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Atlanta recap
October 30, 2006
No. 17 DeWALT Ford Fusion Recap:
KENSETH & CREW RETURN TO FORM AT ATLANTA; MAINTAIN
POINTS LEAD WITH THREE RACES TO GO
On Sunday in Atlanta, Matt Kenseth and the No. 17
DEWALT Team turned in their most solid performance at an
intermediate track since Chicago back in July. By
starting on the pole, thanks to qualifying being rained
out on Friday, and consistently running among the
leaders, Kenseth scored his series’ leading 15th
top-five finish of the season by coming home fourth in
the Bass Pro Shops 500. In the process, Kenseth put much
needed distance on everyone in the Chase with the
exception of Jimmie Johnson, who he now leads by 26
points with only three races remaining.
After a cold and rainy weekend, the clouds vanished
and the 115,000 fans on hand in Hampton, Ga., were
treated to perfect conditions on Sunday. Kenseth led the
field to the green flag for the first time since October
9, 2005 (Kansas) for the start of the Bass Pro Shops 500
at 3:10 PM Eastern.
Kenseth and the No. 17 team struggled to find speed
throughout much of the weekend, but after the final
practice on Saturday decided to revert to their setup
from the spring. The strategy worked. While the setup
didn’t make Kenseth’s machine the fastest on the track,
it was good enough to run inside the top 10 in the early
going.
Kenseth reported that the balance on the No. 17 was
good but that there wasn’t enough grip in the corners,
meaning the car was sliding around. It took several
stops in order to tweak the car to Kenseth’s liking but
after sliding back to 15th after a lap-83 pit stop, he
was ready to make his charge.
By lap 117 Kenseth had maneuvered inside the top 10,
but soon afterwards came to pit road early due to a
vibration in the right-front tire. Kenseth feared the
tire was going down, brought it to pit road on lap 133
and by doing so lost his track position. Emerging in the
25th position a quick caution could have spelled
disaster, but with fresh rubber, Kenseth was able to
barrel his way through the field. Luckily for Kenseth,
now running in the fifth position, the next caution
occurred on lap 170 and put him back in cycle with
everyone else.
Over the next 155 laps, Kenseth never ran outside of
the top five. The Robbie Reiser-led crew had the car the
fastest it had been all weekend and the “Killer Bees”
did the job on pit road, never losing a position during
the final four pit stops.
The performance was very typical of what the No. 17
team is accustomed to. The car was good enough to run
inside the top five, the pit crew was firing on all
cylinders and Kenseth was running a flawless race. Had
the finish line been about 10 feet further, Kenseth
would have finished third. The photo finish between
Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. for third was about the
only drama at the finish because Tony Stewart had run
away with his second Atlanta victory in as many days.
With Kenseth’s fourth-place finish, he put more
distance between he and the field with the exception of
Johnson and Earnhardt. Kenseth now leads the
Championship Point Standings by 26 points with only
three races to go, but is 84 points clear of fourth
place and beyond.
“That finish was pretty close,” said Kenseth on pit
road after the race. “Dale Jr. was driving on those old
tires and I was just too tight to get by him. I could
get a run in three and four and I kind of messed it up
at the end, but he was good through one and two. It was
a fun race. It’s a great track and always puts on a
great race. I wish we could have run better, but yet
with how we ran Saturday it was pretty good.”
ON REBOUNDING WITH A TOP-FIVE: “Yeah, they (pit crew)
were super-competitive on pit road - probably better
than anybody today. They had great stops and fixed what
was wrong with the car Saturday. We finished fourth or
whatever and we had a 44th-place car on Saturday, so
they did a great job with it. That’s how we need to run
to have a shot at it. All the rest of those guys are
going be running in the top five and we need to be there
to in order to have a shot at it.”
RACE SUMMARY
Matt Kenseth • Started:
1st • Finished: 4th
POINTS SUMMARY
Matt Kenseth • Race Total:
160 points • Season
Total: 6008 points, Ranked 1st, 26 points ahead of
second.
NEXT UP:
Dickies 500 •
Texas Motor Speedway •
Sunday,
November 5
IROC recap
October 30, 2006
No. 17 IROC Recap:
KENSETH FINISHES SECOND
IN 2006 IROC SERIES AFTER SECOND-PLACE RUN AT ATLANTA
The 2006 IROC Series came to a conclusion at Atlanta
Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon with Tony Stewart
crowned as champion – his first IROC title of his
career. Matt Kenseth, who won the season’s first event
at Daytona International Speedway, entered Saturday’s
race second in the standings, 15 points behind the
leader, Stewart.
As is customary for IROC races, the starting lineup
is determined by the inversion of the point standings,
meaning that Kenseth and Stewart shared the last row;
Kenseth in 11th and Stewart in 12th. Ted Musgrave led
the field to the green at 3:10 PM to start the 65-lap
dash.
In order for Kenseth to have a chance at stealing the
championship, he needed to get to the front and lead
early. But, starting 11th, it was going to be hard to
get to front quickly without benefit of a caution or
two. Five-time IROC Champion, Mark Martin, paced the
field for nearly the entire first segment (40 laps),
sprinting out to a four-second advantage. The caution
that Kenseth sorely needed to regroup the field didn’t
occur until lap 34, just six laps shy of the mandatory
stoppage at lap 40. By the break at lap 40, Kenseth, who
ran in the top five for most of the race, was scored in
the fourth position.
On the restart, Kenseth quickly made his way up to
the front and challenged for the lead. But, the ebb and
flow of the two-line train of traffic wasn’t in his
favor. Kenseth was on the inside, but every time the
field went across the stripe, the outside line moved
slightly ahead.
As the race neared the end, it became apparent that
unless Stewart was to wreck, Kenseth’s IROC title hopes
were gone. The race, however, was heating up directly in
front of Kenseth. Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Newman were
locked in a fierce battle for the lead with Kenseth
ready to pounce if either slipped.
The IROC cars are slow enough at Atlanta where the
drivers rarely have to break the throttle, therefore the
draft and “bump drafting” become prominent. During the
waning laps Kenseth bumped Truex ahead of Newman on more
than several occasions, including the last shot on the
white flag lap, when Kenseth pushed Truex by to gain the
lead for good.
As the field stormed to the checkered flag, Newman
made one last attempt to get alongside Truex, but to no
avail. Truex won, Newman came across second, with
Kenseth slotting in a close third.
Kenseth’s third-place finish was easily enough to
secure second place in the final point standings, just
12 points shy of his second IROC Championship.
“These cars are slow enough to where you can run
side-by-side, three wide, without losing control pretty
good,” Kenseth said. “You definitely saw some guys out
there doing stuff that you won’t see tomorrow in the Cup
cars. It was wild and a lot of fun. I needed to get up
front early and win if I was going to have a chance to
beat Tony for the title and that just didn’t happen.
But, it was a good run this year in IROC and I had a lot
of fun. It was fun winning the first race at Daytona and
I had a chance out there today, but the road course at
Daytona really killed my chances of winning it all.
Hopefully, we’ll get to do this again and try to get
that second IROC title.”
RACE SUMMARY
Matt Kenseth • Started: 11th •
Finished: 2nd
POINTS SUMMARY
Matt Kenseth • Race Total:
17 points • Season Total: 65 points, Ranked 2nd, 12
points behind first
IROC FINAL POINTS STANDINGS:
(Top Five)
1. Tony Stewart
2. Matt Kenseth
3. Martin Truex Jr.
4. Ryan Newman
5. Mark Martin
Atlanta Nextel Cup & IROC Preview
October 25, 2006
Atlanta Motor Speedway • Hampton, Ga.
IROC #4 • Saturday, October 28 •
3:00 pm/e Speed
Bass Pro Shops 500 • Sunday, October 29 •
2:30 pm/e NBC
Nextel Cup Chassis — #17 DeWALT Ford Fusion
•
Primary — RK-267 (Last ran at Darlington in May,
finished third; also ran at Atlanta in the spring,
finished 13th)
•
Backup — RK-280 (Last ran at Michigan June ’05,
finished fourth)
Matt Kenseth’s Cup Series performance
summary at Atlanta:
|
Date |
S |
F |
Laps |
Led |
Reason |
|
03/19/06 |
27 |
13 |
325/325 |
0 |
Running |
|
10/30/05 |
23 |
5 |
325/325 |
1 |
Running |
|
03/20/05 |
23 |
31 |
311/325 |
0 |
Running |
|
10/31/04 |
39 |
41 |
175/325 |
0 |
Engine |
|
03/14/04 |
30 |
6 |
325/325 |
0 |
Running |
|
10/28/03 |
37 |
11 |
325/325 |
0 |
Running |
|
03/09/03 |
24 |
4 |
325/325 |
0 |
Running |
|
10/27/02 |
9 |
9 |
248/248 |
0 |
Running |
|
03/10/02 |
32 |
4 |
325/325 |
46 |
Running |
|
11/18/01 |
23 |
17 |
325/325 |
0 |
Running |
|
03/11/01 |
38 |
37 |
273/325 |
0 |
Engine |
|
11/20/00 |
23 |
9 |
324/325 |
0 |
Running |
|
03/12/00 |
4 |
40 |
199/325 |
2 |
Engine |
Matt Kenseth Cup Series totals at
Atlanta:
| |
Races |
Wins |
Top 5s |
Top 10s |
Poles
|
|
Spring |
7 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
|
Fall |
6 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
|
Cumulative |
13 |
0 |
3 |
6 |
0 |
Matt Kenseth on racing at
Atlanta:
“Atlanta is a great track. It’s fast and there’s
plenty of room to pass. The track has a lot of grip
and you can run high or low, basically wherever your
car is working best at the time. We’ve had some
decent runs there in the past and we’ve had some bad
ones there as well. Earlier this year, we had a
pretty good car but got a little too aggressive with
the setup and had some tire problems. But, we’ve
learned from that and hopefully this time we’ll be
able to compete for a top-five finish. The
championship is still wide open. Yes, we’re leading
and that’s definitely better than the alternative,
but we have to start running better or we’ll see it
slip away. Usually, the mile-and-a-half tracks are
good to us, but we’ve struggled in the last two at
Kansas and Lowe’s. We’ll need to turn that around if
we’re going to get the job done down the stretch.”
Nextel Cup Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at
Atlanta:
“We were pretty fast at Atlanta in the spring,
but we went a little too far on our setup. But, we
know what we did and we know how to fix it. It’s
business as usual this weekend. We can’t pay any
attention to the points. We just need to go to
Atlanta, get the car the best we can, and on Sunday,
have no mistakes on pit road and we’ll see what we
have. If we take care of business on our end and
have a good solid weekend, then that’s really all we
can do. After Sunday, we’ll see where we stand, but
when we go to Atlanta, all we’re going to do is try
to win on Sunday. We need to pick up our performance
as a whole if we’re going to finish this deal, so
all of our focus right now is getting a good finish
at Atlanta.”
Atlanta Fast Facts
n
Matt Kenseth’s average finish of 17.5 at
Atlanta Motor Speedway ranks seventh among the 10
tracks in the Chase.
n
Kenseth is the only driver in the 2006 Chase
that has scored at least five top-15 finishes in the
first six races.
n
Kenseth’s average start at 1.5-mile tracks in
2006 is 10.7, better than his overall average of
14.4, which is vastly improved over his total career
average of 20.9.
n
Kenseth has led a total of 274 laps on
1.5-mile tracks in 2006 (second only to Kasey Kahne)
and has led in five of the seven races on those
tracks.
n
Kenseth’s average starting position in NEXTEL
Cup at Atlanta is 25.5, better only than Homestead
for his career.
n
Kenseth’s “Chase stats” at
Atlanta:
|
|
|
Start |
Finish |
Laps |
Led |
Rank |
|
|
2005 |
23 |
5 |
325/325 |
1 |
7th |
|
|
2004 |
39 |
41 |
175/325 |
0 |
9th |
n
Kenseth will race Saturday in the IROC season
finale. The 2004 IROC Champion, Kenseth is currently
second in the point standings with 48 points, 15
back of leader Tony Stewart.
n
In three IROC races this season, Kenseth has one
win at Daytona’s oval, finished fifth at Texas, and
10th at Daytona’s road course.
Martinsville recap
October 23, 2006
n
Photos from
Martinsville
No. 17 R+L Carriers/DeWALT Ford Fusion Recap:
KENSETH LEAVES MARTINSVILLE WITH SERIES POINTS
LEAD
Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 Team turned in a familiar
performance on Sunday by taking a 20th-place racecar and
finishing 11th at Martinsville, notably one of the
team’s worst racetracks. Benefiting from a solid
pit-road performance by the Killer Bees, and flawless
pit strategy from Robbie Reiser, Kenseth was able to
hold his ground on an otherwise less-than-stellar
weekend to score a near top-10 finish and in the process
regain the points lead for the first time during the
10-race Chase for the NEXTEL Cup.
On what started as a cold and damp afternoon in
Southern Virginia, Jeff Gordon led the field to the
start of the Subway 500 at 1:00 PM Eastern. Kenseth and
the No. 17 Team struggled for most of the weekend to
find speed, but managed to qualify 20th, which was
crucial at a place where track position is hard to come
by and getting lapped is a high possibility.
Reiser and Kenseth both knew they had their work cut
out for them on Sunday and although Kenseth drove the
No. 17 up the 15th position shortly after the green
flag, he found himself back in 20th by the time he
reached pit road for the first time on lap 66.
Kenseth reported early and often throughout the race
that the car struggled to “roll through the center.”
Despite the struggles on the track, the crew managed to
pick up a total of seven positions on pit road during
the first two cautions which proved integral to keeping
the No. 17 on the lead lap in the early going.
As the afternoon wore on, the sun broke through the
overcast skies and the track began to heat up becoming
slick in the process. When this happened, the No. 17 R+L
Carriers/DEWALT Ford, along with most of the other cars
began fighting loose conditions. At the midway point,
with the car adjusted more to Kenseth’s liking, he had
managed to avoid several multi-car incidents that
occurred in front of him and was scored in the 11th
position.
On lap 278, trouble struck as Kenseth, running 10th
at the time, was hit from behind by the No. 07 car as
they exited turn four. Kenseth went spinning but managed
to keep it off the wall and only lost one position in
the process. After a pit stop, Kenseth was scored in the
14th position.
Nothing came easy for the No. 17 team on Sunday,
including several skirmishes with the No. 29, but a
solid team performance carried them through. On lap 449,
just 51 laps from the finish, Kenseth, along with the
rest of the field, came to pit road for the final time
in the 18th position. The “Killer Bees” clicked off a
13.19-second, four-tires-and-fuel pit stop that got the
No. 17 back on the track in the 15th position.
Over the final 50 laps, Kenseth steered clear of
several wrecks and was able to pick up a few positions
to finish 11th, a truly 17-esque performance, as they
utilized a solid team performance to overcome adversity
and get the best finish possible. The finish moved
Kenseth into the points lead for the first time since
Richmond back in early Sep. and marked the first time
Kenseth has ever led the Championship points standing
during the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup. Kenseth is now 36
points clear of second place Kevin Harvick with only
four races remaining.
"We didn't run very good today,” said Kenseth. “We
kind of did the pit thing, I thought, right at the end,
and got tires and we were decent there. Whatever the
heck we're doing not racing back to the cautions lost us
two spots. Harvick passed two of us through the wreck -
which isn't his fault; he had a hole to go through
there. They left him in front of us so they just gave
him two free spots, so that was frustrating. And then
when it was time to pass him, I got ran into the fence
twice, so that was frustrating as well. We didn't have a
great car and we didn't get a lot of room out there.
Toward the end I just did the best I could with it, and
the guys on pit road did a great job, and we salvaged
something out it."
RACE SUMMARY
Matt Kenseth • Started:
20th • Finished: 11th
POINTS SUMMARY
Matt Kenseth • Race Total:
130 points • Season
Total: 5848 points, Ranked 1st, 36 points ahead of
second.
NEXT UP:
Bass Pro Shops 500 •
Atlanta Motor Speedway •
Sunday, October
29
Martinsville Nextel Cup Preview
October 18, 2006
Martinsville Speedway • Martinsville, Va.
Subway 500 •
Sunday, October 22 •
12:30 pm/e NBC
Nextel Cup Chassis — #17 R+L Carriers/DeWALT Ford Fusion
•
Primary — RK-164 (Last ran Martinsville in April,
finished 24th; ran both Martinsville races in ’05;
finished 12th and 11th)
•
Backup — RK-150 (Tested earlier in ’06 at Vegas)
Matt Kenseth’s Cup Series performance
summary at Martinsville:
|
Date |
S |
F |
Laps |
Led |
Reason |
|
04/02/06 |
16 |
24 |
493/500 |
0 |
Running |
|
10/23/05 |
25 |
12 |
500/500 |
19 |
Running |
|
04/10/05 |
18 |
11 |
500/500 |
1 |
Running |
|
10/24/04 |
25 |
16 |
500/500 |
2 |
Running |
|
04/18/04 |
29 |
8 |
500/500 |
0 |
Running |
|
10/19/03 |
14 |
13 |
500/500 |
0 |
Running |
|
04/13/03 |
34 |
22 |
499/500 |
0 |
Running |
|
10/20/02 |
17 |
19 |
499/500 |
0 |
Running |
|
04/14/02 |
26 |
2 |
500/500 |
0 |
Running |
|
10/15/01 |
22 |
36 |
459/500 |
26 |
Rear End |
|
04/08/01 |
25 |
6 |
500/500 |
11 |
Running |
|
10/01/00 |
37 |
34 |
447/500 |
0 |
Running |
|
04/09/00 |
31 |
21 |
498/500
|
0 |
Running |
Matt Kenseth Cup Series totals at
Martinsville:
| |
Races |
Wins |
Top 5s |
Top 10s |
Poles
|
Led |
|
Spring |
7 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
12 |
|
Fall |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
47 |
|
Cumulative |
13 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
59 |
Matt Kenseth on racing at
Martinsville:
“Martinsville is one of our tougher tracks and it
hasn’t been too kind to us for sure. I’m just not a
big fan, mostly because it’s so slow and there’s no
room to pass. Racing at Martinsville is kind of like
racing around two cones out in a parking lot
somewhere. That being said, we have to stay focused
on the job at hand and that is trying to score a
top-10 finish this weekend. This is the race that I
knew would be the toughest for us going into the
Chase. Some people point to Talladega, but I’ve
always pointed to Martinsville as the real wild card
for us. If we can get a good finish this weekend I
think we’ll be in good position to make a run at the
title, because we’ve had success at the remaining
tracks.”
Nextel Cup Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at
Martinsville:
“This is a big weekend for us. We didn’t do too
good as a team last Saturday night and this is
probably our toughest track coming up at
Martinsville. We’ve got our work cut out for us but
the good thing is, after all that happened last
weekend, we’re only 45 points back. We were very
fortunate to finish 14th last week. We’ve had some
brake issues at flat tracks this year. We wrecked
with less than 10 to go in the spring at
Martinsville when our brakes went out. But, we’ve
done a good amount of brake testing over the past
month and we’re hoping we’ve got the issue fixed. If
not, it’s going to be another long day where we have
to kick and fight our way to a decent finish. We
can’t have many more of those races. We need to stay
up front and do a great job in the pits this week
and try to come out of there with a top 10.”
Martinsville Fast Facts
n
Matt Kenseth’s average finish of 17.2 at
Martinsville ranks sixth among the 10 tracks in the
Chase.
n
Kenseth and the No. 17 team will be flying
the R+L Carriers
colors this weekend for the third and final time in
2006.
n
Kenseth’s average finish on short tracks this
season is 14.8; his overall average is 9.9. Take out
two finishes at Bristol (third and first), and
Kenseth’s average finish on short tracks in 2006 is
23.3.
n
Kenseth’s “Chase stats” at
Martinsville:
|
|
|
Start |
Finish |
Laps |
Led |
Rank |
|
|
2005 |
25 |
12 |
500/500 |
19 |
9th |
|
|
2004 |
25 |
16 |
500/500 |
2 |
8th |
n
Kenseth has completed the third most laps of any Cup
driver at Martinsville in the past nine Cup races
(4,491 of 4,500).
n
Kenseth has scored only three top-10s at
Martinsville, the lowest count of top 10s at any
track where Kenseth has totaled at least 10 starts.
Charlotte recap
October 15, 2006
n
Photos from
Charlotte
No. 17 Carhartt/DeWALT Ford Fusion Recap
EARLY PROBLEMS TAKE KENSETH OUT OF CONTENTION;
SALVAGES 14TH-PLACE FINISH
A tight condition coupled with a vibration
saddled Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 Carhartt/DEWALT
Ford two laps down early in the race. Kenseth gained
a lap back on merit alone, racing his way past the
leader to get to within one lap. Once the handling
improved Kenseth was able to run amongst the
leaders, but never could get back on the lead lap.
An untimely caution on lap 242, during a green-flag
cycle of pit stops, again trapped Kenseth two laps
down and this time it was too much to overcome. Two
laps down, the No. 17 team still had a fast car and
was able to outlast many other competitors and bring
home a respectable 14th-place finish.
In front of 170,000 fans, Scott Riggs took the
green flag to signify the start of the Bank of
America 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway at 7:20 PM on
Saturday night. Eventual winner, Kasey Kahne started
on the outside of row one and with the win, swept
LMS in 2006 (Kahne won the Coca-cola 600 in May).
Kenseth started 11th, his fourth straight qualifying
effort inside the top 20.
After several early cautions, Kenseth began
reporting that the car was severely tight in the
center of the corner. From lap 22 to lap 34, Kenseth
fell from 14th to 20th. A couple of cautions allowed
the No. 17 Team an opportunity make major changes
and clear the right-front fender which was rubbing
the tire. But, the lengthy repairs meant Kenseth
restarted in 34th, the last car on the lead lap.
The race restarted on lap 54, which signaled the
beginning of a long green-flag run. Kenseth, still
tight, worked his way up to the 25th position and
once the pit-stop cycle began, was able to stay out
longer than anyone else and lead a lap for five
bonus points. However, after the pit stop, Kenseth
returned to the track barely in front of the
leaders.
That’s when the evening took a turn for the
worse, when on lap 94, just four laps after pitting,
Kenseth radioed to the crew that the car was picking
up a, “pretty bad vibration.” Not risking
catastrophe, Kenseth dove to pit road for right-side
tires, but in the process lost two laps; a
monumental hole to climb out from.
Despite being two-laps down in 35th position,
Kenseth and the No. 17 Team displayed the will of a
champion. Having made drastic improvements to the
handling of the machine, Kenseth was able to run
with the leaders and amazingly gained a lap back on
the racetrack on his own merit.
But, the timely caution that the team needed to
get back on the lead lap never came over the second
half of the race. Kenseth was able to out run
everyone on his lap, but his fate was sealed on lap
242 when a caution during green-flag pit stops
trapped Kenseth two-laps down for the second time of
the day.
Fortunately, with the pace Kahne had set, only 13
cars were within one lap of the leader. Kenseth and
the No. 17 Team displayed a great amount of tenacity
on a night when they could have easily given up.
Kenseth ran with the leaders for the rest of the
evening, passing as many cars as he could. At the
end of the day, Kenseth and company remarkably
brought home a 14th place finish to make the damage
in the points minimal; now trailing leader Jeff
Burton by 45 points with five races remaining.
“We had a lot of bad things happen to us
tonight,” Kenseth said. “But, at the end of the
night, with everything that went wrong, we have to
feel pretty good about finishing where we did. It
definitely could have been a lot worse, but it
really could’ve been a lot better. I thought we had
a car capable of a top-10 finish, but we made too
many mistakes early and never had the chance. We’re
still in good shape and just need to put this one
behind us, learn from it, and move on to
Martinsville.”
RACE SUMMARY
Matt Kenseth • Started:
11th • Finished: 14th
POINTS SUMMARY
Matt Kenseth • Race Total:
126 points • Season
Total: 5718 points, Ranked 2nd, 45 points out of first.
NEXT UP:
Subway 500 • Martinsville Raceway •
Sunday, October
22
Charlotte Busch & Nextel Cup Preview
October 11, 2006
Lowe’s Motor Speedway • Concord, N.C.
Dollar General 300 •
Friday, October 13• 8 pm/e
TNT
Bank of America 500 • Saturday, October 14 •
7 pm/e NBC
Nextel Cup Chassis — #17 Carhartt Ford Fusion
•
Primary — RK-323 (Last ran at Fontana, finished
7th; Won Michigan in August and Fontana in February; Ran
Charlotte in May, finished 5th)
•
Backup — RK-280 (Has not run in 2006; tested
Charlotte in May)
Busch Chassis — #17 Ameriquest Ford Fusion
•
Primary — RK-346 (last ran Chicago, finished 5th)
Matt Kenseth’s Cup Series performance
summary at LMS:
|
Date |
S |
F |
Laps |
Led |
Reason |
|
05/28/06 |
6 |
5 |
400/400 |
1 |
Running |
|
10/15/05 |
18 |
26 |
326/336 |
0 |
Running |
|
05/29/05 |
3 |
37 |
254/400 |
0 |
Accident |
|
10/16/04 |
36 |
11 |
334/334 |
0 |
Running |
|
05/30/04 |
37 |
3 |
400/400 |
1 |
Running |
|
10/11/03 |
29 |
8 |
334/334 |
0 |
Running |
|
05/25/03 |
18 |
2 |
276/276 |
82 |
Running |
|
10/13/02 |
7 |
34 |
254/334 |
27 |
Engine |
|
05/26/02 |
21 |
2 |
400/400 |
21 |
Running |
|
10/07/01 |
32 |
12 |
334/334 |
1 |
Running |
|
05/27/01 |
40 |
18 |
334/334 |
2 |
Running |
|
10/08/00 |
26 |
9 |
334/334 |
1 |
Running |
|
05/28/00 |
21 |
1 |
400/400 |
32 |
Running |
|
10/11/99 |
27 |
40 |
231/334 |
0 |
Accident |
Matt Kenseth Cup Series totals at
LMS:
| |
Races |
Wins |
Top 5s |
Top 10s |
Poles
|
Led |
|
Spring |
7 |
1 |
5 |
5 |
0 |
139 |
|
Fall |
7 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
29 |
|
Cumulative |
14 |
1 |
5 |
7 |
0 |
168 |
Matt Kenseth’s Busch
performance summary at LMS:
|
Date |
S |
F |
Laps |
Reason |
|
05/27/06 |
1 |
38 |
136/200 |
Engine |
|
10/14/05 |
16 |
25 |
183/200 |
Suspension |
|
10/15/04 |
13 |
2 |
200/200 |
Running |
|
05/24/03 |
9 |
1 |
200/200 |
Running |
|
10/06/01 |
14 |
16 |
200/200 |
Running |
|
05/26/01 |
10 |
2 |
200/200 |
Running |
|
10/07/00 |
1 |
1 |
200/200 |
Running |
|
05/27/00 |
5 |
30 |
196/200 |
Crash |
|
10/09/99 |
1 |
7 |
200/200 |
Running |
|
05/29/99 |
9 |
3 |
200/200 |
Running |
|
10/03/98 |
2 |
2 |
200/200 |
Running |
|
05/23/98 |
5 |
5 |
200/200 |
Running |
|
10/04/97 |
38 |
12 |
200/200 |
Running |
|
05/24/97 |
35 |
22 |
199/200 |
Running |
|
05/25/96 |
37 |
31 |
194/200 |
Running |
Matt Kenseth Busch Series
totals at LMS:
| |
Races |
Wins |
Top 5s |
Top 10s |
Poles
|
|
Cumulative |
15 |
2 |
7 |
8 |
3 |
Matt Kenseth on racing at
LMS:
Cup: “Talladega was a big help in the
points, basically because a lot of guys had trouble
and we were one of the few that didn’t. We’ll need
to continue that performance at Charlotte in order
to keep our momentum. We’re bringing what we feel
like is our best car this weekend. It’s ran well
everywhere we’ve taken it this year and it’s the car
I feel most comfortable with on intermediate tracks.
We took a different car to Kansas a couple weeks ago
and that didn’t really work out for us. Charlotte
has been a good track for us in the past. I got my
first win there and we won the All-Star race in
2004. We’ve won a couple of Busch races there as
well, so hopefully we can add to that success this
weekend.”
Busch: “We had the car to beat here in
May. We sat on the pole, led the most laps and were
looking good to contend for the win. That was, until
we broke something in the engine. I believe that was
our only engine problem this year and frankly, we
have so few engine problems that it’s hard to get
disappointed in one issue. We’ve only won one Busch
race this year, but we’ve had a ton of top fives.
Jimmy and the guys do a great job preparing these
cars and they’ve been a blast to drive. Hopefully,
our car will be just as strong the weekend and we’ll
have a good shot for the win on Friday night.”
Nextel Cup Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at
LMS:
“The car we’re bringing this weekend is No. 323.
It’s been the most consistent car we’ve had this
year. Matt’s comfortable with it and we kind of know
how the car will react and how we can tune on it
through | |
