Dover Busch & Cup Preview
May 30, 2007

Dover International Speedway • Dover, Del.
Dover 200 • Sat., June 2 • 2:30 pm/e ESPN2
Autism Speaks 400 presented by VISA • Sun., June 3 • 1:00 pm/e Fox

Nextel Cup Chassis — #17 DeWALT Ford Fusion
• Primary — COT RK-473 (Last ran Darlington, finished 7th)
• Backup — RK-457 (Last ran Martinsville, finished 10th)

Busch Chassis — #17 Arby’s Ford Fusion
• Primary — RK-360 (Last ran Charlotte, finished 7th)

 
Matt’s Cup Series summary at Dover:

Date	S	F	Laps	Led	Reason
09/24/06	3	10	399/400	215	Running
06/04/06	19	1	400/400	83	Running
09/25/05	11	35	367/400	0	Accident
06/05/05	23	7	400/400	0	Running
09/26/04	8	32	319/400	58	Accident
06/06/04	39	22	381/400	0	Accident
09/21/03	1	9	400/400	1	Running
06/01/03	4	7	400/400	0	Running
09/22/02	17	4	400/400	0	Running
06/02/02	1	40	297/400	0	Running
09/23/01	40	29	390/400	0	Running
06/03/01	13	16	399/400	0	Running
09/24/00	31	12	399/400	0	Running
06/04/00	26	2	400/400	0	Running
09/26/99	13	4	400/400	0	Running
09/20/98	16	6	400/400	0	Running

 
Matt Kenseth Cup Series totals at Dover:

	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles	Laps Led
Spring	7	1	2	4	1	83
Fall	9	0	2	5	0	274
Cumulative	15	1	4	9	1	357

Matt Kenseth Busch series summary at Dover:

Date	S	F	Laps	Status
09/23/06	8	2	202/202	Running
06/03/06	18	26	197/200	Running
09/24/05	14	38	1/200	Accident
06/07/04	22	35	62/200	Accident
05/31/03	3	4	200/200	Running
09/22/01	20	10	199/200	Running
06/02/01	9	2	200/200	Running
09/23/00	14	1	200/200	Running
06/03/00	16	3	200/200	Running
09/25/99	1	38	120/200	Crash
06/05/99	14	32	154/200	Crash
09/19/98	4	1	200/200	Running
05/30/98	2	40	136/200	Crash
09/20/97	15	3	200/200	Running
05/31/97	32	11	199/200	Running

 
Matt Kenseth Busch Series totals at Dover:

	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles
Cumulative	15	2	7	8	1

 
Matt Kenseth on racing at Dover:

• Cup: “Dover’s been my favorite track for quite awhile now. I used to always say that, and it seemed like we’d have bad luck there, so last year I kept telling myself how much I disliked it and it worked. We ended up winning there in the spring and coming pretty close to winning last fall. So, I guess in that line of thinking, again, I really dread going to Dover, it’s not one of my favorite tracks.

“But, in all seriousness, Dover’s always been special to me because I made my first start there in Bill Elliott’s car and was able to finish sixth that day, just a day after we won our first Busch race there. Then, to win there last year made it even more special. I love the track. It’s a super fast one-mile oval that commands a lot of respect and it’s just a lot of fun to race there.

“I’m hoping we’re as good there in the COT as we were last year in the old car. We felt pretty good after Darlington and felt like we’d gotten a little better with the COT. We were able to drive up towards the front and lead some laps, and do some things that we hadn’t done before in that car. We’re taking that same car this weekend, so I’m hoping we’ve learned some things that can help us get to the front again this week.”

• Busch: “Charlotte didn’t go as well as we would have liked. We had a great qualifying run, but it kind of went downhill from there. We really struggled with the handling of our car and never could get it where we needed it to be. We are taking our Charlotte car to Dover this weekend and it is a car that has been great to us in the past. Hopefully we can get the handling dialed in and get another good finish for Arby’s, maybe even win some more free fries for America.”

Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at Dover:

“We’re bringing the same car we ran at Darlington a few weeks ago. It was pretty good down there and we felt like we’ve learned some things with the COT that should help us this coming weekend.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how these cars handle at Dover. I think we’ll see a lot of the same issues we’ve been having with these cars. Obviously, if we could’ve tested there like originally scheduled, then we might have a better handle on it, but at least everyone’s in the same boat. Nobody has tested there, so you’ll probably see teams trying a lot of different things on Friday.

“Charlotte was a little disappointing because our finish didn’t really represent where we ran or how good our car was. But, you know, we’ve done the opposite of that so many times, where we pulled out a much better finish than what our car was capable of through good pit stops and track position and all of those things. So, I guess Sunday was one of those that went the other way. But, I know the character of this team and you can be sure that we’ll be back at it and working even harder at Dover this weekend.”

Busch Series Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer on racing at Dover:

“We are heading to Dover with the same car we took to Charlotte. Matt (Kenseth) was able to win the pole with this car in Charlotte, but we couldn’t quite get it handling as well as he needed it to in order to be competitive for the win. I think we can get all that worked out for this weekend and get RK-360 back to the front where it belongs.”

Dover Fast Facts

n Matt Kenseth is the only driver in the NEXTEL Cup Series that has completed every lap to this point in 2007, a total of 4,053.

n Kenseth’s average finish in the NEXTEL Cup Series this season is 8.8, second only to Jeff Gordon.

n Kenseth made his Cup debut at Dover International Speedway in September of 1998 at the age of 26. He substituted for Bill Elliott that day and drove to a sixth-place finish.

n Kenseth scored the first pole of his Cup career at Dover in June of 2002, one of only three (Kansas and Bristol, both in ‘05).

n Kenseth’s first Cup victory at Dover came last June in the Neighborhood Excellence 400.

n In addition to his Cup victory, Kenseth also boasts two NASCAR Busch Series wins at Dover, his first coming in September of 1998, the day before his first Cup start, and the second in September of 2000.

n Kenseth has led 637 laps in his NBS career at Dover, the most among all active drivers in the Busch Series. His seven top-five NBS finishes is tops among all NBS drivers, past or present.

Coca-Cola 600 race recap

No. 17 R+L CARRIERS/DEWALT FORD FUSION RECAP
PROMISING NIGHT ENDS WITH FRUSTRATING FINISH

After qualifying fifth for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 team spent almost the entire event inside the top 10 and much of that portion inside the top five. Kenseth even drove the R+L Carriers paint scheme to the front and led four different times for a total of 50 laps. However, fuel mileage prevailed, shuffling the finishing order and Kenseth outside the top 10, where he crossed the finish line in the 12th position.

The hottest race day of the 2007 season greeted a crowd of nearly 175,000 at the 1.5-mile oval located in Concord, N.C. Ryan Newman led the field to the green at 5:49 PM Eastern. Kenseth qualified fifth; his best qualifying effort of the season (he started fourth at Texas, but qualifying was rained out, and starting order set by points).

NASCAR’s longest event became the typical war of attrition that it’s known for. Two multi-car pileups early in the race significantly thinned the field and many other teams suffered tire and engine failures. Only 12 cars finished on the lead lap, and 27 cars finished three or more laps down.

One of the greatest challenges of the event is battling the ever-changing racetrack. With the race starting with the sun still out and gradually transitioning to darkness, crews that can stay on top of the ever-changing conditions usually prevail.

Kenseth reported the car being too loose to start the race as he worked inside the top five. After entering the pits for the first time in the fifth position, the “Killer Bees,” which again remained “killer” all day, turned a great four-tires-and-fuel pit stop and got Kenseth out in the third position. That became even more important one lap after the restart, on lap 53, when a tire from the No. 48 car came off in the tri-oval and started a 13-car melee. Just one lap after the field restarted on lap 61, five cars were swept up in a wreck started when two cars got together coming off of turn four. Fortunately Kenseth was just ahead of both incidences.

Kenseth moved into the second position shortly after the ensuing restart, but began reporting the car as again being too loose. After the field cycled through green-flag pit stops, Kenseth was running in the sixth position when the next caution flag flew on lap 140. The crew made major adjustments on the following stop in an effort to make the change needed to get Kenseth to the front, but to no avail as Kenseth continued to toil around the 10th position.

After a pit stop on lap 170, Kenseth’s No. 17 machine began to come around to his liking. Kenseth, restarting ninth, quickly moved into the fifth position and following a fuel-only stop on lap 186, was in the third position. But, it wasn’t until a pit stop on lap 223 that Kenseth made his charge to the front.

Immediately after the restart on lap 227, Kenseth grabbed the lead for the first time of the evening, leading when the field circuited back around for the first lap under green. Kenseth led the next 17 laps and for the first time appeared primed to contend for the win. For the next 70 laps, Kenseth exchanged the lead with the No. 48 and No. 20, all of which looked to be the class of the field.

The No. 17 team led their last lap of the event on lap 310 of the 400-lap race and from that point on struggled to find the handling on the racecar. Kenseth began reporting the car as being too tight, so the crew made adjustments when Kenseth came to pit road for the second to final time on lap 338.

After restarting fourth, Kenseth climbed to third, but around lap 368 began reporting the car as being too loose. Sliding back into the seventh position and losing ground on the leaders, Robbie Reiser called Kenseth to pit road on lap 380, in an attempt to “short-pit,” take on two tires, make a minor adjustment, and hopefully gain ground on the race track to the cars who had yet to pit. The plan would’ve worked, and at least kept Kenseth in the seventh position, but unexpected to all of the leaders, five cars managed to play fuel strategy perfectly and not pit for the final time. As a result, Kenseth and the No. 17 team were forced to settle for a 12th-place finish.

“That’s kind of a frustrating finish considering where we ran for most of the race,” said Kenseth. “The guys did a great job in the pits all night and we were able to gain track position on pit road, which is always nice. We kept working on getting the balance of the car where we wanted it and I thought we got pretty close. With about 100 (laps) to go we were able to run with the 48 and the 20 and were able to lead a little bit, but after that we just went backwards. I’m not really sure what happened but the car got extremely loose there at the end. We short pitted trying to make up some ground but then four or five guys made it without pitting, so that got us finishing where we did. Had that not happened, we would’ve finished about seventh, which is about where we were running in the last 50 laps or so.”

NEXT UP:
Autism Speaks 400 presented by VISA • Dover International Speedway • Sunday, June 3

RACE SUMMARY
Matt Kenseth • Started 5th • Finished 12th

POINTS SUMMARY
Race Total: 132 points
Season Total: 1714 points
Ranked 3rd, 207 points behind first

Kenseth in R+L car for Coke 600
May 24, 2007

MATT KENSETH TO FLY R+L CARRIERS COLORS AGAIN IN COCA-COLA 600
Ohio-based company launches 2007 campaign with first primary paint scheme of the year

CONCORD, N.C. — For the second consecutive season, Matt Kenseth will pilot the No. 17 R+L Carriers Ford Fusion in the season’s longest race, the Coca-Cola 600. Kenseth’s familiar yellow and black DEWALT Ford will be yellow and green this weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, as the R+L Carriers paint scheme will run its first of four races in 2007 as primary sponsor of Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 17 Ford. The other three dates for the R+L Carriers scheme are July 7 at Daytona International Speedway, September 2 at California Speedway, and October 21 at Martinsville Speedway.

“It’s good to have R+L Carriers back on board with us,” said Kenseth, the 2003 NEXTEL Cup Champion. “We’ve enjoyed a successful relationship in 2006 and so far in 2007. I’d like nothing more than to get these guys into Victory Lane this year. We’re taking the same car back this weekend that ran in the All-Star race. It was really fast out front in that race and we’re expecting the same this weekend. With a little luck… who knows? Maybe we can finish Sunday night up front and give R+L Carriers the kind of finish they deserve.”

Kenseth’s record in the Coca-Cola 600 is stellar. In seven starts, Kenseth has scored five top-five finishes and one win in 2000, when he became the only rookie ever to win the Coca-Cola 600. Last season, in R+L Carriers’ first primary paint scheme since 1997, Kenseth finished fifth. For his career, Kenseth has scored four wins at Lowe’s Motor Speedway; two in the Busch Series, one in the All-Star race in 2004, and the 2000 Coca-Cola 600.

About R+L Carriers

Based out of Wilmington, Ohio, R+L Carriers is a family owned and operated company that with over 40 years of committed service to their customers, has grown to be one of today’s leaders in the Less than Truckload (LTL) industry. R+L Carriers, the first major LTL trucking company to sponsor a cup car in 1997, made the decision to rejoin the sport due to the positive impact between employees and customers and the connection NASCAR has of bringing them both together. With nearly 10,000 employees, R+L Carriers Inc. currently services 49 states, as well as Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and all of Canada. R+L Carriers continues to be the “The ONE CALL — ONE CARRIER” that you can count on.

n R+L Carriers Racing website

Charlotte Busch & Cup Preview
May 24, 2007

Lowe’s Motor Speedway • Concord, N.C.
Carquest Auto Parts 300 • Sat., May 26 • 8:00 pm/e ESPN2
Coca-Cola 600 • Sun., May 27 • 5:00 pm/e Fox

Nextel Cup Chassis — #17 R+L Carriers Ford Fusion
• Primary — RK-323 (Ran at the All-Star race last weekend; led 36 laps, finished seventh; also ran 10 times in ’06 with two wins, five top fives, and seven top 10s)
• Backup — RK-340 (Tested Las Vegas, Jan. ’07, Last ran at Pocono, Jun. ’06, finished fifth)

Busch Chassis — #17 Arby’s Ford Fusion
• Primary — RK-360 (Last ran Texas, finished first)

 
Matt’s Cup Series summary at Charlotte:

Date	S	F	Laps	Led	Reason
10/14/06	11	14	332/334	1	Running
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 Charlotte:

	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles	Laps Led
Spring	7	1	5	2	0	139
Fall	8	0	0	2	0	30
Cumulative	15	1	5	7	0	169

Matt Kenseth Busch series summary at Charlotte:

Date	S	F	Laps	Status
10/13/06	2	4	203/203	Running
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 Charlotte:

	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles
Cumulative	16	2	8	9	3

 
Matt Kenseth on racing at Charlotte:

• Cup: “You know, I’ve always enjoyed the track at Charlotte. It’s a little quirky, but it used to be one of those tracks where tire wear was a factor, it was all about handling and if you could get your car to handle a little better, then you could really pass some guys and race your way up through the field. But, the tire we race there right now is so hard, it’s the same tire we had last spring and we couldn’t really race then and I don't think it's going to be better now. You just get incredibly tight whenever you get behind someone.

“Charlotte will always be a special place for me. It’s where I got my first Cup win, we won the All-Star race there in ’04 and we’ve picked up a couple of Busch wins too. We were pretty close to picking up a win last Saturday, but I got a little too aggressive on pit road. I’m not saying we could’ve won, but we were one of the better cars when in clean air.

“The promising thing for us was that the car was pretty competitive, at least the most competitive it’s been in a while on Saturday and we’re taking it back there this weekend. If we can get it to turn a little bit better we might have something for them on Sunday.”

• Busch: “Charlotte has always been one of my better tracks. I’ve won twice there in the Busch car and should have earned a third win in the fall, but I spun out on the last lap and still managed a fourth-place finish. Our test there went really well last week and Arby’s is back on our car this weekend. Hopefully everything will go well and we’ll win some more curly fries for America.”

Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at Darlington:

“The All-Star race weekend was a pretty good motivator for these guys. They kicked off things on Friday evening by helping Matt win the pole with an excellent pit stop. To me, that’s the real pit-stop competition; when you’ve got to click off a good four-tire stop on a live car, with your driver, with everyone watching and your time depending on it, that’s the real deal and our guys did real good.

“The race itself was promising for a lot of reasons. The team was good, but more promising was how well the car ran. It wasn’t nearly as good in traffic, but out in front it looked like it could run with anybody. We were so pleased with that car that we decided to turn it around for this weekend.

“The 600 is a tough race. It’s long and takes a great amount of concentration from the driver and the crew. We’ve had some pretty good success in this race and hopefully that will continue this weekend. We feel like the car will be decent and we feel confident that we have one of the best drivers and pit crew, so if we take care of business on Sunday, we should be around with a shot at the end.”

Busch Series Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer on racing at Charlotte:

“It’s great to have Arby’s back with us this weekend in Charlotte. Last time they were on our car we were able to pull off a win. Actually, we are taking the same car that we won with in Texas with the Arby’s paint scheme. Plus Matt tested with us last week here and the car was handling really well. If all goes well we will have a solid run and be in contention for the win.”

Coca-Cola 600 Fast Facts

n Matt Kenseth has scored four career victories at Lowe’s Motor Speedway; 2000 Coca-Cola 600, 2004 All-Star Race, and two Busch Series wins.

n Kenseth’s win in the 2000 Coca-Cola 600 was the first of his Cup Series career and the first and only time a rookie has won the event.

n Chassis number RK-323, that Kenseth will pilot in Sunday’s event, ran last weekend in the All-Star race (leading 36 laps and finishing seventh) was the workhorse for the No. 17 team in 2006, racing in 10 events and scoring two wins, five top fives, and seven top 10s.

n Kenseth’s average finish in the NEXTEL Cup Series this season is 8.5, second only to Jeff Gordon.

n Kenseth has completed every lap so far in 2007, one of only two drivers to do so (Jeff Gordon).

n Kenseth and the No. 17 team will be flying the R+L Carriers colors this weekend for the first of four races in 2007; Daytona, Fontana, and Martinsville being the other three.

n Kenseth has five top-five finishes in seven starts in the Coca-Cola 600 including the win in 2000.

n Kenseth made his first career NASCAR Busch Series start at LMS in May of 1996, driving a Chevrolet for Wegner Racing; he finished 31st.

All-Star Challenge race recap

No. 17 DEWALT FORD FUSION RECAP
SPEEDING PENALTY ENDS KENSETH’S CHANCE AT ALL-STAR VICTORY

For two of the four 20-lap segments, Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 DEWALT team appeared to be unstoppable. Without a doubt, when Kenseth’s car was out front, in clean air, it was as good as anyone. Kenseth ended the third segment in front and led the field in for the mandatory stop before the final segment. The only rule was that each car had to come to a complete stop, any service after that was optional. The call was for a stop-and-go, which Kenseth executed perfectly then proceeded to exit pit road with the lead. But, soon afterwards, NASCAR penalized Kenseth with speeding when he exited pit road and as a result, forced him to pit again, dropping him from first all the way back to 16th for the final segment. Kenseth made a valiant charge to get back to the front, but ran out of time, finishing in seventh.

SEGMENT ONE
20 Laps
Started: 1st
Finished: 1st

After the No. 17 team dominated the qualifying session on Friday evening, winning the pole by nearly two seconds, Kenseth led the field to the green flag for the second time in his career at the All-Star Challenge. The green flag fell at 9:21 PM Eastern at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and Kenseth immediately continued his dominance throughout the first segment, leading all 20 laps.

By the end of the caution-free first segment, Kenseth had stretched his lead to 1.7 seconds and out of the gate, appeared to be the car to beat.

SEGMENT TWO
20 Laps
Started: 6th
Finished: 4th

The No. 17 machine came to pit road after segment one for the optional pit stop, and the “Killer Bees” responded by keeping Kenseth ahead of all other cars that got four tires. However, two cars remained on the track and three others took two tires only, therefore, Kenseth began segment two in the sixth position.

Immediately Kenseth drove up to third place in only four laps, but his advance stopped there as he learned quickly that the No. 17 Ford did not handled nearly as well in traffic as it did out front. The car had become tight in turns three and four and Kenseth reported the car as having no “front grip.”

After hanging on to the fourth spot, Kenseth entered the 10-minute, red-flag intermission looking forward to making the proper adjustments on the car.

SEGMENT THREE
20 Laps
Started: 4th
Finished: 1st

Under the red flag the crew made some fairly major adjustments to improve the handling of the racecar and when the field took the green flag, it quickly became apparent that the No. 17 was again the car to beat.

Kenseth took the green flag on lap 41 and by the time he reached turn three had already moved into second. After a caution flag flew on lap 41, Kenseth restarted second on lap 45. But, by the time the field entered turn one on the restart, Kenseth blew past the No. 5 car and again set sail.

From lap 45 to the end of segment three, lap 60, Kenseth again pulled away from the field, with the only challenge appearing from the No. 24 car. Kenseth won segment three by .453 seconds.

SEGMENT FOUR
20 Laps
Started: 16th
Finished: 7th

After segment three, NASCAR mandated that each team come to pit road under caution, enter their pit stall and come to a complete stop, but anything in addition to that, such as fuel and tires, was optional. Kenseth, again, led the field to pit road and would be the first to make the decision. The call was for a stop-and-go only, so Kenseth wheeled his Ford directly into the stall then immediately back into traffic and attempted to avoid the cars entering and exiting their respective pit stalls all while trying to beat everyone out of the pits.

For a moment, it appeared that the No. 17 team was successful. Kenseth exited pit road still with the lead, but less than half a lap later, NASCAR radioed that Kenseth was too fast exiting pit road and forced him back down pit road for a stop-and-go penalty. Since they were forced back in the pits, the No. 17 team elected to take on four tires, but returned to the track in the 16th position, which is where Kenseth took the green for the final segment.

Down but not out, Kenseth came roaring back; gaining four positions on the first green-flag lap and working his way into the ninth position by lap 63, just three laps after the restart. Two cautions bunched the field over the course of the final 20 laps, the last occurring on lap 64.

Kenseth sat in seventh for the final restart and due to his car again becoming tight in traffic, was unable to improve his position over the final 15 laps. While Kevin Harvick took home the checkered flag, Kenseth couldn’t overcome the penalty and had to settle for a seventh-place finish.

“I was speeding coming off pit road,” Kenseth said following the race. “It wasn’t necessarily a tough break, it was a dumb mistake by me. It was real important to be up front tonight. When we were in the front, we were one of the best cars. When we were behind, we were just one of the guys, for whatever reason. I just left pit road and there was a lot of traffic because we did a stop-and-go and I looked out of the mirror and looked back down and knew I was going too fast. I tried to jab the brake to correct, but it must have been a real short segment. It was just a dumb mistake that cost us the race.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE TIRE?

“It’s the same tire we had last spring and we couldn’t really race then and I don’t think it’s going to be better now. It’s just tough. When we were in front we could drive away or hang in there with those guys. The 24 was a little better on long runs and so was the 5, but we could really run with them. When we got behind, even in second or third place, you just couldn’t do anything – you’d just get so tight and you couldn’t really get anything to work for some reason. So it was just real important to be in front. I was overly-aggressive to try and stay in front and got in trouble going a little too fast down pit road and that kind of cost us.”

RACE SUMMARY
Matt Kenseth • Started 1st • Finished 7th

NEXT UP:
Coca-Cola 600 • Lowe’s Motor Speedway • Sunday, May 27

Nextel All-Star Challenge preview
May 18, 2007

Lowe’s Motor Speedway • Concord, N.C.
Nextel All-Star Challenge • Sat., May 19 • 7:00 pm/e Speed Channel

Kenseth qualified for the All-Star Challenge by winning at Dover in June of ’06. He also qualifies as a past winner of the event as well as being a former NEXTEL Cup Champion.

Nextel Cup Chassis — #17 DeWALT Ford Fusion
• Primary — RK-323 (Last ran at Homestead Nov. ’06, finished sixth; also in ’06 ran 10 times with two wins, five top fives, and seven top 10’s)
• Backup — RK-340 (Tested Las Vegas, Jan. ’07; Last ran Pocono in Jun. ‘06, finished fifth)

 
Matt’s All-Star race history at Charlotte:

Date	S	F	Laps	Led	Reason
5/19/06	7	11	72/90	0	Accident
5/21/05	10	11	89/90	0	Running
5/22/04	3	1	90/90	5	Running
5/17/03	17	6	90/90	NA	Running
5/18/02	1	3	90/90	NA	Running
5/19/01	13	14	70/70	NA	Running

 
Matt Kenseth All-Star race summary:

Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles	Laps Led
6	1	2	3	1	5

 
Matt Kenseth on racing in the Nextel All-Star Challenge:

“I think it’s like any other sport, the All-Star race is cool if you get to be a part of it because not everybody gets to do it. To be a part of that group is always cool and to do it at Charlotte is a lot of fun. It pays a lot of money and it’s a short race with no points, so it’s always fun. To me, the most fun thing is it involves the crew so much. They have the pit crew competition during the week and then they do a pit stop for qualifying, so they have a lot to do with the qualifying position, and they have some green-flag pit stops in the race. So, it really focuses on the team a lot and I really like that.

“The year we won was pretty cool. It was a fun race. Ryan (Newman) stayed out on tires. We were running side by side and I had to pass him for the win right at the end, and that was a really exciting race for us.”

Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on the All-Star Challenge:

“I think the All-Star event means a lot to everybody on the team because we’re in it. It separates the elite, and I think that makes everybody feel special, and it allows us a chance to go run against the best, and that’s what everybody wants to do.

“With the way the All-Star Challenge is set up, it allows the guys that work on the car every week to get to step out on stage and see what the fans all think of them, and it gives them an opportunity to be a part of it, in the qualifying event where you go three laps, we do a pit stop, which gives us an opportunity to shine.

“A couple of years ago we sat on the pole, and it was all off our pit stop, which made the guys all feel real great, and the same way with the race. The way the race is structured, I think two of the stops this year will be pitting on the fly. So, it gives the guys on pit road a real opportunity to be a part of this race and make a difference.”

All-Star Fast Facts

n Matt Kenseth has competed in every All-Star race starting with his sophomore season in the NEXTEL Cup Series in 2001.

n Kenseth has scored four career victories at Lowe’s Motor Speedway; 2000 Coca-Cola 600, 2004 All-Star Race, and two Busch Series wins.

n Kenseth won $1,044,000 in prize money after winning the 2004 All-Star race, which remains the largest, single-race purse that Kenseth has won in his career.

n Chassis number RK-323, which Kenseth will pilot in Saturday night’s event, was the workhorse for the No. 17 team in 2006, racing in 10 events and scoring two wins, five top fives, and seven top 10s. After finishing sixth at Homestead in November, it went in for a “make over” and will make its 2007 debut Saturday night.

n Kenseth’s average finish in NEXTEL Cup this season is 8.5, second only to Jeff Gordon.

n Kenseth has completed every lap so far in 2007, one of only two drivers to do so (Jeff Gordon).

Pit Crew Challenge preview

ROBBIE REISER SIZES UP HIS “KILLER BEES’” CHANCES AT THE NEXTEL ALL-STAR PIT CREW CHALLENGE

CONCORD, N.C. — Long considered one of the best pit crews in the Nextel Cup Series, the aptly named “Killer Bees,” the over-the-wall pit crew for Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 DEWALT Ford Fusion team, will be one of the teams competing in the Nextel All-Star Pit Crew Challenge Wednesday evening at Bobcats Arena in downtown Charlotte, N.C.

While the No. 17 pit crew is consistently one of the best on Sundays, they have struggled adapting to the new Pit Crew Challenge format, which started in 2005, which calls for teams to end their round by pushing a 3,400-pound stockcar 40 yards. Robbie Reiser, who was featured on Monday’s NASCAR Teleconference, addressed the discrepancy in real pit stops and what is asked of the crews in the Pit Crew Challenge and how he thinks his team, two-time champs under the original format in 2001 and 2002, will stack up.

“The chances at the competition this year are pretty tough for our team,” Reiser admitted. “With the structure that they have, the pushing of the car, my guys aren’t really structured to push the car real fast