Daytona Beach, Fla. — The 45th running of the famed Daytona 500 began with the threat of rain showers impending. Just 63 laps into the 200-lap event, the race was red-flagged after the threat of rain became a reality. After an hour delay, the track returned to green and fans saw another 46 laps raced, but on lap 109 the action was paused again due to weather. Once it was clear that the rain was there to stay, the shortest Daytona 500 in history officially ended with Matt Kenseth in 20th place.

Kenseth started Speedweeks with an outstanding third-place finish in the Budweiser Shootout. The DEWALT team worked hard all week to ensure that their 500 car would be as strong as their Shootout car had been. Practice times toward the end of the week proved that they had succeeded. Kenseth was confident heading into Sunday’s race and felt that he had a car that could contend for a win.

A 36th-place starting position didn’t hinder Kenseth in the least. The No. 17 car shot up to 21st on the start and by lap 11 was running in the top 10. Green-flag pit stops began on lap 31 and because the DEWALT Ford was getting good mileage the team decided to stay out to take the lead on lap 35. Kenseth soon pitted for right-side tires only.

Only six laps later the first caution flag flew and brought Kenseth back down pit road for left-side tires and a trackbar adjustment. The track returned to green on lap 45 and by lap 50 Kenseth was racing in sixth-place and getting drafting help from teammates Greg Biffle and Mark Martin.

Lap 56 saw another yellow flag and Kenseth was ready to return to the pits, but wasn’t able because two of the cars involved in the accident were pinned against the pit road wall. Before pit road could be cleared and opened, the rain began to fall and the race was red-flagged.

After a delay lasting a little over an hour, drivers returned to their cars and the race resumed under yellow. Kenseth pitted on lap 64 for right-side tires only. As the track went green on lap 67 Kenseth was running 13th.

For the next 30 laps, Kenseth struggled to find drafting help causing him to slip to 19th. On lap 95 another caution came out and brought most drivers into the pits, but Kenseth stayed out. Rain was on it’s way and would start to fall any minute. Kenseth knew he could go farther than most on fuel, so he gambled a bit. Kenseth moved into fourth position and was ready for the rain, but it didn’t come quickly enough and Kenseth had to pit. A four-tire stop with air pressure and trackbar adjustments lasted only 14 seconds, but when Kenseth returned to the track he was in 24th place.

The DEWALT Ford had moved up to 20th by lap 106 when the fifth caution of the day came out. Kenseth and Reiser were planning their strategy when showers began to fall once more. The race was red-flagged on lap 109 and Kenseth climbed out of his car for the second time. But after an hour delay he didn’t the race was officially over due to weather.

“We were getting better fuel mileage than most, so we could have run to about lap 104. The caution came out on lap 97 for that crash and we were just hoping to stay out and that it would rain and we’d be able to get a better finish out of it. We were running 19th and there were only 30 cars on the lead lap, so I figured it was a gamble worth taking. It didn’t really work out because we got back to 20th, but it was worth a try.

“I was real happy with my car. It drove really well. I’m disappointed our results this week weren’t better than what they were. We ran good in the Bud Shootout and ran good in the Busch race and felt like we had a real competitive car, but we just didn’t get the results out of it.”

• NASCAR.com: Solid run gives Kenseth hope for Sunday
• Wisconsin State Journal: Kenseth wants more

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 13, 2003) — The first of the Twin Gatorade 125’s proved to be relatively uneventful. The 50-lap race’s only lead change took place on pit road when Robby Gordon slipped past Jeff Green. After starting in 13th, Matt Kenseth, driver of the DEWALT Ford Taurus, fought his way up to the top five, but after a battle for the transfer spot, ended the race in 16th place.

Just eight laps in, Kenseth had moved into the top 10 and knew what adjustments he wanted the team to make to the car. He called in air pressure adjustments in both the right-side tires. Kenseth was running sixth on lap 32 when he drove the No. 17 car into the pits. The World Champion DEWALT pit crew nailed the stop, changing two tires and adding fuel in just over six seconds.

The DEWALT Ford was fourth when the field cycled through and it looked like Kenseth was on his way to another top-five finish at Daytona. Kenseth was drafting with teammates Greg Biffe and Jeff Burton when he was shuffled back to eighth. After that he fought hard to hang onto the transfer spot, but lost the battle and slipped out of the top 10. In the final 10 laps, Kenseth dropped to 16th, where he finished the race.

Kenseth’s finish meant that his starting position for the Daytona 500 would be determined based on his qualifying lap time from Monday’s qualifying session. And if that wasn’t fast enough, he would take a provisional. With a 49.016-second lap, the DEWALT driver claimed the 36th spot in the 43-car field, meaning no provisional was necessary.

“It was a disappointing race for us,” said Kenseth. “I made a mistake early and got in the back of Steve Park. I feel bad about that. I had a run on him and I thought I was going to get turned under him and didn’t. But then, after that, with this yellow line and out of bounds thing, nobody wants to pull out of line and take a chance. If you do, nobody wants to go with you. If you drive underneath them, they drive you over the yellow line and cut you off. I was three feet under Spencer and he drove me over the yellow line. It was either stay in the gas and cause a big wreck or let off and not pass anybody.”

Daytona Beach, Fla. — Matt Kenseth set the tone Saturday night for the rest of Speedweeks with an amazing third-place finish in his first-ever Budweiser Shootout. The excitement of this 70-lap primetime event was magnified by Kenseth’s late race push from the back of the field to his best Winston Cup finish at the famous Daytona International Speedway.

The nineteen Winston Cup drivers participating in the Budweiser Shootout are either past winners of the event or collected at least one Bud Pole during the 2002 season. The DEWALT driver earned his position in the Shootout when he picked up his first Bud Pole at the Dover race in May. Kenseth began the Shootout in fifth position after a random drawing set the starting grid two days before the event. Practice sessions for the race were promising with the DEWALT Ford running very competitive lap times.

The format of the Shootout changed slightly this year to a two-part race. The first segment was 20 laps, and then all drivers came in for a 10-minute “break” to make adjustments to their cars’ setups. After that, they raced the final 50 laps taking one green-flag pit stop before they reached the checkered flag.

As the green flag fell the race cars quickly began running two- and three-wide on the track and Kenseth found himself immersed in the pack in 10th position. But in just five laps, Kenseth had fought his way outside of that group and into third place running single file with the leaders.

By lap 15, Kenseth had hooked up and was drafting with good friend and competitor, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Earnhardt, Jr. had raced his way from last to first and with Kenseth’s help, was in the lead.

Lap 20 saw the end of the first segment and all of the cars coming down pit road for a 10-minute stop. The DEWALT team changed four tires with air pressure adjustments and re-taped the grill of the car. Kenseth informed his crew chief, Robbie Reiser, that no major changes were necessary.

Quickly after the restart, Kenseth jumped up to the top spot to lead the race with teammate Kurt Busch behind him in second. But teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson were giving the pair a lot of heat, and by lap 32, Kenseth was shuffled back to eighth. On lap 37, the call was made to pit on lap 51 with the #97 car of Busch.

When it was time to pit, Kenseth came down pit road in 12th place. After changing right-side tires only and adding about six seconds of fuel, Kenseth found himself returning to the track near the back and outside of the lead draft. But Kenseth wasn’t alone. The #48 car of Johnson was right behind him. The pair quickly realized they were running eight-tenths of a second faster than the leaders and began to make their way through the field.

Picking the holes to take advantage of, Kenseth and Johnson slid past over 10 cars to place themselves back in the top five by lap 67. The final three laps were as exciting as the entire race with Kenseth slipping back to eighth on lap 68 and then rocketing back to third on the final lap.

“That was pretty scary for the longest time,” stated Kenseth in a post-race interview. “It was good racing, though. Luckily, there was no wreck but it was hard racing and it was a great first day for our DEWALT Million Dollar Challenge car. Jimmie Johnson and I worked really well together. We both got behind a little bit on our pit stop, but we worked together and got all the way back up through there and got a top five out of it.

“Jimmie and I got together after we came out of the pits.” Kenseth continued. “We were behind, but we got going and caught the whole pack. I said to my spotter to tell him to follow me and we’ll make some holes. They were running the bottom groove and the middle groove, so there was really only one place to go. I went up there and Jimmie went up there. Schrader saw me coming and it reminded me of 2000 when me and Schrader ran way up there, but Schrader pulled up in front of me so us three passed about 10 cars the last five laps by working together.

“It was a great race and I’m now really excited about the Gatorade 125’s and the 500.”

Matt Kenseth’s History at Daytona International Speedway:

RACE	DATE	START	FINISH	STATUS	WINNINGS
Pepsi 400	07/06/02	38	30	Running	$73,700
Daytona 500	02/17/02	40	33	Accident	$145,062
Pepsi 400	07/07/01	15	16	Running	$61,875
Daytona 500	02/18/01	16	21	Running	$136,584
Pepsi 400	07/01/00	22	20	Running	$55,480
Daytona 500	02/20/00	24	10	Running	$198,196

Matt Kenseth on racing at Daytona:

“Daytona is one of those tracks that anything can happen. We’ve done a lot to prepare for this race, but there’s only so much control you have over the outcome of restrictor-plate races. We’d like to have a really competitive qualifying run and maybe start a little closer to the front than we normally do there. We want the best finish we can get, but if we leave with a top-10, we’ll consider that a success.”

Robbie Reiser on racing at Daytona:

“We had a decent test here in January and despite our less than ideal performances at superspeedways in the past, we are looking for a top-10 finish to start off the season. This team has worked a lot of overtime in the off-season and we want to start off strong this year and compete for a championship. We hope to have a good run without getting caught up in any accidents and get ourselves a solid finish.”

PITTSFIELD, Mass., February 3, 2003 — GE Plastics, a leading worldwide producer of engineering thermoplastics and a division of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) today announced a one-year sponsorship of the DeWalt Power Tools #17 stock car, driven by Matt Kenseth in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Racing Series. GE Plastics is the manufacturer of GE LEXANâ resin, a material that has long played an important role in NASCAR safety and stock car performance. LEXAN resin is one of the toughest and most versatile polymers in existence and can be found in everything from the bullet resistant canopies on fighter jets to camping equipment, computers, cell phones, CDs and DVDs. 2003 marks the 50th anniversary of GE Plastics’ invention of LEXAN polycarbonate. The company is celebrating this important milestone with events and activities throughout the year.

For more than 15 years, GE LEXAN polycarbonate technology has contributed to driver safety and is a critical component to the sport of NASCAR. Most NASCAR stock cars feature front windshields composed of GE LEXAN resin. The LEXAN resin is then coated with a patented GE polycarbonate adhesive film that can quickly be peeled away during a race when it is soiled by oil, grease, and other race debris, revealing a new, clean windshield. LEXAN resin is also used in the shells of drivers’ helmets because it is lightweight and impact resistant. Helmets made with LEXAN resin are also used in the National Football League, the National Hockey League, and by NASA astronauts.

“Windshields manufactured with LEXAN and its peel-away adhesive make pit stops faster, which is critical in a sport where every second counts,” said Robbie Reiser, Team DeWalt crew chief. “Its strength and clarity prevent windshield disfiguration and allows our driver to concentrate solely on winning the race.”

“LEXAN resin is one of the most widely used and flexible materials in NASCAR today because of its superior clarity, strength and design flexibility,” said Greg Adams, general manager of global marketing for GE Plastics. “We are very excited about our sponsorship of the DeWalt Power Tools number 17 car. We want to raise awareness of what a versatile performance material LEXAN resin is — both in NASCAR and in the everyday lives of consumers.”

The DeWalt racing team is one of the most successful teams in NASCAR today. In 2002, driver Matt Kenseth and crew chief Robbie Reiser clinched five wins, a pit crew championship, one pole position, and 11 Top 5 and 19 Top 10 performances.

In addition to being featured in 38 Winston Cup races in 2003, the DeWalt #17 car with LEXAN sponsorship will make several promotional appearances at GE Plastics events and locations throughout the year.

HUNTERSVILLE, NC — Roush Racing announced today that Winston Cup drivers Kurt Busch and Matt Kenseth have been signed to new multi-year contracts to continue driving for Roush Racing in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.

“The renewed commitments that Kurt and Matt have made to the organization, and the reciprocal commitments that Jack Roush has made to them, will help solidify the already strong momentum that Roush Racing has in the industry,” said Geoff Smith, Roush Racing president.

“All Roush Racing drivers are now signed for long term periods, which will keep ‘silly season’ disruptions to a minimum this year and allow all of our teams to focus solely on racing and building sponsorship value,” Smith continued.

“Our team is really solid,” said Matt Kenseth. “Both Robbie [crew chief Reiser] and I have signed long term contracts with Roush Racing because we know and appreciate that Jack Roush will provide us with everything we need to stay competitive.”

“Jack Roush put me on an accelerated program, found Jimmy Fennig to lead my team, found Newell Rubbermaid to fund us, and continues to give us everything we need to compete at the championship level,” said Kurt Busch. “Both Jimmy and I have signed up for the long haul and very much want to win Roush Racing’s first Winston Cup championship.”

Said owner Jack Roush, “The signing of Matt and Kurt, along with the agreements already in place with our other outstanding drivers, completes our competitive Winston Cup structure and provides us with an unmatched and quite remarkable line up for the next several years.”

Roush Racing is a subsidiary of Livonia, Michigan, based Roush Industries, and fields nine teams in NASCAR competition, including Mark Martin, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch and Jeff Burton in Winston Cup; Stanton Barrett and Burton in Busch Grand National; and Jon Wood and Carl Edwards in the Craftsman Truck Series.

Indianapolis, IN — Diageo, the world’s leading premium drinks company, announced today a multi-faceted Smirnoff Ice motorsports marketing initiative in support of the launch of its latest flavored malt beverage (FMB) Smirnoff Ice Triple Black™. The program includes primary sponsorship of rising NASCAR Winston Cup driver Matt Kenseth’s Roush Racing Ford Taurus, whose five wins in 2002 took top honors, for eight races and secondary status for the balance of the season. The partnership includes driver appearances, the use of show cars and image rights, a large hospitality program and an extensive social responsibility agenda.

“Our partnership with Roush Racing, Matt Kenseth and select NASCAR venues will be an excellent opportunity for Smirnoff Ice to build strong consumer relationships with devoted NASCAR fans” stated James Stammer, Senior Brand Manager for Smirnoff Ice. “Such devotion provides the perfect opportunity to promote the responsible consumption of our brands and our car will proudly support our NASCAR messaging — ‘Be Smart, Drink Responsibly.’”

“The brands under the Diageo umbrella are among the most recognized in the world, and they gained that worldwide recognition through creative and innovative marketing programs, taking the lead on social responsibility, and above all, they are trendsetters,” said Roush Racing President Geoff Smith. “We look forward to aggressively and responsibly building the Smirnoff Ice brand.”

Diageo’s integrated motorsports marketing plan includes acquiring official FMB status at select racing venues and the development of hospitality programs at NASCAR races across the U.S. The company believes its multi-faceted motorsports presence, blended with solid responsibility programming, will increase visibility among its adult male target consumer. Indianapolis-based Just Marketing, Diageo’s motorsports agency, facilitated the partnerships and will provide total management of the program.

• JS Online: Roush Signs Kenseth, Kurt Busch

2002 Winston Cup Champion, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, and other NASCAR drivers are scheduled to appear in support of the Victory Junction Gang Camp with a live performance by country music star Neal McCoy

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (January 20, 2003) — Jeff Green, a premier NASCAR Winston Cup driver, and his brother Mark, a successful driver in the NASCAR Busch Series, have orchestrated a blockbuster charity event to be held at the Wachovia Atrium in Charlotte, N.C., on the evening of February 19, 2003.

The Green Foundation’s first annual dinner, dance, and auction, “Rock into Racing,” will include appearances from several Winston Cup drivers including 2002 Winston Cup Champion Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth, who led all drivers with five wins in the 2002 season. Honorary chairs of the event will be Kyle and Pattie Patty, along with Hollywood star Michael Rooker, who appeared in “Days of Thunder.”

Neal McCoy, two-time country music entertainer of the year, will provide a live performance adding to the evening’s ambience. Auction items include a trip for two to the 2004 Daytona 500 including VIP credentials, a beautiful evening gown worn by the fabulous country music artist, Faith Hill, and driver uniforms signed by Tony Stewart, Dale Jarrett, and many others.

Open to the public, several different ticket packages are available with tables of 10 available for $1,250 and regular seats costing $100 per ticket. Time Warner Cable, AOL Time Warner, Wachovia Corporation, KAT Country and Bennett’s Smokehouse & Saloon Catering have graciously provided sponsorship for the event.

The Green Foundation will distribute the proceeds from the event to the Victory Junction Gang Camp, founded for kids by Kyle and Pattie Petty in honor of Adam Petty. The mission of The Victory Junction Gang Camp is to enrich the lives of children with chronic or life-threatening illnesses by creating camping experiences that are memorable, exciting, fun, empowering, physically safe and medically sound.

Founded in 2002 by NASCAR superstar drivers and brothers Jeff Green and Mark Green, The Green Foundation is a comprehensive charitable corporation established to assist other tax-exempt organizations that support one of the following three major areas: Those that nurture and inspire at-risk youths to pursue their dreams through the development of leadership skills, intellectual abilities, positive attitudes and family values, those that involve motorsports such as organizations that support injured drivers, and those that involve terminally ill children.

For more information contact the Green Foundation at (704) 799-3384.  

In 2003, Matt Kenseth will once again pilot the #17 Reiser Enterprises Ford Taurus in 15 selected Busch Series events with primary sponsorship from Bayer HealthCare LLC Consumer Care Division, the makers of Bayer Aspirin, Aleve, Alka-Seltzer, and Alka-Seltzer Plus. 

Date Location February 15 Daytona March 1 Las Vegas March 29 Texas April 26 California May 24 Charlotte May 31 Dover June 14 Kentucky July 12 Chicago July 19 New Hampshire August 16 Michigan August 22 Bristol September 5 Richmond October 25 Atlanta November 1 Phoenix November 15   Homestead