followed suit. Though Kenseth came in behind the 8 car, his crew had him off pit road first and he restarted the event with 18 laps to go in 21st position.

He steadily moved up position by position as the laps wound down and the fresher tires held their ground. With 16 laps to go, he moved into the top-20. Thirteen to go and he was 18th. Eleven laps to go and he was 16th. With just under ten laps to go, Kenseth popped into the top-15 and made up one more slot to 14th at the checkered flag.

After the race, he spoke about his day:

“It was okay. We weren’t ever great. We were probably always a 10th or 15th-place car, and just some wrecks and some stuff happened. At times we had good track position, but I never thought them guys could make it as far as they made it on fuel or we would’ve pitted earlier and had a chance to be up there, too, but it didn’t work out that way. But yet I’m satisfied with 14th. That is a lot better than we’ve ever done here before.”

Not a bad effort for Kenseth, who admittedly doesn’t like the road courses. He had a good points day and still holds a 174-point lead over Jeff Gordon, who moved into second in the point standings with his second place finish. Dale Earnhardt, who finished 11th, is just two points behind Jeff Gordon in third place overall as the season heads into their final weekend off.

As for Matt Kenseth, he is going to enjoy this week off. He has plans to ride his Harley-Davidson motorcycle in the Kyle Petty Charity Motorcycle Ride Across America. If you see him on the highway, remember to wave!

Visit the Kyle Petty Charity Ride website to follow the group’s progress!

• Not just about wins for Kenseth
• Of Kenseth and Consistency
• Points leader Kenseth is hoping to turn corner
• Top racer anything but stock
• Chasing Kenseth
• Consistent Kenseth looking like a champ to Gordon
• Kenseth follows Labonte’s lead toward title
• Kenseth finding ways to run well
• Consistent Kenseth is beating back contenders
• Matt Kenseth: The Quiet One

Dodge/Save Mart 350 • Sunday, June 22
Infineon Raceway • Sonoma, California • 1.949–mile road course
Chassis Number MMR-30 • new car

Matt Kenseth performance at Infineon Raceway:

DATE	START	FINISH	LAPS	WINNINGS	STATUS
06/25/00	38	32	110/112	$48,190	Running
06/24/01	20	21	112/112	$53,200	Running
06/23/02	6	39	90/110	$65,045	Running

“I think this event is going to pose a challenge to us in the DEWALT Ford, but we’re not going to change the way we approach it. For us, it’s just another week where we’re going to go out and do the best we can and see if we can’t keep improving. This isn’t my favorite racetrack on the circuit, but we tested here and I think we can still come up with a pretty decent finish when it’s all said and done.”

“We knew last year that this was going to be the site of one of our test sessions this year. I think we had a good two days out there. Mark [Martin] was here helping Matt go over a few of the finer points of getting around this place. We just need to get our car balanced out right, take care of our equipment and make sure we finish the race and we’ll be just fine.”

CONCORD, NC (June 17, 2003) — With the Winston Cup circuit headed to the Sonoma Valley (CA) for their first road course race of the year, points leader Matt Kenseth is ready to take a final exam of sorts on the sweeping right hand turns of the 1.949-mile course.

Back in late April of this year, Kenseth and teammate Mark Martin tested for two days at the winding road course. Martin, who is also part owner of Kenseth’s team, tutored Matt about the finer points of getting around the tricky turns.

Statistically speaking, Kenseth has not set the world on fire at Infineon Raceway, with a best finish of 21st and two other finishes of 32nd or worse. “I’m not a very good road-course driver,” Kenseth readily admits. “It’s not what I grew up on and I never had that much experience with them so it makes it more difficult to adapt,” he adds.

Yet, with at least a one-race lead on the entire field of competitors in the 2003 Winston Cup point standings, Kenseth can afford an off-week. Not that he’s had many this year. Not counting the season opening Daytona 500 or Martinsville, Kenseth has finished in the top-10 in every race, also earning seven top-fives along the way. He has the largest point lead in the last 10 years at this point in the season, holding a 185-point advantage over second-place Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Throughout the two-day test session, Kenseth’s lap times did improve each time he went out, however Mark Martin’s times were still faster overall. “The more practice I got, the better I was,” said Kenseth.

Yet Matt was realistic about his chances of getting to victory lane at Infineon Raceway. “The only way I’ll get to victory lane here is if Mark wins and I get to go congratulate him,” he said laughing.

BROOKLYN, MI (June 15, 2003) — Matt Kenseth took a commanding 185-point lead in the Winston Cup Series with a fourth place finish in the Sirius Satellite 400 at Michigan International Speedway. It was Kenseth’s seventh top-five finish and his thirteenth top-10 finish in 15 starts.

Matt and his father, Roy, spent Father’s Day together at Michigan.

Rolling off the starting grid in 21st place, Kenseth cautiously moved up the leader board to 15th place by the first caution flag on lap 3 for an incident involving Ricky Rudd and Ken Schrader. After a two-tire stop, the No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford returned to competition on lap six. From there, Kenseth quickly slid into the top-10 running order by lap 35, working the outside groove around the two-mile track.

Though the car was initially tight on the first few runs, crew chief Robbie Reiser was able to get the car loosened up. Between laps 58 and 70, Kenseth marched from 11th place to fourth place overall just as caution flag number three flew for oil on the track. Kenseth pitted, but an air gun failed and the team had a costly 17.45-second stop. Kenseth began to favor the high groove around the race track, prompting spotter Mike Calinoff to radio: “If you run any higher in turns three and four, you’ll be able to sign autographs in the stands.” Though Kenseth restarted in 8th place, he moved back to sixth by the halfway point at lap 100.

During a green flag pit stop on lap 120, the pit crew made up for the previous stop with a smoking 13.80-second four-tire stop, advancing Kenseth two positions to fourth. But all was not well with the car. Kenseth soon radioed in that he felt he had a bad set of tires. The complaints got louder as Kenseth felt the car slowing each lap. He openly pined for a caution again and again, worried they may lose all of their track position. At one point, Kenseth questioned whether or not they should short pit. Though crew chief Robbie Reiser indicated it was on his mind, he feared an untimely caution could trap them a lap down if they were on pit road.

By lap 153, Kenseth was running seventh and asked again how many laps until the next pit stop. Four laps later, the caution he’d been waiting for to save the day occurred as the yellow flag waved for debris. Kenseth pitted and the crew went to work changing tires and making an adjustment to the track bar. He returned to the track in 10th place.

As the race wound down, things got interesting as Matt Kenseth dueled with Tony Stewart, Rusty Wallace and Sterling Marlin for position in the top 10. By lap 187, he was back up to sixth.

With just nine laps remaining in the race and Kenseth running seventh, the final caution of the day flew for a one-car incident involving Todd Bodine. Reiser made the call to come in for four new tires. On the ensuing restart, Kenseth started 9th with just five laps to go, but he made the most of each and every one of them. Kenseth went to seventh place on lap 196, then sixth on lap 197. With two laps to go, he passed both Sterling Marlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. and captured fourth place overall just as the checkered flag flew. Five positions in five laps — now that’s consistency.

Afterward, Kenseth talked about his run:

“We had a great car overall, but it took some adjusting by the crew all day. It would start off a run real loose, then get tight at the end of the run. We felt we had a bad set of tires at one point, but we got a caution to come in and fix it. It was a great team effort today by this DEWALT team.”

Matt Kenseth now holds a 185-point advantage over Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the 2003 Winston Cup point chase. Kenseth has beaten Earnhardt for position in the last three straight events. The No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford will next see action at Infineon Raceway in Sears Point, California as the circuit arrives at its first of two road course races. Kenseth tested at the road course earlier this year.

• Kenseth shows he’s here to stay
• Catch him if you can
• Kenseth has rivals starting stretch run early
• Kenseth defends Michigan title
• Matt Kenseth quietly expands points lead
• Bulletproof Kenseth leaving rivals behind
• Kenseth remains a model of consistency
• Kenseth quietly dominates
• At No. 1, Kenseth not satisfied
• Kenseth overcomes trouble, leaves with a wider margin
 
Story about Katie! Wives become part of team

Sirius 400 • Sunday, June 15
Michigan International Speedway • 2.0 miles

Matt Kenseth performance at Michigan:

DATE	START	FINISH	LAPS	WINNINGS	STATUS
08/22/99	25	14	200/200	$25,040	Running
06/11/00	23	17	193/194	$37,650	Running
08/20/00	28	8	200/200	$42,490	Running
06/10/01	31	15	200/200	$54,040	Running
08/19/01	33	4	162/162	$70,050	Running
06/16/02	20	1	200/200	$154,100	Running
08/18/02	21	11	200/200	$65,340	Running

Matt Kenseth on racing at Michigan:

“Statistically speaking, this might be our best track over time*we’ve always run real well at Michigan. For Roush Racing, this is like a homecoming for the whole organization — we always want to do well. We’re looking to win again this year to add to our Vegas victory and this might be the place. This track is just such a fun place to race — it’s so wide and there are multiple grooves. I’m really looking forward to it.” 

Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at Michigan:

“I don’t think it should come as a surprise that we’re bringing the same car we won with last year. That was a great day for this DEWALT team and we want to make it another great day come Sunday. We have to keep doing things well as a team — last week was a great example. We overcame so me early difficulties in the pits that really got us behind and we still came out of there with a top-five finish. I’m real proud of my guys for that.”

Notes:

The team is taking Chassis #15, which won Michigan last year.

CONCORD, NC (June 10, 2003) — Roush Racing driver’s Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch are scheduled to appear at Ford’s Centennial Celebration on Thursday, June 12, at the Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. Both Roush drivers are taking part in the Ford Fan Day festivities by participating in an autograph session and a Question and Answer session with Ford Executives and fans.

“Obviously, this is going to be a pretty special weekend with Ford,” said current Winston Cup point leader Matt Kenseth. “I’m happy to be a part of it. Ford has been behind me and my sponsor DEWALT Tools for a long time,” he added.

24-year old Kurt Busch also commented on Ford’s Centennial Celebration.

“This is a great opportunity for the Ford drivers to show their appreciation for all they do for Roush Racing,” he said. “I’ve gotten to do so much thanks to their involvement. I think one thing that stands out is that I got to drive a Ford Indy car earlier this year. Those guys were nice enough to arrange the whole deal for me and I had the time of my life,” he added.

Both Kenseth and Busch will be signing autographs at the Ford World Headquarters from 6–8 p.m. They will also participate in a brief Q&A session.

LONG POND, PA (June 8, 2003) — Not even the tricky 2.5–mile triangular shaped Pocono Raceway could put a halt to the juggernaut of consistency that Matt Kenseth continues to build upon in 2003. Kenseth brought his car home in 3rd place at the Pocono 500 for his sixth top-five finish and his twelfth top-ten finish in 14 races so far this year.

With rain washing out all of Saturday’s practice sessions, the NASCAR Winston Cup cars hit the track without the luxury of fine-tuning their cars. Kenseth started 25th on the day, but didn’t stay there long as he quickly found out he had an excellent race car.

Commenting on this factor, he stated:

“We didn’t change much. It was pretty decent all day. I struggled a little bit in one end, but I was real good in the other end so we didn’t change anything really big. It was a real good car on long runs. It wasn’t real fast the first few laps, but on the long run it was real good.”

He moved into the top-10 for the first time on lap 28. By the end of the run, crew chief Robbie Reiser kept Kenseth on the track to lead lap 49, collecting five bonus points in the process. It was on the ensuing pit stop on lap 50 that the DEWALT Team faced their real adversity of the day. Just as Kenseth pitted, he ran out of fuel, stalling the car — and the clutch began acting up just as the crew was pushing the car down pit road to get it fired again. After the costly extra time on pit road, Kenseth had fallen all the way back to 24th position, but he didn’t lose a lap in the process.

Kenseth addressed the mishap in the post-race press conference:

“We kind of got lucky and got our track position back because we made a little mistake and got behind in the pits. I think we ran out of gas, but we came back from that with the way the pit cycle worked out. We got up front and when we got up front the car handled real good.”

The caution did come out three laps later as Dale Jarrett backed his car into the wall in turn one. Reiser kept Kenseth out on the track as the leaders all pitted. Kenseth found himself right back where he was before the pit troubles — fifth position. One lap before his next green flag pit stop on lap 90, Kenseth again led a lap before coming in for service on the No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford. 14.60 seconds later, he had four new tires entering turn one off of pit road.

By the halfway point at lap 100, Kenseth was running a strong third overall. Once more before his regularly scheduled green flag pit stop, Kenseth again led a lap for the third time on the day. Kenseth was beat off pit road, but never dropped out of the top-five over the next pit cycle of 35 laps.

After pitting for fuel on lap 154, there wasn’t a car on the track that could make it the rest of the distance on fuel. Kenseth would be about nine laps short according to calculations. The decision of when to pit was going to become a chess match among the crew chiefs on pit road.

Teammate Greg Biffle’s crew chief, Randy Goss, got the game going with a gutsy gamble to bring his driver in early on lap 166. The other crew chiefs, noticing the die had been cast, began bringing their drivers in for a splash of fuel to make it to the end of the race. Kenseth moved up to fourth place as two of the drivers ahead of him short pitted as well. Kenseth asked crew chief Robbie Reiser if they shouldn’t consider the same strategy. After calculating the amount needed, Reiser brought Kenseth down pit road for a gas and go on lap 178 of the 200-lap event. Kenseth returned to the track in 10th, but seven cars ahead of him still needed to stop. One by one, they did so until Kenseth was running third.

With just 16 laps to go, Kenseth keyed the mike and radioed to the crew, “Why are you being so quiet? Did we get enough fuel in or not?” Reiser chuckled and assured Kenseth that they indeed had gotten the required amount in the tank. By lap 191, every car had stopped for a splash of fuel and Kenseth was running third behind Tony Stewart and teammate Mark Martin.

Then, unexpectedly, teammate Kurt Busch cut a tire down with seven laps to go and slammed hard into the outside wall, bringing out the caution. All of the lead lap cars stayed put on the race track and held their positions through the final restart on lap 197. The restart was marred by a backstretch accident involving Jeff Green, which caused the race to end under caution. However, Kenseth was plenty satisfied with the results and he spoke about them soon afterward:

“We had about a third-place car there. I felt like I was as good as the 6. The 20 was pretty good. If we would have been in front, I think we were pretty equal but for how it turned out I’d say it was pretty good. It wasn’t discouraging [to end under caution] at all for me. I wasn’t gonna catch those guys. I was gonna finish third anyway. It’s a 500-mile race and we ran 490 miles. If there was a red flag it would kind of be setting everybody up for a wreck, so I was happy with the way it ended. It was good.”

Kenseth went on to speak about his remarkable consistency and how this year was different from the last:

“Compared to last year, [we’re doing] two things. At the end of last year I made a couple of mistakes, but so far we haven’t had any parts break — knock on wood — and we didn’t get in a big wreck at Daytona and Talladega. Last year I was in three out of the four big wrecks at the speedways and got destroyed and got terrible finishes in all of them. At this time last year we had some parts that were already breaking, so, so far, so good in that area. The car has been running at the end of the race and I’ve been lucky enough not to tear anything up yet. To finish first you must first finish and our stuff has been running at the end and that’s important.”

For the second week in a row, Kenseth widened his overall points lead over Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kenseth now holds a commanding 176-point lead over second place heading into next week’s event at Michigan International Speedway, otherwise known as Roush Racing’s home turf.

• PennLive.com: Easy does it for Kenseth
• Sporting News: Beware the mellow menace: Kenseth is on the prowl
• Dover Newszap: Kenseth increases Cup points lead
• Ford Racing: Top 10 keeps Kenseth’s lead
• Catchfence.com: Kenseth worthy of your cheers

Pocono 500 • Sunday, June 8
Pocono Raceway • 2.5 miles • Long Pond, Pennsylvania

Matt Kenseth at Pocono Raceway:

DATE	START	FINISH	LAPS	WINNINGS	STATUS
06/19/00	29	14	200/200	$48,665	Running
07/23/00	24	5	200/200	$71,590	Running
06/17/01	31	6	200/200	$59,715	Running
07/29/01	24	14	200/200	$46,840	Running
06/09/02	4	35	161/200	$53,865	Running
07/28/02	22	8	175/175	$64,765	Running

Matt Kenseth on racing at Pocono:

“Last year we had a good qualifying effort and a good finish, but they both came in different Pocono events. I’d be happier if we put that together in the same weekend. Pocono is such an interesting track, unlike anything else we go to. It can be very technical because of the handling considerations, but you also have to worry about horsepower taking you down that frontstretch. We’ve had a lot of good weekends in a row and we’re just looking to do what we do every week the best we can each time and see how it shakes out.”

Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at Pocono:

“We’re bringing our Texas car to this event. It’s a 2003 chassis with only one race on it and we feel like it’ll do a good job for us. Pocono is a very tricky place for setups and I know that’s going to keep us pretty busy in the practice sessions as we search for the right balance.”

DOVER, DE (June 1, 2003) — The summer stretch can be a make or break undertaking for a championship caliber team, but Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford kicked it off in style. It was just another day at the office with their 11th top-10 finish in the first 13 races of the season. Kenseth finished seventh overall on the day, the top finishing Ford in the field.

Rolling off the starting grid from the 4th position, Kenseth got down to the bottom groove quickly, picking up 3rd place before heading into turn three. One who didn’t get down to the bottom groove was the No. 41 of Casey Mears, who got too high in turn four and smacked the frontstretch wall, bringing out the first of nine caution flags on the day. With a gusty 35-mile-per-hour wind and occasional mist, NASCAR kept the cars under the caution flag until the restart on lap 22. None of the leaders pitted during the first go-round, but Kenseth did bring the No. 17 DeWALT Tools Ford down pit road for service during the second caution period on lap 39. The over-the-wall pit crew changed four tires in 14.15 seconds, gaining one spot to third in the process.

Kenseth complained early on that the car was too loose, especially on the exit of the corners. Crew chief Robbie Reiser fixed the problem by lowering the track bar a turn and a half during another caution period on lap 76. Kenseth couldn’t get back on the gas quick enough on the turns of the one-mile track and had fallen back to seventh place.

This time, the adjustments fell the right way, tightening up the car and Kenseth began to march forward through the field. Following the fourth caution period, the crew continued to tighten the car with air pressure adjustments to the left side tires. On lap 119, Kenseth restarted the race in third, but quickly jumped to second place overall. Kenseth stayed in second over the next 50 laps until the car became loose once again. By the halfway point of the event on lap 200, Kenseth was still solidly in the top-five, running in fourth place overall.

On lap 210, the seventh caution flag waved for a multi-car accident coming out of turn four that collected six other cars. Kenseth stayed out, having just pitted seven laps prior and began to fall back slightly as his car continued to be loose on the exits of the corner. By lap 231, Kenseth had gained a spot, but complained that the car was becoming loose all around the racetrack. After a lap 276 caution period for an accident involving Jimmie Johnson, Kenseth was back up to third place. In an effort to tighten the car further, Robbie Reiser elected to take a round of bite out of the left rear of the car and change four tires in the process.

After the subsequent restart, the changes worked and Kenseth gave the setup a vote of confidence by moving back up to fourth place. Kenseth was rarely out of the top-five all day long and never fell out of the top-seven cars in the running order. However, by lap 310 of the 400-lap event, the loose condition had returned once again to the No. 17 DeWALT Tools Ford. The problem continued to get worse as Kenseth fell to sixth, then seventh place. The crew began to openly wonder if the set of tires on the car was the culprit.

The pace of the race had turned torrid with several swaps for the lead up front, but Kenseth had faded back to seventh place once again. Making a gutsy call, Kenseth urged crew chief Robbie Reiser to short pit the car and come in for service early while banking on a long green flag run to the checkers. On lap 363, Kenseth crept down pit road as then race leader Jeff Gordon did the same. Reiser took a pound of air out of the right rear and added a half a turn of wedge in the left rear and sent Kenseth back out onto the track.

With the laps winding down, Kenseth remained in seventh, but was knocking on the door of sixth place with a tight and furious battle with Rusty Wallace for position. That battle came to an abrupt halt after a late race caution with 12 laps remaining as Casey Mears once again found the concrete walls of Dover.

With just six laps remaining, NASCAR turned the field loose with a single file restart and the top seven positions never changed. Kenseth crossed the line for yet again another top-ten finish.

Afterward, Kenseth spoke with reporters about his run:

“We ran OK at times and probably had a top three or four car, but for some reason we got really loose on the second-to-last stop. We over-adjusted after that and got too tight on the last run, so I’m kind of disappointed. I thought we had a lot better car than that, but it just didn’t work out.”

Despite Kenseth’s disappointment, he found afterward that he has plenty to smile about as the NASCAR Winston Cup Series heads to Pocono Raceway next weekend. Kenseth stretched his first place point lead to 171 points over second-place Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who finished ninth on the day.