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Monday August
30th 1999 •
Victory at Bristol!
- MATT KENSETH TAKES THE WIN AT
BRISTOL
Moves to within 69 points of Jr.
After a three month winless streak, Matt Kenseth and the DEWALT Racing Team
grabbed the checkered flag for their fourth time in 1999, capturing
the Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Matt qualified for the 250-lap race in third
position, his career best starting position at BMS.
Kenseth didn’t waste any time moving towards the top spot once the green
flag waved. Matt was up to second position on lap 62, when a caution flag
fell for fluid on the racetrack. Matt ducted into pits for his first of two
pit stops. Thanks to the quick work of the crew, Matt left the pits as the
leader of the race. Kenseth cruised in the top spot the next 76 laps before
just missing a wreck on lap 142 that brought out another caution flag. Matt
dived into the pits for his final stop of the night. Kenseth fell to fourth
after the stop, two cars choosing not to pit, and barely getting beat by
Michael Waltrip out of the pits. The green flag resumed on lap 151 and Matt
retook the lead in just 7 laps. Kenseth dominated the remainder of the race,
taking the checkered flag for the fourth time in 1999, his seventh career
Busch Series win. Matt led the most laps (169), capturing 10 bonus points
and moving to within 69
points of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the championship race.
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MATT’S THOUGHTS ON BRISTOL
“I just thank the Lord for a good safe race.
We haven’t had the best of times lately. I was
wondering if we would get back to victory lane and
we did.” (YOU TIGHTENED UP THE POINTS RACE
AGAIN) “Yeah a little bit. Not much. The main
thing is to be back in victory lane. I’m so
happy it’s unbelievable.”
Tuesday August
24th 1999
Michigan - Busch and Cup
- DeWALT RACING NOTES
BUSCH REVIEW
Matt Kenseth ran in both races this past weekend at Michigan Speedway,
running in the Busch Series and making his Winston Cup debut with DEWALT
Tools and Roush Racing.
Kenseth struggled to qualify his Busch car for Saturday’s race, putting
the DEWALT Monte Carlo in 30th spot in the field, his worst starting
position of the year. The Monte Carlo didn’t seem to want to go fast for
one lap, but it definitely could keep the pace on long runs. Kenseth took
the green flag Saturday afternoon and quickly moved the DEWALT Chevy up the
field.
Twenty-five laps into the race, Matt had moved into tenth position. Kenseth
began to battle lapped traffic mid way through the race, and pitted under
the green flag on lap 56. The team performed flawlessly on the stop,
changing four tires, adding fuel and making a wedge adjustment in
16:50 seconds the team’s fastest pit stop of the year. Matt returned to
the racetrack in 12th spot. After the green flag pit stops had all been
completed, Kenseth was in 7th spot with just 30 laps to the checkered flag.
Matt picked off 6th position from Jeff Burton on lap 77, and was chasing
down the leaders when trouble struck. Kenseth felt the motor let go on lap
80 and nursed the car the remaining 20 laps of the race. Matt lost positions
rapidly, but managed to finish the race running, grabbing 22nd spot. With
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s win, the DEWALT team took a hit in the championship
race, moving behind Jr. by 89 points.
“We had a real fast race car it handled great all day. I kind of got us in
a hole qualifying so badly and that got us behind. If we could have gotten
to the front I know we could have stayed there and been a contender. I don’t
know if we could have won but we were definitely a top three or four car. We
did the best we could. A part just broke in the motor. This is the first
time in the three years I been driving in the Series’ we’ve had a
failure like this in a race. These things are going to happen.”
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1999 DRIVERS POINT STANDINGS
1 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 3287
2 Matt Kenseth 3198 (-89)
3 Jeff Green 3119
4 Todd Bodine 2936
5 Elton Sawyer 2790
6 Jeff Purvis 2699
7 Jason Keller 2693
8 Mike McLaughlin 2562
9 Dave Blaney 2513
10 Randy Lajoie 2488
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WINSTON CUP REVIEW
Matt’s Winston Cup debut with Roush was
filled with excitement. Kenseth qualified for the race in first round
qualifying on Friday, putting the DEWALT Ford Taurus in 25th spot. The race
on Sunday was a learning experience for the team as well as Matt. The radios
did not work correctly the entire race, leaving Matt and the team guessing
as to what each were saying. Kenseth was forced to race without the guidance
of his spotter, making things very challenging on the track. Despite the set
backs, Matt was able to run strongly. The team had quick pit stops the
entire race, giving Matt good track position. Kenseth got as high as 7th
position after a gas only pit stop on lap 150. With just 50 laps remaining
in the race, Matt was able to run with the leaders holding his own to the
checkered flag, finishing in 14th position.
“We didn’t have any radios from the first lap, they would just bleed in
and out so I couldn’t tell what was going on. We had a great car; the team
did an awesome job preparing it. The last restart was a little hairy without
a spotter but overall it was an awesome race to finish in fourteenth spot
our first time out this year. I learned a lot today and that what it’s all
about.”
Wednesday August
18th 1999
- The much anticipated weekend is
almost upon us as Matt Kenseth prepares to make his Winston Cup debut with
his DeWALT Tools, Roush Racing Ford Taurus. Many of his long time fans have
dreamed of the day that he would make this step. A step many of us knew he
could do but weren’t sure if he could get that needed exposure and chance
at the top. Lets hope this is just one of many steps as Matt continues his
climb to the ultimate goal, a Winston Cup Championship.
- DeWALT RACING MICHIGAN NOTES
Matt Kenseth will be making his Winston Cup debut with DEWALT Tools and
Roush Racing this weekend at Michigan Speedway. Matt tested his Winston Cup
car at Michigan on August 9 & 10 in preparation for the Pepsi 400. Matt
Kenseth’s Busch Series Team will pit the DEWALT car for both races at
Michigan.
The DEWALT Racing Team will have a special guest this weekend at Michigan.
Pete Reckell, who plays Bo Brady in Days of Our Lives, will be attending the
Winston Cup race on August 22 to hang out with Matt Kenseth and the team.
Matt will be signing autographs at the Home Depot in Lansing, MI on Friday
August 20, 1999 from 7:00 - 8:00 PM.
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About the DEWALT Cup car:
Matt’s #17 Ford Taurus is out of Mark Martin’s stable, claiming the
title of #002 among the first of Matt Kenseth’s Winston Cup cars.
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About the DEWALT Busch Car:
Kenseth’s #17 Monte Carlo is the same car he won with at California
Speedway on May 1, 1999.
Monday August 9th
1999 Indianapolis Raceway Park
- DeWALT RACING NOTES
KENSETH GRABS TOP FIVE AT IRP
MOVES TO WITHIN 1 POINT OF JR.
Matt Kenseth came away from Indianapolis Raceway Park with a fourth
place finish, his eleventh top five of the season, and chipped
away at his distance from points leader Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Matt
currently sits just one point
away from Dale Jr. in the championship race.
Kenseth qualified for the 200-lap event in ninth
spot and quickly began moving up the field. Although Matt
battled a tight racecar most of the evening, Kenseth was able to
work his way to the front, taking over the lead on lap 128.
Caution flew on the raceway on lap 129 and the team made their
first and only pit stop. The DeWALT Race team had a stellar
performance, putting on four tires, filling up with fuel and
making a wedge adjustment in just 18:53 seconds. Matt maintained
the lead, thanks to the quick work of the team, and continued
green flag racing in the top spot. Kenseth held onto the lead for
several laps before getting rear ended and falling to the high
side of the track, getting freight trained to fifth position with
just 25 laps to go. Despite multiple caution flags during the
final stages of the race, Kenseth was able to move into 4th
position before the checkered flag dropped. Thanks to leading a
lap for five bonus points, Matt continues to sit in second
position in the championship points race, and is only one
point away from Dale Jr.
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KENSETH/DeWALT TO MAKE WC DEBUT AT MICHIGAN
Matt Kenseth and the DeWALT Racing Team will make their Winston
Cup debut at Michigan Speedway on Aug. 22. Matt will run five WC
races in 1999 for DeWALT in preparation for the their move into
Winston Cup racing full time next season. The four remaining WC
races in 1999 Matt will be running are Darlington, Dover,
Charlotte, and Rockingham.
Monday August 2nd
1999 Gateway
- DeWALT RACING NOTES
KENSETH CAPTURES 6TH PLACE AT ST.
LOUIS
Despite being involved in a wreck early in the race, Matt Kenseth and the
DeWALT Racing team were able to rally back and finish the CARQUEST Auto
Parts 200 in 6th
position.
Matt took the green flag in 21st
position and almost immediately got tangled in an accident.
On lap 6 Kenseth was tagged from behind causing extensive damage to the rear
end. Matt pitted on lap 8 allowing the team to repair the rear end. Green
flag racing resumed and Matt fell back to 40th position. The damage affected
the handling of the car but Kenseth was able to fight his way back up the
field. By lap 50, Matt was running in 20th spot and clocking the same lap
times as the leaders. Matt pitted on lap 65 under the caution flag, for
tires and fuel, making a track bar adjustment for the loose handling
condition. The crew had an awesome pit stop, gaining five spots in the pits,
returning Matt to the race in 9th spot. Despite battling a loose race car
Matt managed to move into fifth position by lap 120, but then gradually fell
back to 10th. Kenseth pitted again on lap 136 and the team made a major
adjustment to tighten the car up. The adjustment helped but didn’t solve
the problem with Matt continuing to fight a loose car till the very end of
the race. Kenseth was able to climb into 6th
position before the checkered flag dropped, grabbing his 14th
top ten of the season.
- MATT’S THOUGHTS ON GATEWAY
“I got hit in the back and it bent the quarter panel way out. I don’t
know if that had much to do with it but we were super loose all the time
after that. No matter what we did we couldn’t make the car competitive. We
were lucky and didn’t get the car wrecked and salvaged a top ten finish,
but the incident definitely hurt our day.”
- Matt drops back to 2nd in the
points
standings, 11 behind race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr.
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