8Kenseth continues to drive in Earnhardt Jr.’s popular shadow
8NASCAR newsmaker Matt Kenseth
8DW: Caution, teammate didn't conspire to help Kenseth
8Almost too close to call as Kenseth nips Kahne
8Inches to Spare
8Kenseth & Kahne get golden pass
8A Fan's Stand: Matt Kenseth, Real Champion?
8Kenseth wins the Subway 400 by a nose
8Winning way: Kenseth’s victory answers criticism that points champ isn’t a front-runner in races
8Kenseth feeling good after dramatic Rockingham win
8Kenseth beats Kahne by a nose
8Matt Kenseth edges Kahne for win at Rockingham
8Caution, teammate didn’t conspire to help Kenseth
8MAKING THEIR POINTS: Kenseth proves something
8Kenseth Prevails In Photo Finish At The Rock
8Martin says he wasn’t blocking for Kenseth
8Matt McLaughlin’s Rockingham Recap (worth reading every week)
8Kenseth wins by a nose at the Rock (also a couple good photo galleries here)
8Kenseth wins at the wire: Victor benefits from NASCAR's call that put him on lead lap
8Kenseth outruns Kahne by 0.010 to win at Rock
8Kenseth holds off rookie to win Subway 400; Kahne second by inches as scoring controversy leaves McMurray dazed
8King Kenseth Rocks the Rock
8Kenseth holds off rookie Kahne to win at Rockingham
8Making Martin Mad: Veteran driver is upset after NASCAR calls him in for conference after race
8Kenseth answers his critics
8Kenseth shaves Kahne at finish
8Kenseth holds off rookie for victory at Rockingham
8Kenseth by 2 feet, 1 ruling
8Quick as a wink, Kenseth a winner

CONCORD, NC (February 25, 2004) — Over two years ago, Matt Kenseth’s fans began to refer to his pit crew as the “Killer Bees,” a takeoff on their yellow and black DEWALT uniforms. But the name has stuck with them and on Sunday, they proved worthy of the fearsome reputation that goes along with it.

There were seven pit stops during the running of the Subway 400 at North Carolina Speedway. The first stop was a 14.03–second four-tire stop. It was also the slowest. The team also had two sub–13-second stops — 12.90 and 12.58 seconds — all for four tires. The sub-13-second stops are also double checked with a stopwatch by pit crew coordinator Andy Ward to ensure their accuracy.

“This is a championship team,” said crew chief Robbie Reiser following the race. “They came out here ready to prove to the world that they’re gonna be the guys to beat on pit road and I think they showed everyone today,” he added.

The seven over-the-wall pit crew members remain completely unchanged from the 2003 season. They are: front tire changer Justin Nottestad, front tire carrier Chris Brook, jackman Russ Strupp, rear tire changer Jeremy West, rear tire carrier Bryan Dunaway, gasman Benjy Grubbs, and catchcan Dave Paronto.

The crew was featured on a special segment of the February 24 edition of Totally NASCAR on the Fox Sports Network. Their average stop time this past Sunday through seven sequences was an astounding 13.33 seconds for four tires. And that will put the “sting” in the competition every time.

In a related note, the voters at RACER Magazine elected Robbie Reiser the 2003 Crew Chief of the Year. He also won the WYPALL® Crew Chief of the Week award for his team’s performance in the Subway 400 at Rockingham.

No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford racks up eighth career victory

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. (February 22, 2004) — Matt Kenseth won the Subway 400 at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham with a record-setting finish as he edged rookie Kasey Kahne at the finish line by less than a tenth of a second. It was the fourth closest finish in NASCAR history since electronic scoring and timing was implemented in 1993. It was also the closest finish ever at Rockingham, which opened in 1969. Kenseth dominated the event, leading 259 of the 393 laps and leaves the event in second place in the NASCAR Nextel Chase for the Championship, just seven points out of first place (340-333), held by Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Rolling off the starting grid from 23rd place, Kenseth immediately began moving toward the front at a steady pace. Matt moved up to 15th place by lap 26, and then the first caution period occurred for debris on lap 38. Kenseth came in the pits 12th overall, but cracked the top-10 as the “Killer Bees” got him back out on the track in eighth for the Lap 45 restart. It would be the first of many unbelievable stops on the day for the over-the-wall crew. After another debris caution and subsequent restart, Kenseth cracked the top-five for the first time on lap 60. In a run that showed the full strength of the No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford, it took Kenseth just 33 laps to go all the way to the point, taking the lead for the first time on lap 90.

“If anyone is interested, I’m having the time of my life out here,” radioed Matt to the crew as his car pulled away from the field. On lap 130, Kenseth came down pit road, asking for no changes to the car. As Kenseth’s car just completed its service, the caution flag waved. However, since the field was frozen, Kenseth moved around the pace car to restart the race in first place on lap 140. Kenseth remained up front for another 50 laps until the 14 car caused a caution flag and resulted in the 17 car coming in for service again. The crew performed a four-tire stop in 13.08 seconds to protect the vital lead.

Kenseth led the field down for the restart on lap 200, now past the halfway point of the event. Another pit stop after a caution on lap 212 brought Kenseth down pit road again, but it remained a friendly place as this time the crew knocked out a 12.58-second stop. On lap 219, Kenseth led the field to the green and then built a four-second lead over second place Rusty Wallace. On lap 254, the caution flag waved for a frightening wreck on the backstretch as the 46 car of Carl Long flipped six times heading into turn three. Two laps later, Kenseth came down pit road and the crew set him up yet again with a 13.37-second stop.

On lap 279, Kenseth again started from the point. He held the lead for 25 more circuits before the 42 car of Jamie McMurray slipped past the No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford on lap 304. Kenseth stayed right on his bumper, however, as he radioed the crew, “I’ve got him in [turns] one and two, but I’m a little tight in three and four.” Battling back hard, Kenseth drove low underneath McMurray on lap 332 exiting the fourth turn.

On lap 350, Kenseth came in for his last green flag pit stop of the day. Once again, the caution flag flew just as Kenseth was finishing up his service via a 13.75-second stop. Kenseth was again shown to the front of the field where he restarted the race in first place on lap 363 of the 393-lap race.

Kenseth’s only competition seemed to be coming in the form of two other cars: the 9 car of rookie Kasey Kahne and the 42 car of Jamie McMurray. Kenseth fought hard to remain in front of both of them as the laps wound down. It was coming down to a climactic finish, but even Kenseth didn’t know how close it would come when he approached the finish line on the white flag lap.

Kenseth drove high into turn four and Kahne dug low on his inside, trying to create his own opening. Kenseth would later say that he could feel the air leaving the side of his car and had no idea just how close Kahne had gotten. He crossed the line a bumper ahead of the 9 car and immediately radioed the crew as to whether or not he had won the race. “Did we get him? Did we win this thing?” he practically shouted into the radio. “You got him, we won this race,” replied a smug Robbie Reiser. The No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford then reported to Victory Lane to celebrate his first victory in 35 starts in his 150th career attempt.

Afterwards, he spoke at length with reporters from every imaginable news outlet about the fourth closest finish in NASCAR’s history of electronic scoring and timing.

“I was doing everything I could. Kasey almost got me in one and two one time. I didn’t know whether to protect the bottom or the top, so I tried to protect the middle and get a good run off the corner and not overdrive the corner. The last lap, I had been loose off of four and I got up as high as I could to get a run down off the corner as good as I could and he got a good charge on me there. It was a close one.”

CAN YOU FEEL HOW QUICK THE PIT STOPS ARE IN THE CAR? “Yeah. They were on top of their game today. I think they wanted to come out and win the race today and show those boys on pit road what they’re made of too. This is the second year that these guys have been together as a group and you can really feel it. They’ve got the experience and they’ve got the enthusiasm. These guys are ready to go and tear it up this year.”

WHO MADE THE CALL TO CHANGE TIRES ON PIT ROAD WHEN THE CAUTION CAME OUT AND WERE YOU SURPRISED YOU STAYED ON THE LEAD LAP? “We were already changing tires. The first time (on lap 131) we didn’t have a choice and the second time (with 43 to go) I almost messed it up. They were going around and doing four and, luckily, they didn’t listen to me and did what they were trained to do. It worked out good. We knew we were ahead of the field when they froze it, but it I still didn’t know what they were going to do when we pulled off of pit road. But I knew we were ahead of the field. We were further ahead the second time than we were the first time.”

DID YOU MAKE A LOT OF CHANGES? “We made some. I probably should have made more of a change the last couple of runs. I probably should have listened to Robbie a little more to tighten it up a little more. I was just too loose off the corner the last two runs and had to do everything we could to keep our DEWALT car out front. It was a handful at the end. In the middle of the race it was just on cruise and it was awesome, but we lost the handle just a little bit at the end.”

Ultimately, the day was summed up by a generous quote from Matt Kenseth about his run. “That’s the most fun I’ve ever had driving a race car in my life,” he stated with a broad grin. In two weeks, the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the scene of defending race winner Kenseth’s only victory in 2003.

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
02/24/02	25	1	393/393	$157,400	Running
11/03/02	19	8	393/393	$64,175	Running
2/23/03	18	3	393/393	$94,350	Running
11/9/03	23	4	393/393	$92,650	Running

“Rockingham is always going to be a special place for me — my first Busch win was here and I also clinched the championship here. For whatever reason, I love racing here and this track seems to love me. I like the way that this track lends itself to the driver in terms of making a car handle properly all day long. Tire wear and chassis setups are probably more of a factor here than almost anywhere else we go. It’s kind of a driver’s track because it puts so many factors in your hands, but it does take a perfect day to win one here.”

Robbie Reiser on North Carolina Speedway:

“Rockingham can be a tough place if you’re off your game — you got your tire wear and the rest of the pit strategy. I will say that we (the 17 team) definitely like coming to this place. Matt always does such a good job here by not using up too much of the car early and we always seem to capitalize on our pit strategy and stops during the race. I’m a little anxious to see how the new body package is going to work out on race day, but I think we’ll be fine and we’ll put on a great show for the fans — this place usually does.”

Notable Notes

• The No. 17 DEWALT Tools Racing Team will be bringing chassis 25 (Primary) and 31 (Backup) as its two cars for the Subway 400. Chassis 25 was used at both Rockingham events in 2003, making it the same car he used to clinch the 2003 Championship. Chassis 31 is new.
• Kenseth was one of only two drivers to score top-10 finishes in both Rockingham races in 2003 (3rd and 4th).
• Matt Kenseth has competed in eight Rockingham events, posting one victory (February 2003), and five consecutive top-five finishes.
• The DEWALT pit crew had a 12.88 second stop during the Daytona 500 during a lap 35 pit stop — it was the fastest clocked stop during a race in over two years for the over-the-wall crew.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL (February 16, 2004) — Matt Kenseth and his No. 17 Bayer HealthCare crew started off the season in strong fashion on Monday afternoon by grabbing a fifth place finish in the season opening Busch Series event at the Daytona International Speedway. For Kenseth, it was the sixth consecutive time in seven attempts that he has piloted the No. 17 to a top-five performance at Daytona, the past two coming in the Bayer Aspirin Ford. The race, which was postponed on Saturday due to rain, featured just three cautions which collected a total of 12 cars and 16 different lead changes.

“We must have that sticker on our bumper again that says ‘Please don’t draft with me,’” stated Kenseth to his crew as he passed the start-finish line for the completion of the Hershey’s Kisses 300. As with any restrictor plate race on the NASCAR circuit, drafting partners and “friends” are key to the success of any driver hoping to pull his car into victory lane. On Monday, Kenseth could not seem to find either one at the right time.

On Saturday, Kenseth started his day on the inside of row 15 in the 29th spot, but once green flag flew, it didn’t take long for the 2003 Cup champ to partner up with teammate Greg Biffle as the two began their march to the front of the field. By lap six, Kenseth had used Biffle’s push to move into the 19th place spot as the two worked the high groove behind the No. 74 car of Damon Lusk. Kenseth would hover around the 19th place spot as the field raced two-by-two until lap 23 would the first caution flag of the afternoon would fly for an accident involving four cars. The accident began off of turn two when the No. 20 car of Mike Bliss lost control. Under the caution, Kenseth would follow a number of cars to top off with fuel and make a small chassis adjustment to the No. 17 Bayer Ford. However, as Kenseth followed the car of Ashton Lewis down pit road, Lewis’ car suddenly stopped leaving Kenseth with little to no time to correct. The result was a busted right fender.

“I don’t know what he was thinking,” responded Kenseth to his crew. “The 46 car just stopped when he realized he had overshot his pit. Let’s take our time and fix this damage right while we have time to do it.”

The Bayer HealthCare crew was able to repair the damage by attaching a piece of sheet metal over the hole made in the fender from the accident. The crew had plenty of time due to the fact that rain showers were now beginning to fall over the speedway. After 30 laps, the cars were brought down pit road and the race was red flagged for nearly three hours before the call was made to restart the race on Monday morning.

Kenseth would climb back into the Bayer Ford on Monday morning, fresh off a ninth place finish the previous day in the Daytona 500. Kenseth would get a break before the drop of the green flag as the majority of the cars would hit pit lane for fresh tires and fuel. This would move Kenseth from 16th to sixth for the restart of the race on lap 31.

Kenseth would waste little time in working the Bayer Ford into full song as he shuffled to the outside line to try and wrestle the lead away from Kevin Harvick. Kenseth would tuck in behind the No. 2 car of Ron Hornaday and in front of the No. 60 machine of Greg Biffle. Kenseth would hold his line as the cars raced two and three wide around the 2.5-mile speedway. Lap 41 would create a scare as the No. 6 machine would loose control just underneath Kenseth’s machine coming off of turn four. The accident would collect a total of nine cars.

The racing action would resume on lap 47 with Kenseth holding onto the seventh place position. This time Kenseth would position the Bayer Ford on the bottom of the race track as he teamed with Robby Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kenseth would move into the second place spot on lap 51 with help from the No. 8 machine of Earnhardt as the two tried to push past the lead car of Harvick.

Just as he had benefited from the drafting help, Kenseth and the No. 17 machine would also see the flip side of the coin as he was bumped high and forced to ride the shuffle of the draft from second to seventh as Earnhardt and four other followers moved to an by Kenseth’s inside.

However, Kenseth would quickly regroup as he scratched his way back through the lead draft and once again pulled onto the back bumper of Harvick’s machine with help this time from his Roush Racing teammate Greg Biffle.

By lap 71, six cars had lined up nose to tail in the lead draft - 21, 17, 60, 55, 27, 8. These cars were trying to check out on the rest of field when the third and final caution of the Hershey’s Kisses 300 would slow the race for debris in turn one.

Kenseth would quickly drop onto pit road for four tires, fuel and minor air pressure adjustments to help aid the Bayer Ford’s tight handling condition in the draft. Kenseth would restart the race in the fourth place spot after a couple of cars elected to take only two tires.

The racing action would resume on lap 81 with a big party of cars shuffling to position themselves into the lead draft. Kenseth would find a hole to slide into in the high groove in front of the No. 32 machine of David Stremme. Kenseth’s move would launch him and his Bayer Ford from sixth to third as the Bayer Ford lead the outside drafting line in an effort to wrestle the lead away from the race’s new leader, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Kenseth, as he had experienced in previous Daytona events, would not receive any drafting help when he needed it most. With just 15 laps remaining, Kenseth, who had received radio confirmation from spotter Mike Calinoff that the No. 32 car of Stremme would stick with Kenseth when he decided to make his move, was left hung out by Stremme as Kenseth moved to inside of the No. 27 machine of Johnny Sauter coming off turn four.

“So much for sticking with me,” Kenseth radioed to his crew. The move and lack of drafting help would shuffle Kenseth back two spots to seventh.

Kenseth would quickly tuck back in line as he tried to gather back steam to make a run at the leaders. Kenseth would fight his way back up to the fifth place spot over the final ten laps but couldn’t get the help he needed in the draft to advance his position any further. Kenseth would finish the event in the 5th place spot.

“We had a strong car out there today,” stated Kenseth following the race. “We just could not get anyone to draft with the Bayer Ford when we needed it most. I was able to get together with Biffle during the early part of the race but we couldn’t seem to find each other at the end. All in all, it was a solid start for the Bayer team. Anytime you can come to this track, finish in the top five and not severely tear up any equipment, you count that as a pretty good day.”

The Top-Five Finishers

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2. Johnny Sauter
3. Robby Gordon
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Matt Kenseth

The next Bayer sponsored event will be on April 3rd at the Texas Motor Speedway.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL (February 15, 2004) — Matt Kenseth drove the No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford to a ninth place finish in the 46th running of the Daytona 500. Kenseth has begun the 2004 season much the way that he finished the entire 2003 Championship season-by finishing in the top-ten most every week.

The race began with much fanfare as President Bush made his highly anticipated visit to the Daytona International Speedway. The Commander-in-Chief gave the signal for the drivers to start their engines. Rolling off the starting grid in 12th place, Kenseth was running the outside line for the first few cautious laps around the 2.5-mile superspeedway. On lap 7, near disaster struck as Mark Martin, drafting just ahead of Kenseth, experienced a mechanical failure and heavy smoke clouded the track behind him. Kenseth was attempting to make his way past Martin on the inside when rookie Brendan Gaughan brushed Kenseth in the driver’s side door. “We’re all wrecked up here, Robbie,” said Kenseth. “I got it in both doors — I just got pinched,” he added.

Robbie Reiser was the picture of cool and calm as he radioed for Kenseth to pit, reminding him that it was a 500-mile race and they had plenty of time to fix things. Fortunately, the car didn’t need much fixing at all. The damage was much less than anticipated, though it made for some anxious moments nonetheless. On lap eight, Kenseth pitted and the crew checked the wheel clearances on both sides. One lap later, he pitted for four tires and one lap after that, he pitted again to check the exhaust pipes, toe-in and to top off the fuel tank.

Matt Kenseth restarted the event in 42nd place on lap 11, but he didn’t stay there long. By lap 19, he was up to 30th and by lap 21 he had caught the main drafting pack as they came through the tri-oval. Five laps later, teammate Jeff Burton suffered a mechanical failure and the majority of the field pitted. Matt stayed out and inherited sixth place. The first competition pit stop of the day occurred on lap 35 for the DEWALT over-the-wall crew. They performed an astounding 12.88-second pit stop for four tires-the fastest clocked stop in a race in over two years.

On lap 38, Kenseth restarted the race in ninth, but worked his car all the way up to third by lap 54. A three-car pileup on the backstretch set the stage for another pit stop for Kenseth on lap 60. Four tires and no changes resulted in a 13.52–second stop. Kenseth went in as the fourth car on the lead lap, but came out of the pits in 2nd. “Great job guys, we just picked up second,” radioed Kenseth jubilantly to his crew.

On lap 64, Kenseth restarted in second place and it turned out to be a great time to be out ahead of the pack. The “Big One” occurred just six laps later and it involved a dozen cars careening out of control down the backstretch and one car — Michael Waltrip’s — upside down with no sheet metal remaining. Fortunately all drivers involved in the wreck walked away under their own power. It did, however, take safety crews over 10 minutes to extract Waltrip from his car.

After a lengthy caution period to clean up the wreck, the field retook the green flag on lap 80, where Matt Kenseth restarted the race from the sixth position. Slightly ahead on fuel mileage from the rest of the field, the No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford led lap 108 just before pitting one lap later for four tires. The crew knocked out a 13.50–second stop and sent Kenseth back out onto the track.

The next pit cycle was almost identical as Kenseth worked his way from 11th place all the way up to first place by lap 138. One lap later, Robbie Reiser brought the car down for service, but a slight radio miscue kept Kenseth from coming in at the same time as Jeff Gordon as planned. Adding to the frustration of the moment, Kenseth overshot his pits by a foot, but the alert crew quickly pulled him backward before beginning the stop.

Kenseth had lost ground to the front pack of the draft, but managed to hook up with Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte, Ricky Rudd and Dave Blaney to gain ground again. It was still a slow process and Kenseth spent over 20 laps running in 11th place trying to catch up to the leaders.

On lap 167, Kenseth pitted and made up some ground, cracking the top-10 again after a 14.33–second stop for four tires. Kenseth stayed in ninth place for the remainder of the 30 laps to be run in the Daytona 500, holding off Bobby Labonte and Dale Jarrett at the line for his first top-ten of the 2004 season.

Afterward, Kenseth spoke about his day.

“I’m happy with the final result. Some of our teammates had problems real early and that concerned us, and then I got banged up real early just a little bit. So to come back and finish ninth was good. There wasn’t much going on there at the end. I messed up the last pit stop and overshot the pit or else we might have had a little better chance, but, overall, it was a good day.”

“I thought it was really fun for a driver because it rewarded you if you had a good setup and it penalized you if you had a bad setup. That’s why you would see cars like the 24, it would be real fast on new tires and real slow on old ones. For a driver it was fun, but it just got so strung out at the end that it wasn’t as much fun to race because we were all in small packs. Overall, I thought the race was better even though the last part of the race was probably boring to watch.”

DAYTONA BEACH, FL (February 13th, 2004) — Matt Kenseth crossed the line in third place at the finish of the first leg of the 2004 Crown Royal IROC Series event at Daytona International Speedway. Without a doubt, it had to be one of the wildest IROC events in the past ten years. The format for the 40-lap race consisted of a 25-lap segment followed by a mandatory caution period of two un-scored laps. Then, the 12 cars were turned loose for a final 15-lap shootout.

During the IROC press conference two days ago, Kenseth drew the fifth starting position for the first event of the year. Starting positions for the remaining three events will be set by points. As the 12 cars crossed under the green flag, Kenseth worked his way right on the bottom to third place on the first lap and second on the second lap. By lap three, Kenseth’s white No. 17 was leading the pack through the tri-oval after a pass on the outside.

The race was unbelievably close as the equally prepared cars were evenly matched and very stable in the draft. Positions didn’t just change lap-by-lap, they changed corner-to-corner. By the 10th circuit, Kenseth had been shuffled out of the draft and all the way back to 10th place. Six laps later, he was back to second place and pushing Kurt Busch all the way to the front. On lap 17, he took the point again for a half a lap, then went all the way back to seventh place as the draft hung him out to dry.

When the cars slowed for their mandatory caution period on lap 25, Kenseth was back up to fifth. The 12 cars took the restart for the final 15-lap shootout and Kenseth immediately welded himself to the back bumper of Kurt Busch. Lap after lap they worked the outside in an all-out bid to get back to the point. Most of the draft, however, lined up on the inside of the track and it took some crafty bump-drafting to keep Busch and Kenseth apace of the leaders.

On lap 35, then-leader Steve Kinser got loose coming off of two and made a miraculous save. Every other car had to either check up or swing high and low to avoid a disaster. Remarkably, nobody got caught up in the accident and the draft was back to a tight pack by the time the cars went into the third turn.

Kenseth pushed Busch back into the lead again with just three laps remaining, but the inside line drove back hard, pushing Kenseth back to fifth. On the final lap, Kenseth was in second behind Busch and heading for a 1–2 Roush finish, but Ryan Newman had other plans. Coming out of nowhere out of the final turn, he swept low on Kurt Busch and Busch was too late to block. Newman swung down underneath the yellow line and nipped the No. 97 at the line. Busch ended up second and Matt Kenseth finished third.

There were no hard feelings afterward despite the close running. Kenseth was amazed at both how much fun it was to compete in the Crown Royal IROC Series and with how stable the equally prepared Pontiac Firebirds were.

“That was so much fun,” he stated. “These cars were made to run so stable in the draft that you didn’t have to worry too much about bump drafting or getting too close side-by-side,” he added.

The next IROC event will be held at Texas Motor Speedway in April. The third event will occur at Richmond International Raceway in September and the final event will happen at Atlanta Motor Speedway in October. The Crown Royal IROC Series has a champion’s payout of $1 million dollars after the four events.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL (February 12, 2004) — With his sixth place finish in the second Gatorade 125-mile qualifying race, Matt Kenseth locked up the 12th starting position for the 46th running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday. The field will be led to the green flag by Roush Racing teammate Greg Biffle, who will start from the pole via his qualifying time from this past Sunday. Fellow Roush Racing driver Jeff Burton will start alongside Kenseth from the sixth row, in 11th place.

Rolling off the starting grid in 14th place during the second Gatorade 125-mile race, Kenseth quickly moved up three spots to 11th by trying the high side of the track. “It’s a little tight up off the corner,” he reported to crew chief Robbie Reiser. Teams were taking a cautious approach to the race, as they were uncertain of how the softer tire compounds would affect the wear. Luckily for Kenseth, his car was handling well on the topside of the track where less stress is placed on the right front tire in the corners.

By lap 12, Kenseth had shot all the way to eighth place, drafting in a tight pack with Jimmie Johnson and Rusty Wallace. The three were part of the second pack following the first pack of five cars pulling away from the field. “It’s not handling bad—it’s just barely tight off,” he restated on lap 17 of the 50-lap race.

On lap 21, Kenseth dove low on Rusty Wallace coming through the tri-oval and took over seventh place from Rusty Wallace. Roush Racing teammate Mark Martin followed Kenseth through and planted himself on the back bumper of the No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford. Martin radioed that he wanted to make a further run along the bottom, but Kenseth nixed the deal replying that his car was too tight on the bottom of the racetrack.

On lap 27, Crew Chief Robbie Reiser abruptly announced that Kenseth was to pit the next time by. As Kenseth came in for service, the crew changed four tires, went up a round on the track bar and took a half a pound out of the left side tires. All this was accomplished in 14.20 seconds.

At first, the car responded to the changes by going on the loose side out on the track, but after a few laps, the setup came around and Kenseth lined up as one of eight cars that had broken away on the field. Sixth, seventh and eighth were shown as Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth and Ricky Rudd—all teammates.

With the laps winding down on the 38th circuit, Kenseth radioed for help on the high side to see if he could make a run at the top five in front of him. Unfortunately, nobody else was comfortable running up top and the cars couldn’t line up for a run. As a result, Kenseth hung on to 7th place lap after lap.

On the final lap coming out of the final turn, the cars in front of Kenseth began to jostle for position and Kenseth used the opportunity to pick up a position at the line, where he crossed for sixth place overall.

After Kenseth climbed from the car, he had this to say to reporters:

“It was alright, it was slippery. It was fun to drive. If we had bigger groups of cars we probably could’ve done a little more racing, but it’s slippery. You definitely have to drive it, you just can’t hold it to the mat and steer like you used to be able to do, so for a driver that’s fun. It’s fun to have to work on your setup and have to hit your marks right in the corner to be able to get around it.”

DID YOU HAVE TO LIFT AT ALL? “Yeah. I think everybody had to lift now and then — maybe the leader never did — but at the end there they got all bunched up and I know somebody lifted because we caught ’em all in a hurry. The longer you ran, the more slippery it got. In a bigger group, like the 500 on Sunday, you’ll for sure be lifting in the middle of the pack. The front couple of guys might not, but I think everybody else will be.”

THE PACKS GOT SPLIT UP PRETTY EASILY. DO YOU THINK WE’LL SEE MORE OF THAT ON SUNDAY? “The more cars you have out there the bigger hole there is in the air and the more the cars are going to stay bunched up. But, you really do have to handle now and that is going to separate the packs a little bit, so as a driver that’s encouraging. I like it when the packs get spread out and the car has got to handle good to be able to stay up front. So, we have some work to do on our car in handling. It’s still tough to pass, you still can’t do it by yourself, but a good-handling car is still going to look good on Sunday.”

IT LOOKED AS THOUGH CARS COULD RUN ON THEIR OWN A LITTLE BIT BETTER THAN THEY HAVE IN THE PAST. “Yeah, you have a chance. If you’re handling really good on old tires and people are sliding high, you can almost clear ’em in one corner — if you can run across the bottom without pushing, but everybody’s car seems to be getting pretty tight off the corner and that’s slowing everybody up. So, the guy who can really keep it handling good is going to be the guy to beat on Sunday.”

CONCORD, NC (February 10th, 2004) — When the No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford sets off under the green flag this weekend for the 46th running of the Daytona 500, its decklid will be adorned with a special decal honoring a program dear to the primary sponsor of the Roush Racing entry.

SkillsUSA will be featured on the decklid of the car and it stands for an organization that provides quality educational and vocational experiences for students in leadership, teamwork, citizenship and character development. DEWALT has been a partner of SkillsUSA since 1989, thus marking their 15th year together. The 2004 program launches February 15th and runs the entire season. During this year at selected International Speedway Corporation (ISC) tracks, DEWALT will bring six people from local schools chosen by their respective SkillsUSA Directors.

The focus of DEWALT’s joint involvement this year is entitled, “Champions at Work,” as a play on Matt Kenseth’s memorable 2003 season. In essence, DEWALT intends to recognize and reward those special students for their outstanding vocational performance in the classroom.

SkillsUSA is a national organization serving high school, college and professional vocational programs. More information on their organization and programs can be found on their website: www.skillsusa.org.

For more information on DEWALT’s participation, please visit: www.dewalt.com.

DATE	START	FINISH	LAPS	WINNINGS	STATUS
02/20/00	24	10	200/200	$198,196	Running
07/01/00	22	20	160/160	$55,480	Running
02/18/01	16	21	196/200	$136,584	Running
07/07/01	15	16	160/160	$61,875	Running
02/17/02	40	33	154/200	$147,662	Accident
07/06/02	38	30	154/160	$73,700	Running
02/16/03	35	20	109/109	$200,345	Running
07/05/03	37	6	160/160	$98,475	Running