|
|
|
Matt
Kenseth claims top spot in point standings
March
30, 2006
2003 Cup Champion stands in first for first
time in 71 races
CONCORD, N.C. — For the first time since April 4,
2004, Matt Kenseth sits atop the NEXTEL Cup Series
point standings. After finishing third in the Food
City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, his third
top-five finish of 2006 and his eighth top-10 finish
in the past nine races at Bristol, Kenseth now leads
second-place Kasey Kahne by eight points. His last
lead in the NEXTEL Cup point standings came after
the March 28, 2004 Bristol race where he left the
World’s Fastest Half Mile with a 21-point lead over
Kurt Busch.
“It’s a much better start than last season,” said
Kenseth, who at this point last year was 28th in the
point standings 376 points out of first. “This crew
has done a great job building and setting up
racecars. We’ve realistically had a car that ran
good enough each week to win. If we could have had a
few more breaks we could be sitting here with three
or more wins right now, and that’s a testament to
how good this team is.”
This season has started off quite opposite of
2005 for the No. 17 DEWALT team. In five races this
season, Kenseth has scored one win, three top fives,
five top 15s, led 338 laps, and tallied 782 points
in the process. By comparison, at this point last
year, Kenseth had zero top fives, one top 15, led
107 laps, and scored only 459 points.
“Obviously, leading at this point in the season
doesn’t mean that much,” Kenseth explained. “But,
the fact that this 17 team is competing for wins
each week does. The cars have been great and our pit
crew continues to be the best out there. It’s a long
season, but hopefully we can keep running this good
and pick up some victories along the way.”
Martinsville Nextel Cup Preview
March 29,
2006
Martinsville Speedway •
Martinsville,
Va.
DirecTV 500 •
Sunday,
April 2 •
1:30
pm/e Fox
Nextel Cup Chassis — #17 DeWALT Ford
Primary — RK-164 (Last ran at Phoenix, fall ’05,
finished 32nd; Ran both Martinsville races in ’05,
finished 12th and 11th)
Backup — RK-298 (Never ran; only test was Richmond,
fall ’05)
Matt
Kenseth
Nextel Cup Record at
Martinsville:
|
Date |
S |
F |
Laps |
Reason |
| 04/09/00 |
31 |
21 |
498/500 |
Running |
| 10/01/00 |
37 |
34 |
447/500 |
Running |
| 04/08/01 |
25 |
6 |
500/500 |
Running |
| 10/15/01 |
22 |
36 |
459/500 |
Rear End |
| 04/14/02 |
26 |
2 |
500/500 |
Running |
| 10/20/02 |
17 |
19 |
499/500 |
Running |
| 04/13/03 |
34 |
22 |
499/500 |
Running |
| 10/19/03 |
14 |
13 |
500/500 |
Running |
| 04/18/04 |
29 |
8 |
500/500 |
Running |
| 10/24/04 |
25 |
16 |
500/500 |
Running |
| 04/10/05 |
18 |
11 |
500/500 |
Running |
| 10/23/05 |
25 |
12 |
500/500 |
Running |
Matt Kenseth
Nextel
Cup
series
totals
at
Martinsville:
| |
Starts |
Wins |
Top 5s |
Top 10s |
Poles
|
|
Spring |
6 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
|
Fall |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Cumulative |
12 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
Matt Kenseth on
racing at Martinsville:
“People talk about running the two shortest tracks
on the circuit back to back, but really,
Martinsville and Bristol are like black and white.
They’re the same size on a piece of paper; they’re
both a half-mile, but other than that I don’t think
anything is the same. To me, it’s the same as asking
if Charlotte and Loudon are the same. They’re just
so much different, to me, besides the size that,
which I don’t compare that. We have a different car
we take to Martinsville. We usually take the car I
like the least to Martinsville, but we’re taking a
decent car to Martinsville that we’ve ran good on
the flat tracks with. At Bristol we’ve just got one
car that we’ve run here the last six or seven races
that seems to like this place alright, so we’ve got
a different car that we only use at Bristol.”
Nextel Cup Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at
Martinsville:
“Martinsville is definitely a one of a kind
racetrack, at least in the Cup Series. It’s the only
oval we go to where we run about 35 miles per hour
through the corners. Track position becomes so
important because it’s so hard to pass. It helps if
you can qualify good and not put yourself in a hole
to start. If you’re good and consistent with your
pit stops, this is a track where you can pick up a
lot of positions on pit road. We try to stay focused
on one race at a time and not get caught up in the
big picture at this point. If we finish as good as
we possibly can each week, then the big picture will
work itself out.”
Martinsville Fast Facts
n
Matt Kenseth has completed more laps at
Martinsville in the past eight Cup races than any
other active driver (3,998 of 4,000).
n
Kenseth is atop the NEXTEL Cup point
standings for the first time since April 4, 2004,
when he lost the points lead after Texas, 71 races
ago.
n
Kenseth has led at least 28 laps in four of
the season’s first five races; 338 in all.
n
Kenseth has scored only three top-10s at
Martinsville, which is tied with Darlington for the
lowest count of top-10s at any track where Kenseth
has totaled at least 10 starts.
n
Bristol marked Kenseth’s 225th career start
in NASCAR’s NEXTEL Cup series.
Bristol articles
n
Food City 500 recap
n
Food City 500 results
n
Nextel Cup points standings
n
Gordon fined
$10,000 for shoving Kenseth
n
Matt Kenseth post-race press conference
n
Matt Kenseth the man atop our NASCAR rankings
n
Sunoco Pit Move of the race
n
How can the points leader deserve better? Somehow, Kenseth does
n
Kenseth
takes two hard knocks
n
Is Matt
Kenseth too nice to thrive in NASCAR?
n
What was with Kenseth and Gordon?
n
Bristol Busch & Cup race
previews
n
Matt Kenseth NBS
press conference
n
Food City 500
race lineup
n
Get
your USG Racing T-shirt
n
Matt shoots with
the local media
n
More credit is due
Matt Kenseth
n
Kenseth
riding wave of momentum heading into spring race at Bristol
n
Rain delay chat with the Bristol media
Matt Kenseth Bristol race recap
March 26, 2006
MATT KENSETH • Started: 7th •
Finished: 3rd
Kenseth claims points lead with third place
finish
On a frigid Sunday afternoon in Eastern
Tennessee, 160,000-plus crammed into the World’s
Fastest Half Mile, The Bristol Motor Speedway, for
the running of the Food City 500. Snow and rain
played a major factor throughout the weekend,
canceling all on-track activities on Friday
including qualifying for Sunday’s event.
Matt Kenseth, flying the USG Sheetrock colors for
the first of three races this season, rolled off
seventh as the lineup was set based on the final
point standings from last season. Kenseth quickly
moved forward and settled into the top five where he
would stay for the remainder of the race.
The No. 17 Ford Fusion was fast throughout the
race, especially when in clean air, but that’s hard
to come by at Bristol. It appeared as if Kenseth
could hold whatever position he had on the race
track, but wasn’t quite good enough to pass the
leaders. Though he led early in the event when he
overtook Tony Stewart for the top spot on lap 135,
Kenseth wasn’t quite the best car on the track and
was unable to hang on to the top spot.
Kenseth had a close call early on whenever the
lap down vehicle of Jimmie Johnson nearly squeezed
the No. 17 USG machine into the backstretch wall.
Luckily the damage sustained to the left front was
minimal and did nothing to slow Kenseth’s progress.
When Kenseth came down pit road on lap 409 for
what was to be the final stop of the day he was in
the third position. The Killer Bees then went to
work with their best pit stop of the day (12.73
seconds) and got Kenseth out in the top spot.
Kenseth began pulling away in the waning laps of
the event and appeared to be on his way to his
second consecutive victory at Bristol, but lapped
traffic had other plans. Saddled behind the lapped
machine of Dale Jarrett, Kurt Busch began reeling
Kenseth in and with only four laps to go, put the
bumper to Kenseth and nearly turned the leader
around coming off of turn two. Kenseth fought to
keep his car heading straight, but lost two
positions in the process. Over the final two laps,
Kenseth traded paint with Jeff Gordon over the third
position, with Kenseth prevailing to bring home a
hard fought third-place finish.
The finish marked the third top-five of the
season for Kenseth, with all five finishes in the
top-15. With Johnson having a bad day, Kenseth
vaulted two positions into the points lead for the
first time in the 2006 season.
“First off I want to say happy birthday to my
Mom,” Kenseth said immediately following the race.
“Happy Birthday and ‘Hi’ to my son Ross. I
apologized to Jeff (Gordon). I wrecked him but it
wasn’t intentional. I can’t say I blame him for
being mad at me. I went to apologize but probably
should have waited longer. I’m a little disappointed
with Kurt (Busch). We’re great friends and usually
race great together, but he knocked me out of the
way at the end. I knew I was holding everyone up,
but if the 88 gets out of the way, then that’s never
an issue and we win the race.”
Points Summary
Race Total: 170
Season Total: 782 points, Ranked 1st, 8 points ahead
of 2nd
Bristol Busch & Nextel Cup Preview
March 22,
2006
Bristol Motor Speedway •
Bristol,
Tenn.
Sharpie Mini 300 •
Saturday,
March 25 •
3:00
pm/e Fox
Food City 500 •
Sunday,
March 26 •
1:30
pm/e Fox
Nextel Cup Chassis — #17 USG Sheetrock Ford:
Primary — RK-089 (Won
last NNCS race at Bristol leading 415 laps. Oldest car
in the No. 17 team’s stable.)
Backup — RK-280 (Last
ran at Atlanta in March of ’05.)
Busch Chassis
— #17 Ameriquest Ford:
Primary —
RK-295
Matt
Kenseth
Cup Record at
Bristol
|
Date |
S |
F |
Laps |
Reason |
|
03/26/00 |
22 |
12 |
500/500 |
Running |
|
08/26/00 |
22 |
39 |
376/500 |
Overheating |
|
03/25/01 |
24 |
14 |
500/500 |
Running |
|
08/25/01 |
38 |
33 |
394/500 |
Accident |
|
03/24/02 |
6 |
6 |
500/500 |
Running |
|
08/24/02 |
10 |
5 |
500/500 |
Running |
|
03/23/03 |
37 |
2 |
500/500 |
Running |
|
08/23/03 |
10 |
4 |
500/500 |
Running |
|
03/28/04 |
23 |
5 |
500/500 |
Running |
|
10/31/04 |
23 |
9 |
499/500 |
Running |
|
04/03/05 |
25 |
16 |
497/500 |
Running |
| 08/27/05 |
1 |
1 |
500/500 |
Running |
Matt Kenseth
Nextel
Cup
series
totals
at
Bristol:
| |
Starts |
Wins |
Top 5s |
Top 10s |
Poles
|
|
Spring |
6 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
|
Fall |
6 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
|
Cumulative |
12 |
1 |
5 |
7 |
1 |
Matt
Kenseth’s Busch series record at Bristol:
|
Date |
S |
F |
Reason |
| 08/22/97 |
20 |
20 |
Running |
| 03/28/98 |
13 |
3 |
Running |
| 08/21/98 |
18 |
34 |
Running |
| 04/10/99 |
24 |
35 |
Accident |
| 08/27/99 |
3 |
1 |
Running |
| 03/25/00 |
7 |
27 |
Accident |
| 03/24/01 |
2 |
1 |
Running |
|
08/24/01 |
32 |
30 |
Accident |
| 08/22/03 |
15 |
25 |
Accident |
| 08/27/04 |
25 |
2 |
Running |
| 04/04/05 |
36 |
4 |
Running |
Matt Kenseth
Busch
series
totals
at
Bristol:
|
|
Starts |
Wins |
Top 5s |
Top 10s |
Poles
|
|
Total |
11 |
2 |
5 |
5 |
0 |
Matt Kenseth on
racing at Bristol:
Nextel Cup:
“Bristol is a fun place to run if you can get
your car to handle good. It’s really like any other
track when it comes to passing. When people say ‘the
track layout causes the wrecks,’ that’s not true.
The drivers still have control of the racecars and
if you can get your car to handle good, then you can
pass cleanly. Anybody can pass by running into the
car in front of them, but the good ones are able to
work on their racecar and improve the handling to
where they can pass cleanly. If you aren’t fast
enough or handling good enough to pass the guy in
front of you, then, for most drivers, just slamming
into the back of the car in front of you to get them
out of the way isn’t an option. It’s like any other
track; you have to be good enough to beat the other
guys into the corner to gain the position, not just
good enough to reach their bumper.”
Busch: “I enjoy racing at Bristol, as do a lot of drivers.
They’re adding 50 laps to the Busch race and that’s
fine; I don’t think it will matter that much. You
can look at it two ways. One, it could give you more
of an opportunity to run down someone, or two, it
could give you 50 more laps to wreck or have someone
wreck you. Either way it should be entertaining as
Bristol always is.”
Nextel Cup Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at
Bristol:
“If you have a
well balanced racecar and can really turn through
the center of the corner, then you’re in business at
Bristol. It’s really all about who can pick up the
accelerator faster than the other guy. That will
determine who’s better than the other guys; like
pretty much every where else we run. We’re bringing
the oldest car in our stable which has run at
Bristol the past three or four years and won there
last fall. If we can stay clean and have no
mistakes, we’ll be in good shape on Sunday.”
Busch Series
Crew Chief Chad Norris on racing at Bristol:
“We are taking the car we ran at Fontana this
week it is RK-295. It is a really good car. Matt ran
this same car at Bristol last year and ran really
well. The team is really pumped up right now we have
been running well just have come up a little short,
but we’ll get it. Matt ran really well at the
Bristol race last year in the Cup car, so we are
really looking forward to going there.”
Bristol Fast Facts
n
For the first of three times in 2006, Matt
Kenseth will pilot the No. 17 USG Sheetrock Ford
Fusion. USG Sheetrock will also be the primary
sponsor for the USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland
Speedway in July and the November race at Phoenix
International Raceway.
n
Kenseth led 415 of 500 laps at Bristol last
fall and won from the pole, turning in one of the
more dominating performances at the “World’s Fastest
Half Mile” in recent memory.
n
The 415 laps led in the event were the most
in a race at Bristol since Rusty Wallace in April of
1999
n
Kenseth’s average finish of 12.2 is fifth
among active drivers at Bristol.
Matt Kenseth Atlanta race recap
March 20, 2006
MATT KENSETH • Started: 27th •
Finished: 13th
Rain delayed the start of the Golden Corral 500 at
Atlanta Motor Speedway 21½ hours until Monday morning,
11:00 AM. In front of a significantly dwindled crowd in
Hampton, Ga., Matt Kenseth started in the 27th position.
Typical of No. 17 DEWALT team, which has always
placed more emphasis on race setup as opposed to
qualifying, once the green flag flew Kenseth and company
immediately began maneuvering their way to the front. By
lap 15, Kenseth was up to the 20th position, but needed
adjustments to the handling of the racecar in order to
continue closing on the leaders.
Also, as usual, when Kenseth arrived to pit road, the
Killer Bees did what they do best: turn out quick pit
stops and send the No. 17 Ford out ahead of the
competition. The adjustments that Robbie Reiser made to
the machine seemed to help as the race wore on.
By lap 99, Kenseth was running in the fifth position
when he began to feel a vibration on the right side of
his machine. Fourteen laps later, Kenseth abruptly
swerved onto pit lane with a right front tire worn
extremely thin, down to the cords, and only moments away
from shredding. The untimely pit stop placed Kenseth
back in the 39th position and an even more untimely
caution a few laps later sealed Kenseth one lap down.
A comeback was in order, and the No. 17 team was up
to the challenge. Restarting in the 35th position on lap
121, Kenseth began working his way back through the
traffic, raced his way onto the lead lap and inside the
top-20. By lap 220 of the 325-lap event, Kenseth was up
to 11th and eyeing the leaders. Worried about tire wear,
Kenseth was trying to preserve his tires, but the car
was so fast, that it was nearly unavoidable.
On lap 225 Kenseth radioed the crew, “I think we’ve
got a car that can do it (win), we’re just going to need
the right breaks.”
Unfortunately the breaks were not in Kenseth’s favor
on Monday. Running in second place and closing on the
leader, Kenseth appeared primed to compete for another
victory. But, on lap 300, just 25 laps shy of the
finish, Kenseth experienced another right front tire
going down and had to make an unscheduled pit stop. When
the crew finished replacing all four tires, Kenseth was
in 30th position. Over the course of the final 25 laps,
Kenseth came roaring through the pack and on fresh tires
was able to pick up 17 positions to finish 13th, his
fourth top-15 finish in as many races in 2006.
“The car was good enough to win again,” Kenseth
radioed the crew immediately following the race. “You
guys did an awesome job all day. This is the fourth time
this season where we’ve had a car good enough to win.
Things didn’t go our way today, but that will change.
The way we’re running right now, we’re going to have
some more opportunities to win races this year.”
Points Summary
Race Total: 124
Season Total: 612 points, Ranked 3rd, 78 points out of
first
Matt Kenseth Golden Corral 500 post-race quotes
March 20, 2006
MATT KENSETH – No. 17 DeWalt Ford Fusion (Finished
13th)
TO FINISH 13TH AFTER TWO TIRE PROBLEMS. YOUR
THOUGHTS? “Yeah. The good news is we blew two tires
and finished 13th and the bad news is we blew two tires
and finished 13th. It could have been a lot worse. We
must have had too much camber in it or something. We
kept hurting the right front and we just couldn’t run a
whole fuel run on it. It’s just our mistake by not
studying hard enough on Saturday.”
WOULD A CAUTION AT THE END HAVE HELPED? “Well,
not to be smart, but I didn’t really expect a caution
unless we were leading. That’s just the way it’s been
lately. If we need a caution we never get it. If we’re
leading the race with 10 to go, the last four races in a
row we’ve had cautions, so I wasn’t really expecting
it.”
Matt Kenseth Nicorette 300 Recap
March 18, 2006
KENSETH FINISHES WHERE HE STARTED
HAMPTON, G.A. (March 18, 2006) — After battling with
Jeff Burton for the lead throughout the 300 mile Nicorette 300, Matt Kenseth finished fourth after
leading close to 80 laps.
As everyone heard all weekend, most drivers love
coming to the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Kenseth’s
explanation: “It’s just real fast. As race car drivers
we like to go fast.” And that is exactly what he did on
Saturday afternoon.
After qualifying 4th earlier in the day, Kenseth was
up to 2nd by lap 9 of the 195-lap event. By lap 26, he
was leading the race. Kenseth mentioned early in the
competition that the car was “great,” and strategized
with crew chief Chad Norris to stay out of the pits as
long as his tires would let him.
The first pit stop for the No. 17 Ameriquest team
came on lap 42 when the caution flag came out. The team
made a few minor adjustments to the car and gave it four
tires and fuel before sending Kenseth back out on the
track.
Soon after resuming the race, Kenseth complained of a
little bit of a vibration in the car. Later it was found
that the tires on the No. 17 were showing uneven wear.
The problem was resolved with a few adjustments.
When the caution flag came out again on lap 87,
Kenseth headed for pit road for four tires, fuel, and
windshield service. Due to a complication during the
stop, Kenseth left pit road in 10th place after entering
with the lead.
Throughout the remainder of the race, Kenseth worked
his way back up to the front and regained the lead
position by lap 154. He was closely followed by Jeff
Burton in the No. 21 and Kasey Kahne in the No. 9.
It was looking like all the hard work was going to
pay off for Matt Kenseth, as he was leading the race
with 20 laps to go. Then out of nowhere the car started
too tighten up and Kenseth slowly dropped back behind
Burton, Kahne, and Roush Racing teammate Greg Biffle to
4th place, where he finished the day.
“We ran pretty well,” said Kenseth following the
race. “We just didn’t do the right adjustments at the
end. We just got a little too tight and a little too
slow.”
Although the battle between Burton and Kenseth for
first went on throughout the second half of the race,
Kenseth showed nothing but support for the driver of the
No. 21 car. Immediately following the race, Kenseth
jumped out of his car and headed to victory lane to
congratulate his friend on a great finish.
When Kenseth was asked about the fight up front for
the finish, he remarked, “It was a good race. I was too
tight and I knew we were gonna get beat.” He continued,
“When your car is pushing into the middle of the run,
you know it’s gonna be really bad. I knew we were gonna
get beat there at the end. I was just trying to hold on
as long as I could.”
Although feeling frustrated with the finish of the
No. 17 Ameriquest team, their excellent runs in the
Busch Series so far this season leave crew chief Chad
Norris optimistic about the coming week in Bristol.
“After finishing 2nd in Vegas we were really looking
forward to Atlanta since it is such a great track and we
knew we had a good car,” said Norris. “We fell a little
short in our debut in the Ameriquest Ford Fusion, so we
have a few things to work on. But Bristol is coming up
next weekend and I think we still have a good chance. So
we are excited about that.”
Norris went on to say, “We led a lot of laps during
the race and Matt said that he had a lot of fun driving
the car, so I am happy.”
The No. 17 Ameriquest team will be in Bristol next
Saturday, March 25, to give it another shot. The race is
scheduled to start at 3:10pm EST. Follow the Ameriquest
Dream Team’s results on
www.ameriquestracing.com.
About Ameriquest Mortgage Company
Ameriquest Mortgage Company, headquartered in Orange,
Calif., is a national mortgage lender committed to
helping Americans reach their financial goals and
achieve their home ownership dreams. To fulfill that
mission, Ameriquest originates and services home
mortgage loans through offices across the United States.
Ameriquest and its affiliates employ thousands of
associates nationwide. The company demonstrates its
commitment to communities through a wide array of
partnerships, outreach programs and community
investments. For more information about Ameriquest
Mortgage Company, visit
www.ameriquest.com.
Matt Kenseth Nicorette 300
post-race quotes
March 18, 2006
MATT KENSETH-17-Ameriquest Mortgage Ford Fusion
(Finished 4th)
YOU HAD A GOOD CAR UNTIL LATE IN THE RACE. “It’s
the story of my life lately. The Ameriquest Fusion was
pretty good. These races start so late and it got so
dark at the end of the day, and we just didn’t make
enough adjustments on the last stop and we were too
tight. Jeff had a great car. It was really awesome to
see Jeff Burton win; it was pretty cool.”
WHAT DID YOU LEARN FOR TOMORROW? “Well, there’s a
tire problem; that’s what we learned. We’ve got to think
about that tomorrow. If these cars wear tires, the Cup
cars will be worse. They have a lot more power and a lot
more spoiler and they’ll take the tires off quicker.
That’s a little bit of concern, and other than that, if
we race this way tonight, we know it’s going to get
tight.”
Atlanta Busch & Nextel Cup Preview
March 15,
2006
Atlanta Motor Speedway •
Hampton,
Ga.
Nicorette 300 •
Saturday,
March 11 •
3:00
pm/e fx
Golden Corral 500 •
Sunday,
March 19 •
1:00
pm/e Fox
Nextel Cup Chassis — #17 DeWALT Ford:
Primary — RK-267
(Last ran at Atlanta in the fall of ’05, finished fifth;
led most laps at Chicago before finishing second)
Backup — RK-280 (Last ran at Atlanta in the spring of
’05, finished 31st)
Busch Chassis
— #17 Ameriquest Ford:
Primary —
RK-346
Matt
Kenseth’s Nextel Cup Record at Atlanta:
|
Date |
S |
F |
Laps |
Reason |
|
03/12/00 |
4 |
40 |
199/325 |
Engine |
|
11/20/00 |
23 |
9 |
324/325 |
Running |
|
03/11/01 |
38 |
37 |
273/325 |
Engine |
|
11/18/01 |
23 |
17 |
325/325 |
Running |
|
03/10/02 |
32 |
4 |
325/325 |
Running |
|
10/27/02 |
9 |
9 |
248/248 |
Running |
|
03/09/03 |
24 |
4 |
325/325 |
Running |
|
10/28/03 |
37 |
11 |
325/325 |
Running |
|
03/14/04 |
30 |
6 |
325/325 |
Running |
|
10/31/04 |
39 |
41 |
175/325 |
Engine |
|
03/20/05 |
23 |
31 |
311/325 |
Running |
|
10/30/05 |
23 |
5 |
325/325 |
Running |
Matt Kenseth
Nextel
Cup
series
totals
at
Atlanta:
| |
Starts |
Wins |
Top 5s |
Top 10s |
Poles
|
|
Spring |
6 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
|
Fall |
6 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
|
Cumulative |
12 |
0 |
3 |
6 |
0 |
Matt
Kenseth’s Busch series record at
Atlanta:
|
Date |
S |
F |
Reason |
| 10/07/98 |
2 |
4 |
Running |
| 03/13/99 |
13 |
25 |
Running |
| 03/11/00 |
1 |
2 |
Running |
| 03/10/01 |
18 |
30 |
Engine |
| 10/25/03 |
18 |
2 |
Running |
| 10/30/04 |
28 |
1 |
Running |
| 03/19/05 |
10 |
4 |
Running |
Matt Kenseth
Busch
series
totals
at
Atlanta:
|
|
Starts |
Wins |
Top 5s |
Top 10s |
Poles
|
|
Total |
7 |
1 |
5 |
5 |
1 |
Matt Kenseth on
racing at Atlanta:
Nextel Cup:
“I feel good about going to Atlanta. I love
going there. Probably, for what we have left on the
circuit, with Rockingham being lost, Atlanta is
probably the most fun track to race on as a driver.
You can run all over - the bottom, the top,
anywhere. The surface is real wore-out and the car
changes a lot from the beginning of the run to the
end of the run. I’m looking forward to going there.
Of course, I’m looking forward to going anywhere
with the way our stuff’s running right now.”
Busch: “Atlanta is always a fun track to come to.
Especially for me in the Busch Series, it’s kind of
special considering this was the last Busch race we
won with Reiser Enterprises. John and Robbie
(Reiser) put so much time into making that race team
work back in the early ’90s and for over a decade.
We had a lot of success through the years, but
Atlanta will always be special because that was the
last track we won at together.”
Nextel Cup Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at
Atlanta:
“We’re
bringing one of our favorite cars to the track. The
primary last ran at Atlanta and we finished fifth.
Before that, it ran at Dover where we ran up towards
the front for most of the day before we had a tire
go down. Probably the best this car ran was at
Chicago last year where we led the most laps and
finished second. Right now, this team has a lot of
confidence. It’s a night-and-day difference between
the start of last year and the start of this year.
We’ll be looking to keep it going in Atlanta this
weekend.”
Busch Series
Crew Chief Chad Norris on racing at Atlanta:
“We are taking
the same car to Atlanta that we ran at Vegas we felt
like all the hard work that everybody at Roush
Racing has done is well worth it to run it again. We
came up just a little short at Vegas, but all in all
we had a very good race. We don’t expect anything
less than that in Atlanta.”
Atlanta Fast Facts
n
Matt Kenseth has led the most laps in NEXTEL
Cup this season with 214; 39 more than the second
most of 175 by teammate Greg Biffle.
n
Kenseth’s average finish so far this season
is 6.0. That’s the second best start of his career,
next to the 2004 season when Kenseth started the
season with finishes of ninth, first, and first, for
an average of 3.6.
n
By finishing second last week, Las Vegas
statistically became Kenseth’s best track, tied with
Michigan with an average finish of 8.1.
n
Kenseth’s average starting position in NEXTEL
Cup at Atlanta is 25.4, better than only Homestead
(26.0) at all non-plate tracks during his career.
Reiser wins second WYPALL Wipers
Crew Chief of the Race Award
March 13, 2006
Reiser brings Kenseth second straight top-five;
Wins WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award
 LAS VEGAS, NV (March 12, 2006) —
The tag team of Matt Kenseth and Robbie Reiser had a
near-perfect afternoon this Sunday at the Las Vegas
Motor Speedway. Unfortunately for the No. 17 DEWALT
team, a late-race caution allowed Jimmy Johnson to pass
Kenseth on the final lap and kept them from sealing
their day with a win. Reiser may not have brought his
driver a victory, but he still performed in award
winning fashion, as he was voted the WYPALL Wipers Crew
Chief of the Race.
A panel of voters including Tony Eury Sr., a member
of the local media, and a WYPALL Wipers representative
all agreed that Reiser deserved Crew Chief of the Race
accolades for keeping Kenseth up front nearly all race
long. As the current record holder of laps led at the
track, Kenseth added to his total this weekend, leading
a race-high 146 laps of the UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400.
“Robbie (Reiser) did everything right today,” said Eury
Sr. “His car was the class of the field. Matt (Kenseth)
was driving away from everybody. If it hadn’t been for
the last caution, they would have won for sure.”
“It was a good race for us today,” said Reiser
following the event. “When you have that good of a car,
you hate to finish second. Everything was falling into
place, but the last caution let Jimmy (Johnson) catch up
with us and get by us there at the end. The crew did an
awesome job today and Matt drove a great race. If we
keep preparing cars like that, we’ll definitely win some
more races.”
For winning the Crew Chief of the Race award, Reiser
was presented with $1,000. At the end of the season the
crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive
$20,000 and be crowned the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of
the Year. This was Reiser’s second win, which puts him
ahead of Darian Grubb, who has one win, in the
standings.
Las Vegas articles
n
Robbie Reiser wins second
consecutive WYPALL Crew Chief of the Race award
n
Final yellow dooms dominant Kenseth
n
Kahne edges Kenseth for Busch victory
n
Matt Kenseth
dominates, but Johnson wins NASCAR jackpot in Vegas
n
Kenseth gets WIX Filters Lap Leader Award
n
Matt Kenseth post-race press conference
n
Motorsport.com photos from Vegas
n
Nextel Cup
race results
n
Bonds with fathers also unite Reiser, Kenseth
n
Las Vegas history favors Roush team
n
Kenseth looking for Lady Luck in Las Vegas
n
Kenseth, Roush team hitting a hot streak
n
Johnson, Kenseth look like sure bets at Vegas
n
Oddsmakers favor Kenseth to win Las Vegas race
n
Coming
off a victory, Kenseth rolls into favorable track
n
Kenseth’s
Fontana win kept his streak alive
n
Kenseth among good bets at Las Vegas
n
Kenseth looking
for Lady Luck in Las Vegas
n
Kenseth no longer frustrated
n
Winners only ones
thrilled with races like California
n
Nextel teleconference with
Matt Kenseth
n
California
victory video (.mpg)
Matt’s Las Vegas recap
March 12, 2006
n
Photos from
Las Vegas
In front of a capacity Las Vegas Motor Speedway
crowd, Matt Kenseth and the DEWALT team did what they do
best at Las Vegas: get to the front. Rolling off ninth,
the No. 17 Ford Fusion was fast, but not quite where it
needed to be to grab the lead and stay there.
That wasn’t a problem for long. Every chance Kenseth
had to come to pit road for service, not only did the
car get better, but the Killer Bees were also able to
consistently pick up positions on pit road. Robbie
Reiser and company kept adjusting on the DEWALT Ford to
improve the handling of the racecar. By lap 119 Kenseth
had taken the lead, where he would stay for the next 145
laps, only relinquishing the lead when cars would stay
out under caution.
It appeared as if Kenseth was well on his way to a
third NEXTEL Cup victory at Las Vegas. Under green flag
conditions, Kenseth would pull away from the competition
sometimes by as much as three seconds. Under yellow the
pit crew was relentless, constantly turning out pit
stops under 13 seconds and keeping Kenseth out in
front.
With 10 laps to go, Kenseth kept a one second
advantage on second place Jimmie Johnson. That’s when
Kenseth radioed to the crew that he felt that the engine
might be laying down, and that he felt he wasn’t turning
the RPMs that he was earlier. That feeling, along with a
narrowing gap between he and second place, was bad
enough, but when the caution flag came out for debris
just three laps shy from the finish, Kenseth knew that
he was in trouble.
When the field received the green flag to start the
third green-white-checkered finish in as many races this
season, Kenseth did everything he could to keep the hard
charging Johnson behind him, blocking him on several
occasions. As they raced into the final corner, Kenseth
held his DEWALT Ford Fusion to the bottom groove forcing
Johnson to the high side. Johnson took the high groove
and the two went door-to-door down to the checkered
flag, where Johnson was able to edge Kenseth for the win
by .045 seconds. After leading 146 laps (well over half
of the event), Kenseth was forced to settle for a
second-place finish.
“My day went great until the last corner,” explained
Kenseth. “Other than that, my day went great. We had
great pit stops; my team just did a fabulous job like
they do every week. We had a great car too. We probably
could have got to the front as good as our car was
anyway, but we did make up a lot of positions on pit
road. At the beginning of the race we were kind of stuck
around ninth or 10th and made some good adjustments and
great pit stops, and got us in position to win.”
“The last 15 laps we got slower. It kind of felt like
the motor was laying down, although it wasn’t missing.
There’s probably nothing wrong with it, it was probably
just my imagination, but we just got slow and Jimmie was
catching me. I knew with the green-white-checkered, we
would probably be in trouble because he was a lot faster
than me when they threw the caution.”
MATT KENSETH
Started: 9th
Finished:
2nd
Points Summary
Race Total: 180 points
Season Total: 488 points, 2nd, 52 points out
of first
Matt Kenseth post-race
Press Conference
March 12, 2006
MATT KENSETH – No. 17 DeWalt Power tools Fusion –
“My day went great until the last corner. Other than
that, my day went great. We had great pit stops. My team
just did a fabulous job like they do every week. We had
a great car. We probably could have got to the front as
good as our car was, but we did make up a lot of
positions on pit road. We were at the beginning of the
race we were kind of stuck around ninth or 10th and made
some good adjustments and great pit stops, and got us in
position to win. The last 15 lap | |
