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Talladega
post-qualifying quote
September
30,
2005
MATT KENSTEH: “I don’t know
how I managed that. That was pretty
surprising, I think, for all of us
including Robbie. Those guys tuned the
car up because the drivers don’t really
have anything to do with qualifying here
today. It’s all about the team and the
car and getting it through the air and
down the straightaway, so they did a
good job tuning the motor up and getting
the car to run a good lap.”
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO GET BACK ON
TRACK THIS WEEKEND? “I think there
are 10 races once you start the chase
and, really, every race is equally as
important. Obviously, you’d like to keep
momentum and get as much back as you
could this week, but every race is
equally important. We just have to go
out and do the best job we can every
week.”
Talladega Race Preview
September
28,
2005
Talladega Superspeedway •
Talladega,
Alabama UAW-Ford 500 •
Sunday,
October 2 •
1:30
pm/e NBC
Matt
Kenseth
Cup Record at
Talladega:
|
Date |
S |
F |
Laps |
Reason |
|
04/16/00 |
42 |
18 |
187/188 |
Running |
|
10/15/00 |
36 |
10 |
188/188 |
Running |
|
04/22/01 |
40 |
19 |
188/188 |
Running |
|
10/21/01 |
24 |
4 |
188/188 |
Running |
|
04/21/02 |
37 |
30 |
180/188 |
Running |
|
10/06/02 |
8 |
14 |
188/188 |
Running |
|
04/06/03 |
27 |
9 |
188/188 |
Running |
|
09/28/03 |
37 |
33 |
158/188 |
Engine |
|
04/25/04 |
31 |
42 |
59/188 |
Engine |
|
10/03/04 |
7 |
14 |
188/188 |
Running |
|
05/01/05 |
23 |
11 |
194/194 |
Running |
Matt Kenseth
Cup
Series
totals
at
Talladega:
| |
Races |
Wins |
Top 5s |
Top 10s |
Poles
|
|
Cumulative |
11 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
Matt Kenseth on racing at
Talladega Superspeedway:
“The first
thing that comes to mind when I
think about returning to Talladega
next weekend is that I hope I don’t
hit anything! It’s the same as
always when we think about
Talladega, but I think we’ve got
better cars than we’ve ever had for
our speedway program. Our speedway
program has been a lot better the
last couple of years. I don’t want
to lie and say that I look forward
to going there, but I look forward
to going there more than I have in
the past. I think we can be
competitive and hopefully we can be
in the lead draft and stay out of
trouble.”
Crew Chief Robbie Reiser
on racing at Talladega
Superspeedway:
“I really hope we got
our bad luck out of the way in
Dover. We cut that first tire down
and were able to battle back but
when the second one went, our day
was finished. Looking ahead to
Talladega, the most important thing
is to stay out of trouble. That’s
not always within your control,
however, with the field running so
closely together, but we’ll avoid
what we can and hopefully be around
in the lead draft at the end.”
Talladega Fast Facts
n Matt Kenseth has one
top-five and three top-ten finishes
in his 11 starts at Talladega.
n Matt
Kenseth has led at least one lap in
eight of his 11 starts at
Talladega.
n The No. 17 team will be
bringing car number 40 to Talladega
next weekend. This is the same car
that Kenseth raced at Talladega
earlier this year, finishing in the
11th position. Car number 40 made
its debut at this race one year
ago, racing to a 14th place
finish.
NASCAR
Teleconference with Matt Kenseth
September
27,
2005
DAN PASSE: Thank you and good
afternoon, everybody. Welcome to a
special time of the third week of the
2005 Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup
teleconference. Thanks once again for
just joining us one hour later. One
housekeeping note, as we head into
Talladega, the Nextel wake up call will
take place at 8:00 a.m. on Friday with
guest Ryan Newman, and then we also have
another guest at 8:30 that will be Casey
Mears. Again, that’s Friday morning 8:00
a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Today, we’re joined
by Matt Kenseth driver of the No. 17
DeWALT Power Tools Roush Racing Ford and
2003 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Champion.
Matt is part of the second chase for the
NASCAR Nextel Cup, currently in 9th
place in the 10 race competition, a mere
124 points behind the leader. Matt has
had a great year this year with a
exciting pole and win at Bristol, seven
top fives and 12 top tens. Now, Matt,
you are now heading into the only
restricted play race in the 2005 Chase,
and the longest track on the NASCAR
Nextel Cup series circuit. You finished
a respectable 11th at the track in the
spring. How do you feel about yourself
and the team as you head into this race?
MATT KENSETH: Well, I am feeling pretty
good about it. I think in the spring we
finished 11th, but I think the whole
field was wrecked except for a few cars.
Talladega is one of them tracks where
anything can happen. Obviously, you
think about going there and trying to
miss a big wreck and hopefully being in
the lead draft at the end and having
some help around you.
So I look forward
to going there. Like I said, it’s a
track I think it’s happening and just go
there and hope for the best.
DAN PASSE:
All right. Thank you. Matt is currently
testing in Kansas, so he has only got a
little while to be with us today. So why
don’t we just jump in with questions
from the media. Q. Matt, with five cars
of Roush Racing in the chase, and
everybody is so competitive against each
other, how much real information sharing
is there?
MATT KENSETH: I mean it is
the same as it has always been. You
know, we’re in Kansas testing today and
Mark has got his a Busch cars here and I
have got my DeWALT cars here and Kurt is
here with his two cars. And all the crew
chiefs have been talking back and forth
and the drivers trying to figure out
what we can learn.
So none of that
really has changed. Obviously, each guy
that is in wants to win it and run the
best for themselves, but yet, if we
can’t win it, we would certainly want a
teammate to do it, keep it in the
organization if possible. So we’re still
working together same as we always do.
Q. When you look at a track like
Talladega and everything is imported,
there is only so many times that you can
have a bad race and so much is out of
your control at Talladega. Do you like
that being in the chase?
MATT KENSETH:
You know, it’s whether you like racing
for super place or not, which most
people don’t, it’s a part of what you
NASCAR Nextel Cup racing is right now.
And there is four of them a year it is
and part of our schedule and part of
what you have to do to run for a
championship.
You know, if we were
right up there in points and trying to
run for a championship, do I like it in
the Chase, not really, but I don’t like
running them at all. So it doesn’t
matter what time of year it is, you
don’t really look forward to running in
a specific place just because you are a
passenger in your car and kind of at the
mercy of everybody else and what happens
out there and you are always looking for
that wreck.
Q. You just said something
that made me ask this next question. Do
you feel like you still have a chance
for the championship?
MATT KENSETH:
Yeah, I think we have chance, but I
think everybody in the top 10 has a
chance. Right now, we’re only two weeks
in, eight races, and there is a lot of
racing to do and anything can happen.
And you know, you saw Jimmie Johnson
last year. I don’t remember how many
points he was out, I am sure you guys
know, but he was way, way out of it and
won a whole bunch of races at the end
and came real close, right down to the
last lap at Homestead, and anything is
still possible. Just because we had one
bad week, performance has been good and
we have been running pretty good and I
think we can get back in it.
Q.
Following up on that a little bit about
multi cars, could you even imagine
trying to compete at the very top level
costs with a one car team?
MATT
KENSETH: I don’t understand what you
said. I don’t know if it was my
connection or yours, but I don’t
understand the question.
Q. Can you
even imagine trying to be able to win a
championship with a one car team? Is it
even possible with how much you guys do
share?
MATT KENSETH: I mean, it would be
difficult because there is no one-car
teams. You know, that’s a tough question
to answer. I mean there is only, you
know, I don’t know, two or three one car
teams, so obviously your odds are two or
three against, you know, 40 or 41, so I
mean that’s pretty tough odds. I mean,
obviously, there is just not very many
of them. That’s really why. I mean,
there is not a lot of them.
Q. If you
look at where the Cup drivers come from,
its basically all over the country. Is
that surprising to you that drivers do
come from all over and they are not more
concentrated in just maybe a couple of
areas in the country?
MATT KENSETH: No,
not really. I mean think it has been not
a regional sport for a long time. I
think it has been national sport for a
long, long time. I think the more the
bigger business it is, the more popular
it is, I think the more owners and
sponsors and crew members and
everything, you know, look outside of
one area to find talent.
Obviously, you
know, if you search a whole country for
talent, whether it is a crew member or
driver or what it is, you have a better
chance of finding them than if you look
in one small area. It doesn’t surprise
me. There is a lot of great racing all
over the country and I think there is a
lot of really talented crew members and
drivers everywhere. You have got to
search everywhere for them.
Q.
Actually, more specifically, Chad Knaus,
you know the 48 car was looked at by
some drivers out on track last weekend.
I am just wondering, do drivers look at
Chad and other crew chiefs look at Chad
and kind of only sort of wonder what he
is up to, he is one of these guys you
have to keep an eye on because he is
always pushing that envelope?
MATT
KENSETH: Well, I can’t speak for other
drivers and crew chiefs. I can just
speak for myself. I know from my
standpoint, you know, I think that he is
one of the smartest crew chiefs in the
garage. When you look at him, he was the
first one to a lot of the rules in the
rule book today is because of stuff he
has done because of stuff he’s figured
out to work around the rules to get
advantage for his own car and his own
team.
So I think certainly other crews
and drivers look at his car and look at
the things that they do, you know,
because I think he is so smart and he
has been able to figure this stuff out.
I think that’s a big compliment to him.
He is always working on it and he is
always figuring out how to be ahead of
the competition it feels like. So a lot
of the stuff that we do is, you know,
copied off stuff we have seen off his
car before, so, you know, that’s a
pretty good position to be in.
Q. We
had a ton of calls yesterday, talking
about the finish of the race and young
Kyle Busch and the Chase ahead of him
and what the Roush cars would have done
or not have done if there was young guy
in your camp like that towards the end
of the race. How did you look at the
racing at the end of the race with a
young guy getting that close to the guy
and pushing all the envelopes?
MATT
KENSETH: Honestly, I didn’t see the end
of the race. I was on my way walking
through the parking lot, getting into my
rental car. So I was out before then and
honestly didn’t see it.
Q. How close do
you believe you guys would race each
other if somebody was out of the Chase?
I mean all your guys are in. But if not,
I mean should a guy press on to the
finish of the race to win without doing
anything negative?
MATT KENSETH: I know
it’s a big story. Everybody wants to
believe that everybody is treated
different because they are in the Chase.
It’s not the case. These races are very,
very difficult to win as you can see. It
took Ryan Newman a year to win a race
and he won the most races a couple years
ago. It took us a year to win a race.
You know, we have won some races in the
past.
So you are going to take every
opportunity you can to win a race. It
doesn’t matter if you are 35th in points
or you are 5th in points, you are going
to race as hard as you can to win. Yeah,
you are not going to take out a teammate
to do it, but it doesn’t matter if that
teammate is in the chase or not. You are
still going to try to beat him to win.
It’s too hard to win races. You are
never going give races away. I mean, I
think that’s silly. I remember when Mark
won the 600 a couple of years ago and I
ran second to him. They were all “Oh,
yeah, you didn’t try to beat him.” That
is absolutely silly. You are going to
try to win every race that you can win.
Q. Looking at Hendrick Motorsports
having one car in the Chase with Jimmie
Johnson, they’re able to funnel all
their resources toward that one effort
compared to what you guys have with five
guys going at it. Do you see that as an
advantage that they have?
MATT KENSETH:
No. No, I think it’s the same. I think
it’s the same as if you know, if all
five of our cars — or one car — was in,
I do not see a big advantage here or
there.
There maybe are things that
could pop up in the next eight weeks
that could be a little advantage because
they have only one car in. For example,
if Jeff is leading the race and lets
Jimmy lead and get the points because he
is not in, things like that. But I think
as far as the testing and sharing
information, I think it would be the
same whether the cars are all in the
chase or none of them are.
Q. I was
looking at some of the statistics and of
all the drivers in the Chase, Mark
Martin is the only driver that won at
Talladega. Can you comment a little bit
about being at a track that you have won
at before, and does it give you any sort
of advantage or any sort of added
confidence going into a race?
MATT
KENSETH: Not with Talladega. Certainly
not with Talladega. I think Mark would
tell you that. He doesn’t have any extra
confidence going there because he won.
That’s a track where you are pretty much
a passenger. There is things you can do
during the race, you can get some help
drafting, you can make different
decisions during the race that certainly
affect the outcome, but that place is,
you know, 90 percent the race car at
least or more.
So I think when you get
there with a real good car that can, you
know, run up front, is real strong like
you seen from certain cars in the past,
you have confidence going there. I am
sure Dale Jr. has a lot of confidence
going there. I am sure Jeff Gordon has
lot of confidence going there because
their play program has been so good. But
I don’t think Mark or any of us have any
extra confidence going to Talladega.
Q.
With that kind of assessment going in,
is that weekend’s race more about
survival than winning?
MATT KENSETH: I
think every race is about winning, if
you have the opportunity. But I
certainly think Talladega is about two
things for me. It’s about survival and
its about being in the lead draft. You
don’t want to just survive and be in the
back and get separated into two or three
packs, and be in the second or third
pack because it probably won’t but it
has gone green flag the whole race, and
it wasn’t really that long ago. I know I
was in it, so it wasn’t that long ago.
So that race does have a possibility of
running green flag all day long. So it’s
important to survive, but it’s also
important not to make a mistake, you
know, on pit road, getting on pit road,
getting off pit road, any of that kind
of stuff under a green because if you
lose that lead draft there might not be
that opportunity to get back in it.
Q.
Can you talk a little bit about what
improvements have been made to Roush
Racing over the last couple of years or
at least since you have been there to
have this kind of dramatic you know
march of all five Roush drivers in the
chase?
MATT KENSETH: I think there’s
several things. I think Roush Racing has
always been fairly strong. I think that
one of the things that started helping
the cars run better is probably in ‘01
when we all ran pretty bad and Jeff was
kind of at the forefront of it of
getting all the teams to work together,
all the teams to share information, just
to work together a lot more.
When I
first got there, it was Jeff and Mark,
99 and the 6 working together, and then
it was the 16 and 97 and they didn’t
help them and didn’t share information
with them. It’s sort of like a deal
probably like you have at Penske right
now. I think when we all started working
together and they got five drivers that
could all work together and five crew
chiefs in there that could all work
together, I think that was big
advantage.
And another huge thing that
has helped Roush Racing when they merged
the engine deal with Yates, with Doug
Yates and them guys, heading up an
engine deal and working together with
Roush, it’s just been a tremendous
advantage. It has been great having all
them motors. It’s just one thing we
could take out of the equation, we
didn’t have to think about engines
anymore and concentrate more on the
cars.
Q. When you do have a bad finish,
how do you handle that? Do you just put
it out of your mind going on to the next
race?
MATT KENSETH: Well, I think it’s
hard to put out of your mind. I think
you want every race to be a good race,
at least I do. I care where I am in
points, but regardless of where I am in
points, I hate having a bad day. If we
are 30th in points and we finished 35th,
I would still feel bad about that. So
you don’t want to have any bad races,
certainly when you are in the final 10,
you don’t want to have a bad day, but
you have got to take it week by week.
You have to put last week out of your
mind and go out and do the best job you
can next week.
Q. Going to Talladega
this week, this is actually a question
about a sister track. When it comes to
the twins or now the dual 150 qualifying
races, do you equate that race to all
star race or how much fun is it racing
for starting position there to start the
year?
MATT KENSETH: It’s fun. It’s to
kickoff of the season. We’re down there
for a whole week. You know, Daytona and
Talladega are a fair amount different.
It’s always fun to run in those races
because it’s kind of a test for the 500.
You know, it used to be you get more
cars showing up and the races probably
had a little bit more importance than
what they have the last couple of years,
but they still have a lot of importance
and you still want to get a good
starting spot. More than anything, I
like it because it’s a good test for
500.
Q. Last year they added 25 miles
to it. Did that make a difference for
you all? Do you think it may have
brought the crews more into play or
anything, was there that much
difference?
MATT KENSETH: I don’t think
it has been much different because the
fuel cell changes. When we used to be
able to run almost 125 miles on fuel,
you know, you could do different things
strategy wise. I think since we put the
small fuel cells in, we all had to pit
anyway. I don’t think the extra 25 miles
made that much difference.
Q. How is
Jack holding up so far in the Chase?
Have you had interaction with him? Is he
at all concerned yet or is still too
early?
MATT KENSETH: I didn’t
understand what you said.
Q. Is he
concerned at all that you guys are down
toward the bottom of the top 10, or is
it still too early for him to get
worried?
MATT KENSETH: I don’t know.
That’s something you would have to ask
him. I haven’t talked to him since
Sunday. That actually reminds me, on the
way to Kansas, I got a message and I
need to call him back.
I haven’t talked
to him this week. I am sure he’s always
concerned, you know, when you have
problems and you blew a tire and you
have a problem like that. He is always
concerned and trying to make sure we
don’t have problems. I can’t really
comment on how he is feeling, whether
he’s got a positive outlook today or
negative. I don’t know.
Q. Was there
any commonality in the problems that
you, Kurt, and Greg had at Dover?
MATT
KENSETH: Can you repeat that?
Q. Is
there anything common in the tire
problems that you, Kurt and Greg had at
Dover?
MATT KENSETH: Well, the first
three there is. We all ran over a piece
of debris. And the last one I blew a
right front and that wasn’t related to
running over debris. We had some other
kind of problems, so I am not sure what
we had there yet.
Q. How different will
this weekend be than all the other races
in this chase for the Cup. I know all
the tracks are different. This one is
really different from the time you
unload from the hauler, to the
practices, to qualifying, to the race
itself?
MATT KENSETH: Yeah, it’s
different. I mean Talladega, as far as
the driver goes, at least if you are in
the top 35 in points, it is really
stress free until you get the race or
race practice for qualifying. You are
just a passenger and holding it wide
open any way. There is not much going on
a Friday. Then we get into race practice
on Saturday, there is not a lot of
handling that’s involved at Talladega.
So we usually don’t practice a whole
bunch. We make sure it drafts half way
decent, and if it doesn’t draft half way
decent, there is not much you can do to
fix the racetrack. So you just go out
and run a little bit and get ready for
the race on Sunday. So that’s definitely
a different type of race, but, you know,
just part of it. I think you still have
to approach it the same and still be
smart there and have yourself in the
right position at the end of the race.
Q. How much can you take from the
spring race to use during this one?
MATT KENSETH: I don’t know, probably
half a car, whatever wasn’t bent, we can
use that. If I remember right anyway, I
think pretty much everybody was wrecked,
and I think we finished 11th because we
weren’t wrecked as bad. I can’t remember
if that was Daytona or Talladega to be
honest with you.
Q. At the start of the
year, you struggled, one top 10 in the
first 12. Do you look back on that and
say what happened? How fortunate do you
feel after having those troubles to be
where you are today?
MATT KENSETH: Well,
I definitely feel fortunate that we were
able to figure out some of the stuff had
wrong and get running better and get in
the Chase for sure. More than looking
back, we’re trying to look forward and
take it week by week and try to do the
best we can every week to try to get
ourselves back into it a little bit
better.
DAN PASSE: Thank you very much.
Thank you so much, Matt, for joining us
and taking time out of your busy day.
Thanks once again everybody and we will
see you in Talladega.
MATT KENSETH:
Thanks a lot.
Tire problems
result in 35th place for Matt Kenseth;
Falls to 9th in championship standings
September
25,
2005
DOVER, DE
(September 25, 2005) — Matt Kenseth’s
five-race streak of finishes of seventh
or better ended Sunday at the Dover
International Speedway as he encountered
tire problems which prematurely ended
his day. A cut right front tire sent
Kenseth into the wall on lap 367 of the
400-lap event, with the No. 17 DEWALT
Ford Taurus sustaining significant
damage to the right front of the
racecar. With the laps dwindling down,
there was not enough time to repair the
car and return to the track. Kenseth
retired the No. 17, resulting in a
35th-place finish. As the race weekend
unfolded, the DEWALT team felt
positively about the strength of the No.
17 Ford. Kenseth improved throughout the
three practice sessions and posted a
strong qualifying run with the
11th-quickest lap. Rolling off 11th for
the start of the MBNA RacePoints 400,
Kenseth quickly identified a handling
issue with the racecar: “tight in the
middle and loose off — the car is a
little too free to drive it in there
very hard.” Under caution, brought out
on lap 69, Kenseth brought the DEWALT
Ford down pit road for the first time
for service and adjustments. Having
additionally radioed his crew that the
“front end has zero stick and it just
slides across the track,” the DEWALT
crew elected to make wedge and air
pressure adjustments, as well as provide
Kenseth with four fresh tires and fuel.
Kenseth restarted the event in the 12th
position. Kenseth quickly began to move
up through the field, racing his way
into the top-five by lap 135. Still
running in the fifth spot forty laps
later, Kenseth brought the No. 17 down
pit road during the fourth caution
period of the afternoon. Advising his
crew that the “front end needs to work
just a little better,” and that “the
exit is loose at the beginning of a run,
but then it comes in,” the DEWALT crew
made another air pressure adjustment and
gave Kenseth four sticker tires and
fuel. Gaining a spot off of pit road,
Kenseth restarted the event in
fourth-place on lap 180. He continued to
run in the top five, coming down pit
road again on lap 202 for tires, fuel
and a wedge adjustment to the right
rear. The DEWALT crew executed a blazing
stop, completing their work in just 12.0
seconds. Kenseth returned to the track
in fifth-spot and the DEWALT Ford was
handling the best it had all day. Just
eight laps after the restart, however,
Kenseth radioed to his crew that he had
a left rear tire going down. Kenseth
limped down pit road and the DEWALT crew
changed left side tires in just 5.0
seconds. Kenseth returned to the track a
lap down, running in the 32nd position.
Although far back in the field, the
DEWALT Ford was strong and Kenseth began
to pick cars off, regaining positions.
By lap 291 Kenseth was the first car one
lap down and gained his lap back as the
eighth caution flag slowed the field and
Kenseth was the lucky dog recipient.
With approximately 100 laps to go,
Kenseth began his charge back to the
front of the field. By lap 337, Kenseth
had broken into the top-ten, but the
charge would end there as, just as the
leaders were beginning to pit some
thirty laps later, Kenseth cut down a
right front tire and slammed into the
wall. Kenseth was running in the eighth
position at the time. He drove the
battered DEWALT Ford into the garage and
the team quickly began to make repairs.
As the remaining laps ticked off,
however, it became apparent that there
was too much work to be done to the
racecar, and too little time. Kenseth
retired his entry for the day, and ended
up with a disappointing 35th-place
finish. “It just wasn’t meant to be for
us today,” said Kenseth after the race.
“We had a pretty good car that had
gotten better as the day progressed. We
battled back from that first tire deal,
got our lap back and were moving
forward. It’s disappointing, for sure.
Everyone knows that there are only eight
more races and each one is so important.
But we still have time, and we’ll bounce
back.” With his disappointing finish at
Dover, Kenseth fell four spots in the
NASCAR Nextel Cup point standings,
dropping to the ninth position.
The No. 17 DEWALT Ford Taurus will be
back in competition next weekend at the
Talladega Superspeedway for the third of
ten races to determine the 2005 NASCAR
Nextel Cup Champion, and the only
restrictor-plate race in the Chase for
the Championship.
Hard crash
ends Kenseth’s day early in Dover Busch
race
September
24,
2005
DOVER, DE (September 24,
2005) — The No. 17 Waste Management Ford
Taurus looked to be a threat coming into
the Dover 200 Busch Series event at the
Dover International Speedway on
Saturday. Kenseth began the weekend by
posting the quickest time in the first
practice session held on Friday. He
followed that with a strong showing in
the second practice and by qualifying in
the 14th position for the 200-lap event.
It would be an early exit for Kenseth,
however, as a hard crash on lap 2 ended
his day. Kenseth picked up a couple of
positions on the first lap, moving up to
12th. On the next lap, however, the
Waste Management Ford became a bit loose
and when Kenseth let off to correct the
racecar, he was tapped from behind by
the No. 11 driven by Paul Menard. That
tap got Kenseth sideways and he battled
to hang on to the racecar. The No. 17
came around on him, though, and spun
down the track into the inside wall.
Several cars behind Kenseth were caught
up in the wreck and Kenseth was hit
again by the No. 1 entry driven by
Johnny Sauter. The Waste Management Ford
was destroyed in the crash and Kenseth
was transported to the Infield Care
Center to be checked out. Fortunately,
he was not injured and spoke after being
released. “Yeah, I’m OK,” said Kenseth.
“I’m sure I’ll be a little sore
tomorrow, but nothing major. It was a
hard hit, for sure. I just hate it for
all the guys on the team — they worked
so hard preparing this car. The car was
good and I think we would have had a
strong run today. I hate it, too, for
all the folks at Waste Management.
They’ve really supported me this year
and I know they didn’t get to see their
car out there for very long. It’s just
one of those deals — not really anyone’s
fault. We’ll focus on racing at Kansas
in two weeks and giving them something
more to watch.” The NASCAR Busch Series
will enjoy an off weekend next week.
Kenseth will be back in action in the
No. 17 Waste Management Ford Taurus the
following weekend at the Kansas
Speedway.
Dover Race Preview: Busch, and Cup
September
21,
2005
Dover International
Speedway •
Dover,
Del. Dover 200 •
Saturday,
September 24 •
1:00
pm/e TNT MBNA RacePoints 400 •
Sunday,
September 25 •
12:30
pm/e TNT
Matt
Kenseth
Busch Series
Record at Dover:
|
Date |
S |
F |
Laps |
Reason |
|
05/31/97 |
32 |
11 |
199/200 |
Running |
|
09/20/97 |
15 |
3 |
200/200 |
Running |
|
05/30/98 |
2 |
40 |
136/200 |
Crash |
|
09/19/98 |
4 |
1 |
200/200 |
Running |
|
06/05/99 |
14 |
32 |
154/200 |
Crash |
|
09/25/99 |
1 |
38 |
120/200 |
Crash |
|
06/03/00 |
16 |
3 |
200/200 |
Running |
|
09/23/00 |
14 |
1 |
200/200 |
Running |
|
06/02/01 |
9 |
2 |
200/200 |
Running |
|
09/22/01 |
20 |
10 |
199/200 |
Running |
|
05/31/03 |
3 |
4 |
200/200 |
Running |
|
06/05/04 |
22 |
35 |
62/200 |
Crash |
Matt
Kenseth
Busch
Series totals at Dover:
| |
Races |
Wins |
Top 5s |
Top 10s |
Poles
|
|
Cumulative |
12 |
2 |
6 |
7 |
1 |
Matt
Kenseth
Cup Record at
Dover:
|
Date |
S |
F |
Laps |
Reason |
|
09/20/98 |
16 |
6 |
400/400 |
Running |
|
09/26/99 |
13 |
4 |
400/400 |
Running |
|
06/04/00 |
26 |
2 |
400/400 |
Running |
|
09/24/00 |
31 |
12 |
399/400 |
Running |
|
06/03/01 |
13 |
16 |
399/400 |
Running |
|
09/23/01 |
40 |
29 |
390/400 |
Running |
|
06/02/02 |
1 |
40 |
297/400 |
Running |
|
09/22/02 |
17 |
4 |
400/400 |
Running |
|
06/01/03 |
4 |
7 |
400/400 |
Running |
|
09/21/03 |
1 |
9 |
400/400 |
Running |
|
06/06/04 |
39 |
22 |
381/400 |
Crash |
|
09/26/04 |
8 |
32 |
319/400 |
Crash |
|
06/05/05 |
23 |
7 |
400/400 |
Running |
Matt Kenseth
Cup
Series
totals
at
Dover:
| |
Races |
Wins |
Top 5s |
Top 10s |
Poles
|
|
Cumulative |
13 |
0 |
3 |
7 |
2* |
|
*One
pole; One set by points |
Matt
Kenseth on racing at Dover:
“I’ve always said
that Dover is one of my favorite tracks.
It’s particularly special to me because
I got my first Cup Series start there
back in 1998, subbing for Bill Elliott.
We had a good run there in June, and I
think we’ll be in good shape for this
weekend. We kept our positive momentum
going at Loudon by finishing in the
top-five and the DEWALT crew is on top
of their game.”
Crew Chief Robbie Reiser
on racing at Dover:
“I think we’ll be in
good shape for Dover. Matt really likes
racing there and although our finishes
haven’t been consistent due to some
crashes we’ve been involved in over the
past couple of years, we generally do
run well there. Car number 39 has been
good to us this season, especially
lately, and we’re bringing it to Dover.
It should be a good weekend.”
Busch Crew Chief Chad Norris
on racing at Dover:
“We
started our end of the season stretch
with a good finish at Richmond,
finishing third. I think we’ll be
competitive this weekend. We tested at
Dover back in May in preparation for the
June race and felt really good about our
car. We’re bringing car number 50, the
same one we tested, so we should be
strong.”
Dover Fast Facts
n In the Busch Series at Dover, Matt
Kenseth has two wins and one pole, in
addition to six top-five and seven
top-ten finishes.
n In his 13 Cup starts
at Dover, Matt Kenseth has finished in
the top-ten seven times, and has sat on
the pole twice.
n Matt Kenseth will be
running car number 50 in the Dover 200
Busch Series event on Saturday. This car
was tested at Dover in May, and finished
eighth in Chicago in July.
n Kenseth will
be running car number 39 in the MBNA
NASCAR RacePoints 400 on Sunday at
Dover. This car has seen a lot of laps
this season, running in the All-Star
Challenge and the first race at Dover in
June, as well as Chicago, Pocono II,
Michigan, and Fontana II. Car number 39
has finished in the top-ten in four of
its’ five points race runs this
season.
n Matt Kenseth got his first Cup
Series start at Dover International
Speedway in September, 1998, substitute
driving for Bill Elliott.
Reiser Wins
WYPALL® Wipers Crew Chief of the Race
Award for N.H.
September
18,
2005
Kenseth Shines in Sylvania 300
Reiser Wins WYPALL® Wipers Crew Chief of
the Race Award
LOUDON, NH (September 18, 2005) — Matt
Kenseth caught a bad break in this
weekend’s Sylvania 300, literally.
Following a routine stop for service,
Kenseth’s front brake locked up as he
was exiting the pits and the driver of
the # 17 DeWalt Ford was forced to plow
around the track until he could reenter
his stall. With crew chief Robbie Reiser
calling the shots, the crew fixed the
problem and put Kenseth back in the hunt
for a win. The team’s rebound brought
Kenseth a third-place finish and moved
him ninth to fifth in the championship
standings. For orchestrating his team’s
comeback, Reiser was awarded the WYPALL®
Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award.
“We got a lug nut caught between the
hat and the rotor,” said Reiser. “The
guys do an awesome job each week and
today was no different. They never gave
up. They fixed the problem and got him
(Kenseth) back in it. We followed that
up with a two tire pit stop to get back
the track position we lost and
everything fell into place from there.
The crew had stellar stops all day.
Hopefully we can keep this string going
over the next nine weeks.”
“The DeWalt guys did a great job,”
said Reiser. “We had great pit stops.
Came back from that problem and didn’t
really tear anything up and were able to
work our way back through there through
pit strategy and having a good car. It
feels good to come here and get a good
finish and I look forward to going to
Dover.”
The panel of voters; including Chuck
Givler of the Easton Express-Times, a
WYPALL® Wipers representative and Tony
Eury Sr.; voted for Reiser as the crew
chief who did the most outstanding job.
“There was a lot of pressure on Robbie
(Reiser) this week,” said Eury Sr. “Even
when he ran into problems, he stayed
cool and made sure that everything was
taken care of. He got his car fixedand
got it in the top-five before the race
ended. That’s a pretty good day.”
Doug Richert leads the WYPALL® Wipers
Crew Chief of the Year standings with
five wins. Alan Gustafson is in second
place with three wins. Bob Osborne,
Jimmy Fennig, Greg Zipadelli, Robbie
Reiser and Robbie Loomis are tied for
third place with two wins. Tommy
Baldwin, Scott Miller, Fatback McSwain,
Steve Hmiel, Greg Erwin, Slugger Labbe
and Pete Rondeau are in a tie for fourth
place, each with one win. At the end of
the season, the crew chief with the most
weekly wins will receive $20,000.
Matt Kenseth
finishes 3rd in Loudon; Advances to 5th
in championship standings
September
18,
2005
LOUDON, NH (September 18,
2005) — New Hampshire International
Speedway played host to the first of the
final ten races of the 2005 NASCAR
Nextel Cup Series season on Sunday, and
the first of ten races to determine the
2005 Champion. Matt Kenseth and the No.
17 DEWALT team got off to a great start
in this final stretch by scoring a third
place finish and advancing to fifth in
the point standings.
Having qualified in
the fourth position, Kenseth took the
green flag in the top-five and would
remain there for the first third of the
event. An early caution flag on lap 2
took teammate Kurt Busch, also a
championship contender, out of
contention for this event, having
sustained heavy damage to his racecar.
Kenseth gave the DEWALT crew its’ first
indication of the handling of the No. 17
when he radioed in on lap 17: “It’s a
little tight in the center, the exit is
good — we need to be turning a little
better.” Kenseth made his first pit stop
of the afternoon during the caution
period brought out on lap 72. Running
second, Kenseth brought the DEWALT down
pit road and received air pressure and
wedge adjustments, along with four fresh
tires and fuel. He restarted the event
in the second spot on lap 77.
Kenseth
continued to run in the top-five until
his next stop under caution on lap 104.
Kenseth brought the No. 17 down pit road
and received additional air pressure
adjustments, tires and fuel. Upon
leaving his pit box however, Kenseth and
the team immediately noticed that
something was wrong. A stray lugnut was
stuck in the wheel — it locked up the
wheel and flattened the right front
tire. Kenseth eased around the racetrack
and brought the DEWALT Ford back down
pit road. The DEWALT crew took care of
the problem and Kenseth returned to the
field for the restart in the 27th
position on lap 108.
After the restart
the racecar became “treacherous loose,”
according to Kenseth. He managed to race
his way up to the 21st position before
coming down pit road during the caution
period on lap 136. The crew went back on
one of their previous air pressure
adjustments, made a track bar adjustment
and, in an effort to regain track
position, took right side tires only.
Kenseth restarted in the sixth spot on
lap 141. Kenseth ran in the top-five for
approximately fifteen laps before he
started to slide back several positions.
Radioing his crew that “I don’t have any
grip — it’s spinning off sometimes,
chattering the nose some,” Kenseth
pitted during the seventh caution period
of the day brought on lap 164. He
received an air pressure adjustment,
four tires and fuel in a stop executed
by the DEWALT crew in just 12.2 seconds.
As the laps clicked off, Kenseth began
to see that the No. 17 was loose at the
beginning of a run but then started to
come in. Running 13th on lap 179 under
caution, Kenseth advised his crew, “If
it stays green, I think I can get back
up into the pack.” Many pitted during
this eighth caution period — Kenseth,
having pitted just 15 laps prior, stayed
out on the racetrack. When the race
restarted on lap 183, Kenseth found
himself in the third position.
Only six
laps later, the ninth caution of the
afternoon slowed the field for an
incident with the No. 7 entry. Because
of the amount of debris on the track,
NASCAR officials brought the field down
pit road and parked them under a red
flag to clean up the track. Kenseth was
in the second spot at the time. When the
field returned to the track and took the
green, Kenseth stayed in the top-five
until coming in under green for his
final stop of the day. The DEWALT team
made a track bar adjustment for the
short run to the finish and gave Kenseth
four fresh tires and fuel, all in just
12.3 seconds. Kenseth was shuffled back
in the field as the cycle of green flag
stops made its’ way through the field.
He raced his way back into the third
position by lap 284, and would remain
there to take the checkered flag for his
seventh top-five finish of the 2005
season.
“We had a good car here today,”
said Kenseth after the race. “The crew
did a great job of making adjustments
all day to make it better. We had that
one mishap on pit road with the lug nut,
but things like that happen sometimes.
The crew noticed it immediately, didn’t
panic, and took care of the problem. We
made a good call after that, taking on
right side tires only, to regain some
track position. We didn’t have the
fastest car today, for sure, but we took
what we had and got the best finish out
of it that we could. That’s what we’ll
need to do for the last nine races to
stay in contention.”
With his
third-place finish at Loudon, Kenseth
moved up to the fifth position in the
NASCAR Nextel Cup standings, 50 points
out of first place.
The No. 17 DEWALT
Ford Taurus will be back in competition
next weekend at the Dover International
Speedway, for the second of ten races to
determine the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup
Champion.
Loudon Race Preview
September
14,
2005
New
Hampshire International Raceway •
Loudon,
N.H. Sylvania 300 •
Sunday,
September 18 •
12:30
pm/e TNT
Matt
Kenseth
Cup Record at
NHIS:
|
Date |
S |
F |
Laps |
Reason |
|
07/09/00 |
22 |
19 |
272/273 |
Running |
|
09/17/00 |
38 |
17 |
298/300 |
Running |
|
07/22/01 |
21 |
16 |
300/300 |
Running |
|
11/23/01 |
16 |
4 |
300/300 |
Running |
|
07/21/02 |
6 |
33 |
299/300 |
Running |
|
09/15/02 |
17 |
10 |
207/207 |
Running |
|
07/20/03 |
1 |
3 |
300/300 |
Running |
|
09/14/03 |
19 |
7 |
300/300 |
Running |
|
07/25/04 |
31 |
4 |
300/300 |
Running |
|
09/19/04 |
5 |
2 |
300/300 |
Running |
|
07/17/05 |
16 |
10 |
300/300 |
Running |
Matt Kenseth
Cup
Series
totals
at
NHIS:
| |
Races |
Wins |
Top 5s |
Top 10s |
Poles
|
|
Cumulative |
11 |
0 |
4 |
7 |
1* |
|
*Field set by points |
Matt
Kenseth on racing at New Hampshire:
“This team really has a
tremendous amount of momentum right
now. We reached our goal of making
it into the Chase and now our focus
will be working towards another
championship. I feel like the way
our cars are running right now and
the way this team is working
together, we have a legitimate shot
at the championship.”
Crew Chief Robbie Reiser
on racing at New Hampshire:
“I’m really proud of Matt and the
entire team for staying focused when
things weren’t going well, and
working ourselves back into this
thing. Loudon is a good track for us
— we’ve consistently finished in the
top-ten the last several years — and
that is what this team will be
looking for — consistency.”
New Hampshire Fast Facts
n In his eleven Cup Series
starts at Loudon, Matt Kenseth has
finished in the top-five four times,
and in the top-ten seven times. He
also has one pole position.
n Kenseth
has finished in the top-ten in his
last six races at Loudon.
n Kenseth
will be running car number 23 on
Sunday in Loudon. This is the same
car that ran in Phoenix earlier this
year, as well as in the previous
race in Loudon and last weekend in
Richmond.
n Matt Kenseth is tied for
eighth place in the Chase for the
Championship going into the final
ten races of the season. He is
currently 35 points behind the
leader.
Matt Kenseth
Post-Richmond quotes
September
10,
2005
MATT KENSETH — No. 17 DeWalt
Taurus (Finished 2nd) — “I’m relieved,
but more than relieved I’m excited. I’m
excited for this whole DeWalt team. They
did such a great job on pit road.
They’re the reason why we’re here. We
were way behind here a few months ago
and they just kept digging and giving me
better race cars. They were just killing
everybody on pit road. It was awesome on
pit road and they put us in position.
I’m real excited because I feel like
we’ve got some momentum. We’re running
really well. We didn’t just sneak in. We
still ran second tonight and had a g | |