May 31, 1997

• Matt had an awesome race today, placing 11th after a 32nd place start. He was able to avoid a few wrecks in front of him and drove a smart, conservative race.
      
• Dick Trickle, starting from the pole, ended up in the wall and had to retire for the day.
    
• Bobby Labonte went on to win the race.

• Matt has qualified 32nd for the race tomorrow.
    
• He was interviewed just before qualifying and said that they were not up to speed yet and would have to work on the car for a better setup. This is his first time at Dover.  

• The next Busch race is at “The Monster Mile,” Dover Downs International Raceway. Qualifying for the GM Goodwrench/Delco Battery 200 is at 1:15 Central on Friday May 30th. The race is Saturday at Noon Central, live on TNN.
    
• Nascar Online has a article on Matt about his troubles at Charlotte. He had brake problems early on in the race, and the car was too tight on long green flag runs.

• Matt dodged the wrecks today (and there were a bunch of them) and cruised to a 22nd place finish.
    
• Joe Nemechek took the checkered flag followed by Kevin Lepage and Mark Martin.

• Matt had a great run today in the 40 lap qualifying race, moving from the 11th position to 3rd place.
    
• Matt and crew seem to have gotten the bugs worked out of the car as the #17 was usually turning the fastest laps during the 40 lap race. Thursday the crew was working on fixing a leaking oil cooler and missed out on some practice time, the car was pretty loose during the qualifying run.
   
• MATT KENSETH (#17 Kraft Singles Cheese Chevrolet Monte Carlo)— Finished 3rd — “The car was really good. We just goofed up yesterday. We had an oil leak, so we never got to practice with a qualifying setup. We were too loose during qualifying. This was good experience, though. We had a good run. In hind sight, running this race is okay, but the only problem is when you’ve got someone like Mark Martin starting up front and we’re starting 35th or so. That’s when you’ve got a problem, because that ain’t much fun. That’s the only bad part of it. The racing experience was good; we got to run around some other cars.”

• Matt qualified 42nd out of 57 cars today at Charlotte. This means he will have to race tomorrow for positions 33-42, four provisionals have filled positions 29-32. There will be 25 cars competing for 10 spots in the last chance race. Matt will be starting 11th in the 40 lap race.
    
• Matt’s Thursday morning practice times were almost 2 miles an hour faster then his qualifying run. He turned a 171.320 in practice compared to 169.678.

• Charlotte NC is the home of the next race, The Carquest 300. Time trials start Thursday at 3:30 Central, position 1-28. There is a 40 lap qualifying race Friday for positions 33-42, starting at 1:30 Central. The Carquest 300 will be run Saturday at Noon Central, live on TBS.
    
• So far the weather is looking good for the whole event.

• An article about Matt at Nazareth, from Nascar.com.  

• Well, it happened again... Matt was taken out of the race on lap 44 after a few cars spun in front of him. Matt spun to avoid contact and was instead contacted in the rear, hard. Damage to the fuel cell probably prevented him from returning.
    
• Elliott Sadler went on to win the race.

• Matt qualified 27th for Sundays race. This was his first time at Nazareth Speedway, a tricky 5-corner oval.
    
• How would you like to have your own Kraft Singles #17 Model Race Car? Well then, Go Here!!

• The next Busch race is the Corestates Advantage 200 on the one mile oval at Nazareth Speedway in PA. Qualifying begins Saturday May 17th at 1:00 PM Central, (fastest 38 cars with 5 provisionals) and the race is Sunday at 12:00 Noon Central. Live on ESPN.
    
• Check out the article at Nascar.com about Matt’s misfortunes in Loudon.

• Rain and accidents plagued today’s running of the Cellular 200 at Loudon. The race was delayed 2 hours and the yellow flag was brought out once because of light drizzle.
    
• Matt started in 25th and worked his way up to 14th before being taken out of the race on lap 64 in a multi-car accident.
    
• Mike McLaughlin was able to hold off Steve Park to take the checkered flag.
    
• 27 of the last 50 laps were run under caution because of 4 accidents.

• Busch Qualifying has been cancelled today due to rain... Matt will be starting in position 25, according to 1997 points.
    
• The Busch cars were only able to get a half hour of practice in on Friday, Matt had the 6th fastest time.
    
• This was Matt’s first time at Loudon.

• Nascar Online announces Matt’s full time status in the Kraft Singles #17.

• The Busch cars tested at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend. Matt’s practice times were 3rd fastest. He should have a good run there later this month as this will be his second Busch race at Charlotte. (Matt leased a Busch car at Charlotte last May).
    
• Irace.com has had a couple nice articles on Matt this week, go check it out.
    
• The next Busch race will be the United States Cellular 200 at New Hampshire International Speedway, (Loudon). The race is on Saturday, May 10, at 12:15 Central Time and will be televised on TNN live. The race is 200 laps on the 1.058 (211.6 miles) flat oval track. The drivers will have 2 hours of practice time on Friday before qualifying, starting at 2:00 Eastern. This will be Matt’s first time at this track. There will be a 43 car field. Let’s hope the rain holds off.