Indianapolis race recap

No. 17 DEWALT FORD FUSION RECAP
KENSETH PICKS UP HARD FOUGHT TOP-10 FINISH AT INDY

Nothing came easy for Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 DEWALT team on Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Kenseth fought handling issues all day, but still managed to avoid trouble, race his way from the 31st starting position, and after toiling for much of the race around the 15th position, leave Indy with a 10th-place finish; making it his fifth top-10 finish in the past six years at Indy.

A nagging rain wreaked havoc on the weekend activities at the racetrack, canceling two practice sessions on Friday and threatening throughout the day Saturday, delaying the morning practice session and pushing back the start of qualifying. However, the foul weather was replaced by a hot, sunny day on Sunday as over 200,000 fans watched Reed Sorenson lead the field to the green flag at 2:21 PM Eastern.

Kenseth rolled off 31st but by lap six had maneuvered his way up to the 20th position. By this time, Kenseth began reporting that the car did not have enough grip; that it was tight in the center and loose off the corner. By the time the field came to pit road for the first time on lap 16, Kenseth had moved into the 17th position and after a quick pit stop that included minor adjustments, he returned in the 15th spot.

But once the green flag flew, Kenseth’s progress was slowed. He briefly shot up to the 13th position, but settled in around 15th until the next caution on lap 39. Kenseth drove the No. 17 machine onto pit road for some more adjustments and four fresh tires, but upon exit made slight contact with another car when the other car exited a pit stall and drove up into Kenseth’s left front fender. The damage was minor enough for Kenseth to continue.

Shortly after the ensuing restart, Kenseth was suddenly in the middle of a three-wide pack going into turn one. While the car beneath the No. 17 (the No. 11) and Kenseth made it through relatively unscathed, the No. 48 on the high side did not. The No. 48 was sent spinning collecting a total of seven cars in the wreck. Although Kenseth nearly dodged the wreck, he still reported the car as being way too tight and came to pit road for some adjustments and repairs to the left-front fender from the pit-road incident.

Robbie Reiser only wanted to stop once to repair the minor damage so the “Killer Bees” took their time making sure the fender was placed as close to the original shape as possible. When Kenseth returned to the track he was slotted in the 28th position.

Just a few laps after the restart another wrecked occurred and Kenseth, still unhappy with the handling of the racecar came back to pit road for more adjustments. Because of the previous two stops, the No. 17 team was now on a different pit cycle than the leaders, so when the next caution flag flew, just a few laps later, and the leaders came to pit road, Kenseth stayed out and subsequently restarted third.

Immediately on the ensuing restarted, Kenseth moved into second place, but never was close enough to make a move on the leader. By the time the caution flag waved on lap 90, Kenseth had fallen back to the sixth position and was again asking for adjustments when he came to pit road. Now, back on a similar cycle with the leaders, Kenseth returned in the 18th position.

Kenseth made up the most ground during the next 38 laps. Restarting 18th, he only managed to work his way up to 16th during the full green-flag run. But once the field cycled through green-flag pit stops, Kenseth, thanks to a 12.86-second stop by the “Killer Bees” cycled back out in the ninth position.

By the time Kenseth returned to pit road under caution on lap 137, he was in the eighth spot and needed the caution in order to make it to the end on fuel. After some major adjustments in an attempt to make the front end turn better, he returned in the 14th spot for the final 19-lap dash to the checkers.

Over the final 19 laps, all under green, Kenseth picked up four spots to finish in the 10th position. While nothing seemed easy for the No. 17 team, they put forth a yeoman’s effort all day and were rewarded with their 14th top-10 finish of the season.

“That was way better than we could do,” said Kenseth, referring to the finish shortly after exiting his car. “We had probably a 25th-place car and finished 10th with it. So, somehow, we were able to steal some spots and finish it but we ran just terrible. We’ve got to get our car a lot better.”

SO IS IT JUST A CASE OF GOOD PIT STRATEGY AGAIN?
“Yeah, I guess. Some people wreck and we’ve got a good pit crew on pit road. We got lucky with that caution at the end the way we called the race, so everything just kind of fell in our hands but we just ran terrible.”

RACE SUMMARY
Matt Kenseth • Started 31st • Finished 10th

POINTS SUMMARY
Race Total: 134 points
Season Total: 2699 points, Ranked 3rd, 377 points behind first

NEXT UP:
Pennsylvania 500 • Pocono Raceway • Long Pond, Pa. • Sunday, Aug. 5

Indianapolis Nextel Cup Preview
July 23, 2007

Indianapolis Motor Speedway • Speedway, Ind.
Allstate 400 at the Brickyard • Sun., July 29 • 1pm/e ESPN

Nextel Cup Chassis — #17 DEWALT Ford Fusion
• RK-385 (Last outing: Kansas Oct. ’06, finished 23rd; Also ran Indianapolis in Aug. ’06, led nine laps and finished 2nd)
• Backup — RK-317 (Last outing: Pocono Jun. ’07, finished 9th; also scored four top-fives in ’07 including a win in Fontana, Feb. ’07)

 
Matt’s Cup Series summary at Indianapolis:

Date	S	F	Laps	Led	Reason
08/06/06	20	2	160/160	9	Running
08/07/05	20	5	160/160	0	Running
08/08/04	23	16	161/161	0	Running
08/03/03	17	2	160/160	0	Running
08/04/02	18	3	160/160	10	Running
08/05/01	23	42	2/160	0	Crash
08/05/00	37	26	159/160	9	Running

 
Matt Kenseth Cup Series totals at Indianapolis:

	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles	Laps Led
Cumulative	7	0	4	4	0	28

Matt Kenseth on racing at Indianapolis:

“Indy ranks right at the top, or close to the top, on races you’d like to win in your career. I think everyone wants to win the Daytona 500, that’s the biggest one you want to win. But, certainly the Brickyard is right there with it.

“We’ve been close a few times and we’ve been real competitive. Actually a couple of times we’ve been there we’ve had some problems, but we’ve always ran pretty good. I always feel like we’ll have a shot when we go there, and it’s certainly one we’d like to pull off.

“Indy’s different than any other track we go to because it’s four 90 degree corners instead of two basically 180 degree corners, so that makes it a lot different. It’s definitely narrow and very difficult to run side by side, but yet it’s not difficult to pass. If you got your car where it’s loose enough then you can do some passing. It’s a lot of fun. It’s actually a very challenging track, even when you’re by yourself, to get that little bit of extra speed out of it is real difficult at Indy. You’ve got to have it pretty ‘hung out’ to be able to run fast, which makes it a lot of fun as a driver.”

Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at Indianapolis:

“Indy’s a real special place for all of us who grew up in the Midwest. It’s got a ton of history and when you think about all of the guys that have won there throughout the years it would mean a lot to be able to add our names to that list.

“We’re taking the same car that we ran with there last year. It was brand new when we ran it at Indy last year and built specifically with Indy in mind. We tested it there then took it back and were pretty competitive with it. That should give us a pretty good baseline whenever we unload Friday for the two practice session. Hopefully we aren’t too far off and can zero in on what we need for the race. If we can get it to turn like Matt wants it to turn, then I feel pretty good about our chances on Sunday.”

Indianapolis Fast Facts

n Matt Kenseth has four top-five finishes in seven starts at Indy, or 57 percent. That is Kenseth’s highest percentage of top-five finishes at any track.

n Indy is one of 12 tracks (including North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham) where Kenseth has scored four or more top-five finishes in his career.

n Kenseth’s four top-five finishes at Indianapolis Motor Speedway ranks fifth among active Cup drivers at Indy, even though he has six less starts than the four in front of him.

n According to NASCAR’s loop data, Kenseth leads all Cup drivers in the following categories at Indy:
• Average Running Position of 5.8
• Driver Rating of 114.0
• 316 Laps in the Top 15

n In 2001’s Brickyard 400, Kenseth completed only two laps, the lowest total of laps completed in Kenseth’s 275-race Cup career.

Matt-signed Bristol concrete auctioned for charity
July 23, 2007

MATT KENSETH AUTOGRAPHED CONCRETE BLOCK FROM BRISTOL START/FINISH LINE TO BE AUCTIONED TO BENEFIT SPEEDWAY CHILDREN’S CHARITIES

n Bid now!

An autographed block of concrete from the original start/finish line at Bristol Motor Speedway, signed by Matt Kenseth, will go up for bids at the BMS website on Monday, July 23.

The concrete blocks, approximately nine inches long and four inches in width, have been autographed by drivers who won on the concrete surface, which made its debut at BMS in August of 1992. Drivers with autographed pieces are Kenseth, Mark Martin, Kyle, Busch, Kevin Harvick, Darrell Waltrip, who won the very first race on concrete, Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Dale Jarrett, and Elliott Sadler.

Kenseth has two Nextel Cup wins on Bristol’s concrete oval. When he won the Sharpie 500 in August 2006, he became the first driver to win back-to-back night races at Bristol since Dale Earnhardt did it in 1987 and 1988. Kenseth started from the pole on Aug. 27, 2005, to nab the win and started fourth when he captured the Aug. 26 Sharpie 500 last year.

The online auction begins July 23 at www.bristolmotorspeedway.com with the piece autographed by Kenseth up for bids. Each successive Monday leading up to the August race week (Aug. 22–25) another autographed piece will be auctioned.

The concrete pieces are mounted in a display case with the driver’s history of wins on the BMS concrete etched on a plaque inside the case. A certificate of authenticity, signed by BMS president Jeff Byrd, also will be included.

Bids will begin at $500 for each of the 12 concrete pieces. All proceeds will benefit the Bristol chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities.

The Kenseth piece will be up for bids from July 23-July 29.

The remaining concrete pieces will be auctioned on the following dates:

July 30–Aug. 5 — Kurt Busch
Aug. 6–Aug. 12 — Dale Earnhardt Jr., Darrell Waltrip
Aug. 13–19 — Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart

Pieces signed by Elliott Sadler, Rusty Wallace and Dale Jarrett will be auctioned off at the Eastman Motorsports Auction in the Bruton Smith Building at BMS on Thursday, Aug. 23.

For more information regarding the auction, please contact Barbara Kaiser at (423) 989-6975 or barbara@bristolmotorspeedway.com.

Matt voted into Talladega Walk of Fame
July 18, 2007

Kenseth, Labonte win fan voting to be inducted into Talladega-Texaco Walk of Fame

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Fan voting closed this past weekend for 2007 Talladega-Texaco Walk of Fame honorees, and on Saturday, Oct. 6 during Talladega Superspeedway’s upcoming UAW-Ford 500 weekend, two new names will be added to this prestigious list: Matt Kenseth and Terry Labonte.

The Talladega-Texaco Walk of Fame in downtown Talladega is both a focal point saluting NASCAR’s greatest names and a tribute to one of racing’s brightest stars — the late Davey Allison. Developed in 1994, the Talladega-Texaco Walk of Fame has inducted one active driver and up to two inactive drivers since 1995 based on the fans’ vote chosen from a ballot of nominees selected by strict guidelines.

This year’s active driver honoree, Kenseth, 35, of Cambridge, Wis., is the 2003 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion. In 2000, driving for Roush-Fenway Racing in his first full NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series season, Kenseth won Rookie of the Year honors. He won only once in NASCAR’s top series that year but posted 11 top-10 finishes to secure the award over such notables as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Dave Blaney. Three seasons later, in route to the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series championship, Kenseth showed the same remarkable consistency securing a series-high 25 top 10s. During the season, Kenseth held the points lead for 33 consecutive weeks, a modern record.

Labonte, 50, a native of Corpus Christi, TX is being inducted as an inactive driver in his first year of eligibility. The two-time NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Champion (1984, 1996) has been named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers, being one of only 14 drivers to win multiple titles in NASCAR’s premier division. Labonte also holds the distinction of most years between championships (12).

Fan voting for the 2007 Talladega-Texaco Walk of Fame began on April 15. In addition to Kenseth, active driver nominees this year included: Michael Waltrip, Jeff Burton, Ward Burton, Morgan Shepherd, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Robby Gordon, Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Bobby Labonte, Sterling Marlin, Jeremy Mayfield, Joe Nemechek, Ryan Newman, Elliott Sadler, Ken Schrader and Carl Edwards. In addition to Labonte, inactive driver nominees for 2007 included: Jim Paschal, Bill Rexford, Jack Smith, Rex White, Red Byron and Speedy Thompson.

Past active driver inductees have included Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Ernie Irvan, Dale Jarrett, Bill Elliott, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Bobby Hamilton, Ricky Rudd, Mark Martin, Kyle Petty, Darrell Waltrip and Kevin Harvick. Richard Petty and Benny Parsons were the first inactive drivers to be inducted, later joined by Alan Kulwicki, Cale Yarborough, Ned Jarrett, Buddy Baker, David Pearson, Junior Johnson, Harry Gant, Lee Petty, Tim Flock, Fireball Roberts, Buck Baker, Joe Weatherly, Red Byron, Bobby Isaac, Fred Lorenzen, Fonty Flock and Herb Thomas.

The first inductees — “Alabama Gang” drivers Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison, Red Farmer and Neil Bonnett — were inducted by decree of the board.

In the park, Davey Allison is remembered with a large marble monument, while drivers inducted into the Talladega-Texaco Walk of Fame have bronze plaques placed around the park, accessible by walkways that form the shape of Talladega Superspeedway. For additional information, visit www.talladegawalk.com.

The 2007 UAW-Ford 500 weekend at Talladega Superspeedway will be held on Oct. 5-7 and will consist of the ARCA RE/MAX Series 250 on Friday, followed by the Mountain Dew 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on Saturday. The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Car of Tomorrow will make its first appearance in a superspeedway race on Sunday, Oct. 7, which is also the fourth race in the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. Kids age 11 and younger are admitted free of charge on Friday and Saturday of race weekends in the general admission grandstands at Talladega Superspeedway. To order tickets, call 1-877-Go2-DEGA (1-877-462-3342). For our hearing impaired guests, please call TDD 1-866-ISC-TRAK (1-866-472-8725). Tickets also are available online at www.racetickets.com or in person by visiting the Talladega Superspeedway Ticket Office from 8 a.m. — 5 p.m. CDT, Monday — Friday.

Reiser named Crew Chief of the Race for Chicagoland
July 15, 2007

Reiser does his homework and wins WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race

JOLIET, Illinois (July 15, 2007) — Heading into the USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, crew chief Robbie Reiser knew his team’s No. 17 USG Sheetrock Ford had the potential to perform well. Strategizing to keep his driver, Matt Kenseth, in the front group for the running of the race became Reiser’s main focus. While the debate among crew chiefs wavered around two tire stops, fuel mileage and finding the right line to run around the 1.5-mile tri-oval track, Reiser did his homework and stuck to the plan, earning the crafty veteran crew chief and team their seventh top-five finish for the season. For his precise planning and strategy execution, Reiser was awarded the WYPALL* Wipers Crew Chief of the Race.

After a qualifying run that placed the No. 17 team 10th on the starting grid, Reiser’s plan to keep Kenseth up front began to unfold on pit road. During the first green flag pit stop, while most of the leaders took two tires, Reiser called his crew to change all four. His strategy was to give his driver the ability to work both low and high on the track, while knowing that he could also hunt down the leaders during long runs. Reiser kept to his planning and with the added advantage of his crew providing outstanding serves on the car, had Kenseth running in the top-five for the majority of the race. As the final laps were run, Kenseth made a desperate serge for the lead, only to be denied by some cunning blocking by eventual winner Tony Stewart.

Reiser and his No. 17 Roush / Fenway Racing team finished the day second after a solid and gratifying performance. At the conclusion of the race, Reiser commented on his team’s performance. “We had a top-five car for sure today, however, just didn’t quiet have enough for the No. 20,” said Reiser. “We wanted to give Matt the ability to drive at the bottom so we went for four tires while others went for two. I asked my guys to give me great pit stops today and they did.”

A panel of voters, including a member of the local media, Kenny Francis, Tony Eury Jr. and a WYPALL* Wipers representative agreed Reiser’s planning and race day performance was deserving for him to be awarded the crew chief of the race. “Robbie [Reiser] and the 17 team have been the quiet achievers all year,” said Francis. “Again they came away with a top-five. Robbie had the car working all over the track. He certainly gave Matt [Kenseth] every chance he could at winning today.”

As the WYPALL* Wipers Crew Chief of the Race, Reiser received $1,000. Earning his third crew chief of the race award puts Reiser in the lead in the overall standings. Larry Carter, Mike Ford, Donnie Wingo, and Chad Knaus are tied for second, each with two wins. Tony Gibson, Steve Letarte, Mike Nelson, Darian Grubb, Alan Gustafson, Chip Bolin, Ryan Pemberton and Tony Eury Jr. each have one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most wins will receive $20,000 and be crowned WYPALL* Wipers Crew Chief of the Year.

Chicagoland race recap

No. 17 USG SHEETROCK / DEWALT FORD FUSION RECAP
KENSETH LEAVES CHICAGO WITH TWO SECOND-PLACE FINISHES

n Photos from Chicagoland

Matt Kenseth, flying the title-sponsor’s colors for the third straight year in the USG Sheetrock 400, turned in another spectacular performance, but again came up just shy of scoring his first win at Chicagoland Speedway. A day after finishing second in the USG Durock 300, NASCAR Busch Series race, Kenseth ran nearly the entire day in the top 10 and flirted with the lead over the final 40 laps, taking it briefly at one point, but was unable to overcome Tony Stewart down the stretch for the win. The second-place finish marked the second time in three years where Kenseth has finished second in the Cup race at Chicago. It also marked Kenseth’s seventh top five and 13th top-10 finish in 19 races in 2007, and narrowed the gap on first and second place in the championship point standings.

A capacity crowd in Joliet, Ill. enjoyed blue skies and warm temperatures on a picture-perfect day for racing, as Casey Mears led the field of 43 to the green flag at 3:18 p.m. Central. Kenseth’s solid qualifying effort allowed the No. 17 USG Sheetrock/DEWALT Ford Fusion to roll off in the 10th position.

By the end of lap one, Kenseth had moved into the seventh position and cracked the top five by lap 20. Getting as high as fourth place, Kenseth began to lose ground reporting that the car was getting “tighter and tighter” over the course of the run.

Chicagoland Speedway tends to lend itself to lots of green-flag racing and Sunday was no different. The first green-flag stop of the day occurred on lap 47 with Kenseth cycling to pit road in the seventh position. But, thanks to a great pit stop by the “Killer Bees,” clad in the blue, red, and white colors of USG Sheetrock, once the field cycled through stops, Kenseth was running in the third position.

Shortly after returning to the track, Kenseth reported a vibration coming from one of the rear tires. However, a timely caution on lap 59 allowed Kenseth to come to pit road and take on four fresh tires to settle any concerns over the vibration. Kenseth lost some spots on the track to teams who took two tires only, but beat everyone who took on four tires to restart 10th.

The problem apparently solved, Kenseth immediately began marching towards the front, up to the sixth position before again reporting the car as being way too tight. The field began cycling through yet another round of green-flag pit stops on lap 106, with Kenseth running in the eighth position.

Robbie Reiser and the “Killer Bees” were prepared to make the minor adjustments necessary to get Kenseth in contention. Thanks to a 12.58-second, four-tires-and-fuel stop, Kenseth cycled out in the sixth position.

This time, the adjustments worked and Kenseth began reeling in the leaders. After moving into the fourth position, the second caution flag of the day flew bringing the field to pit road. Thanks again to the crew, Kenseth was able to pick up another position on pit road and returned in the third spot with just under 100 laps remaining.

To this point in the race, it appeared that whoever was able to get out front would inevitably pull away from the field as was the case with the No. 29 car in the early on, then the No. 48 and the No. 20 car later in the race.

Kenseth restarted third behind the No. 20 of Stewart and the No. 48 car of Jimmie Johnson, which is how the three ran for the better part of the next 50 laps. All three fell behind however when the field came to pit road on lap 203 under caution and various teams applied various pit strategies. Kenseth took on four tires and fuel and left the pits in the seventh position. It only took 13 laps for the same three to return to the front of the field, setting up a showdown between three of the best teams in the garage.

Johnson’s day took a turn for the worse when a blown tire sent him spinning into the turn three wall directly in front of Kenseth on lap 223. The entire field needed to come to pit road for fuel, and many, including Kenseth, took fuel only in order to preserve track position. The strategy worked, with Kenseth returning to the track in second, one behind Stewart.

On the restart, Kenseth went roaring to the outside of Stewart coming off of turn two and when Stewart moved up to block, Kenseth quickly turned to the left and underneath Stewart as the two drag raced down the backstretch. With the capacity crowd cheering as the two came thundering out of turn four side by side, Kenseth edged Stewart at the line for the lead. But Stewart and the No. 20 team were too strong.

Despite two late-race restarts, Kenseth was unable to move into the lead, but did manage to hold off a hard charging teammate, Carl Edwards, to finish second, for the second time in 2007 (Texas).

“It was pretty good,” Kenseth said. “I thought we had a — most of the day — a fourth–to–eighth–place car, and made some really good adjustments, got the car a lot better where we could run with them. It just seemed like the 48 and the 20 were in front of us and we couldn’t quite run with them guys, but other than that, we seemed to be able to break even with most of them, depending on what track position we had. So, overall it was a good day. It feels good to come home second. I had that one shot at him and I just couldn’t quite finish the pass. If I could’ve finished that pass on the re-start, I would’ve liked to have been in front of him and tried to hold him off. I don’t know if I could’ve or not, but I would’ve liked to like that chance. It was nice to be in clean air.”

RACE SUMMARY
Matt Kenseth • Started 10th • Finished 2nd

POINTS SUMMARY
Race Total: 175 points
Season Total: 2565 points, Ranked 3rd, 346 points behind first

NEXT UP:
Off weekend, then
Allstate 400 at the Brickyard • Indianapolis Motor Speedway • Indianapolis, Ind. • Sunday, July 29

Chicagoland Busch & Cup Preview
July 10, 2007

Chicagoland Speedway • Joliet, Ill.
USG Durock 300 • Sat., July 14 • 2:30 pm/e ESPN2
USG Sheetrock 400 • Sun., July 15 • 2:30 pm/e TNT

Nextel Cup Chassis — #17 USG Sheetrock/DEWALT Ford Fusion
• RK-323 (Last ran at Michigan, Jun. ’07; finished 42nd after a lap-75 wreck. Also led most laps at Chicago in Jul. ’06 before finishing 22nd; won Michigan in Aug. ’06; won Fontana in Feb. ’06)
• Backup — RK-317 (Last ran at Pocono, Jun. ’07, finished ninth; also scored four top fives in ’07, including a win in Fontana in February)

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

 
Matt’s Cup Series summary at Chicagoland:

Date	S	F	Laps	Led	Reason
07/09/06	8	22	270/270	112	Running
07/10/05	4	2	267/267	176	Running
07/11/04	26	12	267/267	1	Running
07/13/03	24	12	266/267	0	Running
07/14/02	16	14	267/267	3	Running
07/15/01	37	7	267/267	0	Running

 
Matt Kenseth Cup Series totals at Chicagoland:

	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles	Laps Led
Cumulative	6	0	1	2	0	292

Matt Kenseth Busch series summary at Chicagoland:

Date	S	F	Laps	Status
07/08/06	6	5	200/200	Running
07/09/05	28	8	200/200	Running
07/10/04	4	16	200/200	Running
07/12/03	7	2	200/200	Running
07/14/01	3	30	152/200	Engine

 
Matt Kenseth Busch Series totals at Chicagoland:

	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles
Cumulative	5	0	2	3	0

 
Matt Kenseth on racing at Chicagoland:

• Cup: “Chicago’s a great track and one I really enjoy racing at. It’s wide and fast, real smooth and now that the pavement has aged, you’re starting to see a wider groove.

“We’ve had a car capable of winning the past two years but for one reason or another, that just hasn’t happened. Some might think that it’s really frustrating, and it is, but I also think we should be proud that we’ve had a car capable of putting us in position to win.

“We’re taking the same car we raced there last year. It was really fast then and hopefully it will be this time around. It’s a big race weekend for me, with my home town not too far away (Cambridge, WI), and it’s a big race weekend for our sponsor USG Sheetrock. They’ve sponsored this race the past two years and we’ve come pretty close to getting them a win both times in the USG car. Hopefully we can do a little bit better this year.”

• Busch: “Chicago is a lot of fun. It is very similar to Vegas and Kansas, but each track is unique in its own way. Chicago is a fast track and has a decent amount of banking. We have had some good cars in the past, but haven’t quite earned the finish we should have at Chicago in both the Busch and Cup cars. Hopefully we can change that luck around this weekend.”

Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at Chicagoland:

“We’ve been real close the past couple of years to winning at Chicago. We’ve had good cars and Matt’s done a good job both times, but we just haven’t been able to finish it. I think the whole team will go up there this time with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder, but we’ve got to be sure to treat it like any other race. This sport has a lot to do about keeping an even keel so we can’t be too focused on trying to get redemption, we just have to go out there and do our jobs, which has always been this team’s strength.

“The car we’re taking is the same car than ran here last year. It’s one of Matt’s favorites. It got beat up pretty good here last year as we took the checkered flag and then it got banged up again the last time it raced in Michigan. But, you’re supposed to be able to rebuild these cars, and I think we’ve done a great job on this one. It should be ready this weekend and we know how much Matt likes it, so hopefully that will translate into good things on Sunday.”

Busch Series Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer on racing at NHIS:

“Saturday should be an interesting race. Chicago is a fast track with multiple grooves which should make for a good race. Once again we are heading to the track with RK-360. It’s the same car we won with in California, but haven’t had the same luck with lately. Everyone has worked hard getting ready for this race so hopefully we can get 360 back up to the front where it belongs.”

Chicagoland Fast Facts

n Matt Kenseth will make start number 275 of his NEXTEL Cup career on Sunday in the USG Sheetrock 400. Kenseth’s first start came at Dover International Speedway on Sept. 20, 1998, where he filled in for Bill Elliott in the No. 94 Ford and drove to a sixth-place finish.

n Kenseth is the all-time lap leader in the NEXTEL Cup Series at Chicagoland Speedway, leading 292 laps in six races.

n Kenseth has dominated the past two races at Chicago, leading a combined 288 laps of a possible 537, or 53%. However, his finishes haven’t reflected that dominance. In 2005, Kenseth took four tires on the final stop where many teams took two and ran out of time, finishing a close second. Last year, Kenseth was spun out while leading the race with only four laps to go, then ran out of fuel and had to settle for 22nd.

n Kenseth has completed all but one lap in six races at Chicago and is tops among laps completed with 1604, (tied with Kevin Harvick).

n According to NASCAR’s “loop data,” Kenseth leads all Cup drivers in the following categories at Chicago:
• Average Running Position of 3.4
• Driver Rating of 130.0
• 28 Fastest Laps Run
• Fastest Green Flag Speed
• 529 Laps in the Top 15

n Kenseth’s No. 17 Ford Fusion will carry the USG Sheetrock colors this weekend in the USG Sheetrock 400. It marks the second of three times this season Kenseth will pilot the USG Sheetrock Ford; the first was at Martinsville in April where he finished 10th, and the last will be at Texas in November.

Daytona race recap

No. 17 R+L CARRIERS/DEWALT FORD FUSION RECAP
KENSETH FINISHES EIGHTH, HELPS PUSH ROUSH FENWAY TEAMMATE TO VICTORY AT DAYTONA

In the second-closest finish in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup history (.005 second), Jamie McMurray led a train of Roush Fenway Racing cars that teamed up on the outside line to propel McMurray to the win, Roush Fenway’s third of the year. Matt Kenseth, who ran inside the top 10 nearly all evening, was the final Roush Fenway car in line, helping to provide a push for teammates, McMurray, Carl Edwards, and Greg Biffle on the final circuit. Kenseth finished eighth, his sixth top-10 finish at Daytona and third straight top 10 in the Pepsi 400.

Typical of Daytona in July, it was hot and humid and rain threatened for most of the weekend, actually canceling NEXTEL Cup qualifying on Friday and postponing the Busch Series race until Saturday morning. But, any inclement weather on Saturday held off and the 150,000 on hand witnessed points leader Jeff Gordon lead the field to the green flag at 8:22 PM Eastern. Kenseth’s No. 17 Ford, adorned with the R+L Carriers paint scheme, rolled off third.

For the first half of the event, Kenseth reported the car as being too loose. When he drove the No. 17 onto pit road for the first time under caution on lap 16, the Robbie Reiser-led crew went to work making significant adjustments to improve the handling of the car. The night on pit road was an atypical one for the No. 17 team as they had their share of problems throughout the night. Thankfully, being a restrictor-plate race, no mistake was so severe where Kenseth lost the draft and he was able to recover each time.

After restarting outside the top 10 on lap 26, Kenseth quickly began his march towards the front – all the way up to the fourth position by lap 33. But, every time Kenseth got close to the lead, he never could get the help he needed to push him out front. Kenseth, still reporting the car as being too loose came to pit road under caution on lap 58 in the sixth position, but upon entry to his pit stall locked up the brakes and slid too close to the wall. Because of this, the pit crew had difficulty in servicing the left side of the car and a slow stop resulted in Kenseth returning to the track in the 21st position.

But, Kenseth didn’t stay there long; each time there was a set back, the No. 17 Ford came charging back to the front. After restarting 21st on lap 62, Kenseth moved into ninth by lap 72 and after a long hard-fought battle with the No. 5 car moved into third on lap 93. Kenseth was running in the fourth spot when the field began cycling through the first and only green-flag stops of the evening. After the stop, Kenseth cycled out in the eighth position on lap 112, just 48 laps shy of the finish.

Over the course of the next 20 laps, Kenseth continued to toil inside the top 10 but after his final stop on lap 134 was slotted in the 15th position. Two cautions slowed the action over the final 25 laps; the final caution coming on lap 151, just nine laps from the finish.

Kenseth took the final restart in the 10th position and quickly committed to the high line behind teammates McMurray and Biffle. As the field took the white flag, Edwards jumped up between the leader McMurray and his drafting partner Biffle to make it a four-car Roush Fenway freight train on the top side. That line proved true by .005 second as, with the help, McMurray was able to hold of the Busch brothers down low for the victory. Kenseth crossed the line less than a second behind the leader, in the eighth position.

“I’m real happy for Jamie and those guys,” said Kenseth following the race. “They’ve worked really hard all year to improve and they deserve this. It was a great night for Roush Fenway Racing. We had all of our cars finish inside the top 12, so that’s pretty cool. Our car was good but just didn’t have quite the speed we needed to get up there and challenge for the win. The handling was pretty good, we just needed to find a little more speed. But, I’m happy with the finish, I’m happy that we all stuck together there at the end and that Jamie got the win.”

RACE SUMMARY
Matt Kenseth • Started 3rd • Finished 8th

POINTS SUMMARY
Race Total: 142 points
Season Total: 2390 points, Ranked 3rd, 383 points behind first.

NEXT UP:
USG Sheetrock 400 • Chicagoland Speedway • Sunday, July 15

Daytona Nextel Cup Preview
July 3, 2007

Daytona International Speedway • Daytona Beach
Pepsi 400 • Saturday, July 7 • 7:30pm/e TNT

Nextel Cup Chassis — #17 R+L Carriers/DEWALT Ford Fusion
• Primary — RK-327 (Last outing: Daytona, Feb. ’07, finished 27th after last lap spin; Also ran Daytona, Jul. ’06, finished fifth; Daytona, Feb. ’06, finished 15th)
• Backup — RK-418 (Never raced. Tested at Daytona, Jan. ’07)

 
Matt’s Cup Series summary at Daytona:

Date	S	F	Laps	Led	Reason
02/18/07	10	27	202/202	6	Running
07/01/06	10	5	160/160	1	Running
02/19/06	11	15	203/203	28	Running
07/02/05	38	9	160/160	0	Running
02/20/05	14	42	34/203	0	Engine
07/03/04	36	39	110/160	0	Accident
02/15/04	12	9	200/200	2	Running
07/05/03	37	6	160/160	10	Running
02/16/03	35	20	109/109	2	Running
07/06/02	38	30	154/160	0	Running
02/17/02	40	33	154/200	4	Accident
07/07/01	15	16	160/160	5	Running
02/18/01	16	21	196/200	0	Running
07/01/00	22	20	160/160	0	Running
02/20/00	24	10	200/200	0	Running

 
Matt Kenseth Cup Series totals at Daytona:

	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles	Laps Led
Feb. race	8	0	0	2	0	42
July race	7	0	1	3	0	16
Cumulative	15	0	1	5	0	58

 
Matt Kenseth on racing at Daytona:

“Daytona has been very frustrating over the past couple of years, for us anyway. We’ve had a car good enough to win two or three races, but it seems like something always happens to take us out of contention. We thought we were in good shape with about 15 to go in the 500 this year, but things got shuffled around and we ended up restarting eighth or ninth for the green-white-checkered finish. Then it looks like we’re going to finish third, maybe even second and we get taken out coming out of (turn) four on the final lap… so go figure.

“Restrictor-plate racing, for me, is maddening. You have to make the right decisions, but a lot of it is luck. You have to depend on other cars to help you get to the front. If I have a good car and I’m riding second or third on the last lap and I pull out of line, I might win it, but I might finish sixth or 10th or worse. You’re really at the mercy of the cars behind you, and for whatever reason, I haven’t been able to make it work at the end and win one of these things. No one would like to change that more than me this weekend.”

Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at Daytona:

“We’re taking what’s basically been our ‘Daytona car’ for the past two years. It hasn’t ran anywhere other than Daytona, because it’s been pretty good down there. Unfortunately, like our old ‘Bristol car,’ it’s going to be obsolete after this weekend, as we’ll be running COTs at plate races from now on.

“This car seems to handle really well at Daytona, which, unlike Talladega, handling comes into play at Daytona. Matt seems to like this car and thankfully it didn’t have much damage from the last lap wreck in the 500.

“The biggest thing for us this weekend is to make sure we take care of everything on our end to help Matt on the track. There are so many things out of your control when it comes to plate racing, so you better hit all the marks on everything you can control, or you can really dig yourself a hole. It’s our job in the pits to make the right calls and to make sure we have flawless pit stops all night to get Matt track position, keep him up in front of the draft, and hopefully in contention to win by the end of the race.”

Daytona Fast Facts

n Matt Kenseth has led at least one lap in the last seven restrictor-plate races for a total of 105 laps; the fourth most of any driver during that span.

n Kenseth has three top fives and five top-10 finishes in the past eight restrictor-plate races.

n Daytona Blues: The past three Daytona 500s have been nothing but heartbreak for Kenseth. In 2005, Kenseth had a mechanical failure cut his day short on lap 34, sending him home in 42nd. In 2006, Kenseth had led the most laps and was running in second when he was sent spinning on the superstretch on lap 108. This year, Kenseth was running in the third position coming to the checkered flag when he was sent spinning off of turn four. In the two previous seasons, Kenseth has rebounded with a top-10 finish in the July race.

n Matt Kenseth will fly the R+L Carriers colors this weekend for the second of four times in 2007. In the previous showing, Kenseth drove the R+L Carriers Ford Fusion to a 12th-place finish at Charlotte in the 600. The paint scheme will run two more times in 2007, Fontana in September and Martinsville in October.

n Kenseth has three top-10 finishes in the past four Pepsi 400s.

n Kenseth returns to Daytona ranked third in the championship point standings. The last four seasons he has entered this weekend ranked first in 2003 (Championship year), third in 2004, 20th in 2005, and second in 2006.

New Hampshire race recap

No. 17 CARHARTT/DEWALT FORD FUSION RECAP
KENSETH REBOUNDS WITH SOLID TOP 10 AT NEW HAMPSHIRE

After a rough couple of weeks at the track, Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 team bounced back with a more typical day and a top-10 finish Sunday at New Hampshire International Speedway. The No. 17 team struggled to find speed on Friday but gradually got better as the weekend progressed. By the start of Sunday’s 300-mile event, Kenseth and Robbie Reiser felt as if, with a little work, the car was capable of a top-10 finish. The crew worked hard during the afternoon improving the handling of the car with every stop and consistently picking up positions on pit road. By the final 100 laps, Kenseth was running inside the top 10 and was able to bring home a ninth-place finish, his 11th of the year.

Under cool, overcast skies and in front of a large New England crowd, Dave Blaney led the field to the green flag at 2:45 PM Eastern. Kenseth, driving the black Carhartt paint scheme, started 30th and knew that he and his No. 17 team were facing an uphill climb if they hoped to come away with a top 10.

The first COT oval race since Dover (four races ago) and again, the same issues seemed to plague the No. 17 team. Kenseth reported early on that the car was incredibly tight in the center of the turns and loose off. Despite his handling concerns, Kenseth managed to work his way up to the 20th position by the time he came to pit road, under green, for the first pit stop of the afternoon on lap 68.

Thanks to a great stop by the “Killer Bees,” Kenseth managed to gain three positions during the cycle of stops, moving up to the 17th position. By the time the next caution flag flew on lap 96, Kenseth was up to 16th when he came to pit road. Reiser made the call for two tires only which cycled Kenseth out in the fifth position. While the field circled under caution preparing for the restart, Kenseth reported a problem with the steering, thinking something had gone awry with the power steering or the steering box. Whatever the problem was, it got better the longer Kenseth ran under green and never became a big factor on the afternoon.

Kenseth temporarily paid the price for taking two tires and dropped to the 10th position by the time the next caution flag flew on lap 121. This time when Kenseth came to pit road, Reiser called for a major adjustment and while they lost some track position, the adjustment seemed to improve the car’s handling and allow Kenseth to make up ground to the leaders once the field restarted on lap 130.

The right adjustment could not have come at a better time. Once the field took the green on lap 130, they enjoyed 72 straight laps of green-flag racing. Kenseth, now with an improved car, started making his way to the front, racing his way up to the 10th position when the field began cycling through pit stops on lap 191.

Seizing an opportunity for five bonus points, Kenseth stayed out to lead a few laps before ducking onto pit road on lap 197 for four tires and fuel. Thanks to another great stop, Kenseth was up to the ninth position by the time the field cycled through stops and received a caution flag on lap 202.

On lap 235, just 65 laps from the finish, Kenseth reported the car as being the best it had been all day and finally had what he needed underneath him to race inside the top 10. Kenseth was running eighth on lap 255 when he came to pit road under caution for the final stop of the day. The “Killer Bees,” ho hum, again gained positions, putting Kenseth back out in seventh; fifth among cars who took four tires.

But the final adjustments got Kenseth a little too loose at the beginning of the next run and two cars were able to slip by before the No. 17’s handling came back around. A determined Kenseth kept all other challengers at bay over the final 40 circuits and brought the No. 17 home in the ninth position. The top-10 finish was Kenseth’s 10th top 10 in 15 races at the “Magic Mile,” bringing his average finish to 10.8.

“We ended up passing some cars on pit road and making some adjustments and got it better, but we’re not good enough to beat these guys,” said Kenseth. “With these cars it’s all about being in the front. It’s really hard to come from behind and do much with them.”

DID YOU MAKE THE CAR BETTER? “Yeah, we definitely made it better. We were still off, but it was a lot better. It was a top-10 car and we finished ninth, so we definitely made some improvement.”

WILL THE CHANGES BE SOMETHING YOU CAN APPLY FOR THE NEXT COT RACE? “I hope so. We’ve got a long way to go with these things to compete for wins. They’re so sensitive to little things. There are only so many areas you can work, so the areas we can work we’re just missing it a little bit. We’ve got to work on the front suspension and figure out how to make the front ends turn better and then, hopefully, we’ll be more competitive.”

YOUR PIT CREW WAS STRONG AGAIN. “Yeah, they always do really good. They always keep us in the races.”

THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN A TOUGH TRACK TO PASS ON, BUT WAS IT EVEN HARDER WITH THIS NEW CAR? “Yeah, way tougher. They’re just so tight. You’re just kind of at the mercy of the front tires in the middle of the corner, but I thought it was a lot harder to pass than the other car, but my car wasn’t right either. The fastest car didn’t win. The guy who got two tires got out front and won, so I think it’s probably more about track position with these cars than even the old ones.”

RACE SUMMARY
Matt Kenseth • Started 30th • Finished 9th

POINTS SUMMARY
Race Total: 143 points
Season Total: 2248 points, Ranked 3rd, 365 points behind first

NEXT UP:
Pepsi 400 • Daytona International Speedway • Saturday, July 7