Brickyard 400 • Sunday, August 3
Indianapolis Motor Speedway • 2.5 miles • Speedway, Indiana

Matt Kenseth at Indianapolis:

DATE	START	FINISH	LAPS	WINNINGS	STATUS
08/05/00	37	26	159/160	$97,435	Running
08/05/01	23	42	2/160	$91,435	Accident
08/04/02	18	3	160/160	$253,750	Running

Matt Kenseth on racing at Indianapolis:

“I think the track is challenging because it just seems so narrow. The entrance to turn one is so tight that it doesn’t look like you can get two stock cars through there side-by-side. But, it is a neat place to go. It’s only about five or six hours from Wisconsin where I grew up, so it’s always fun to race in the Midwest. There’s definitely a lot of history there and it’s definitely one of the bigger races of the year.”

Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at Indianapolis:

“We had such a great run last year. We kept it up front all day long and got a top-five finish out of it so we were very satisfied. We’re looking to do the same thing this year and I know we’re bringing a capable car. We’ve just got to watch our backs on some of these calls during the races. You can’t afford to lose your focus for even one lap the way it’s going.”

Notes:

• Matt will use Chassis MMR-20, which won Las Vegas and was ninth at California

• Matt Kenseth now has 15 top-10 finishes in 20 starts, a league-leading statistic. He also has eight top-five finishes.

• Kenseth's 2003 Winston Cup point lead is now 232 points over second place Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

• If Kenseth wins the Brickyard 400, his Winston-leader bonus payout would be a record $210,000.

July 29, 2003
Kenseth Takes On The Big Apple

CONCORD, NC (July 29, 2003) — Roush Racing driver Matt Kenseth is slated to make a visit to New York City this Wednesday on behalf of associate sponsor, Smirnoff Ice Triple Black. The purpose of the visit is to promote Kenseth’s association with Smirnoff Ice Triple Black’s social responsibility message of “Be Smart, Drink Responsibly.”

Kenseth is on tap to do several interview segments with media outlets such as NBC’s Today Show (New York only), Fox & Friends, CNN, Sports Byline USA, The Sporting News radio network and a live shot at the ESPN Zone in Times Square.

“It’s always neat to go to New York City because there’s just so much going on,” said Kenseth. “It’s a completely different type of world than what we deal with every day in the Winston Cup Series,” he added.

Smirnoff Ice Triple Black Brand Manager Beth Davies and Alan Taylor Communications Executive Meier Ravich are serving as the stewards of the trip. The interviews in the morning will give way to an athletic event in the afternoon-batting practice with the New York Mets as they prepare to play the Milwaukee Brewers that evening.

Matt Kenseth was slightly circumspect in his comments about attending the baseball game.

“I’ll bet you can’t guess who I plan to root for,” he said with a sly smile. Kenseth is a native of Cambridge, Wisconsin.

LONG POND, PA (July 27, 2003) — Raising eyebrows once again, Matt Kenseth missed a top-10 finish at Pocono Raceway in the Pennsylvania 500. However, giving up only two points in the 2003 Winston Cup point standings continues to cause eyes to roll and heads to shake as the No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford once again wields a vice-grip on the season standings.

Rolling off the starting grid from the ninth position, Matt Kenseth was in command of a car that would need no adjustments all day long besides a pound of air pressure here and there. He ran in the top-five for the majority of the race and led lap 35 to gain five bonus points. In the end, the specter of fuel mileage calculations arose throughout pit road and the DEWALT team suffered a mild setback of sorts while hedging their bet.

Seven caution flags slowed the race, but the one that caused the most distress occurred on lap 165 after a one-car accident involving rookie Casey Mears. Unsure as to whether or not the No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford could go the distance, Kenseth came down pit road to top off the fuel tank, but the majority of cars stayed out on the track to take their chances with a future caution. Kenseth spoke about the situation and the call:

“Well, that was but the one [decision to pit] to pit probably wasn’t. When we came down and got fuel there was only three of us on pit road, so, I don’t know, we’ve been a little conservative on the gas mileage thing.”

Kenseth restarted the race from the 21st spot on lap 170 with four new tires. But with only 30 laps to go, he couldn’t mount the charge he needed to get a better finish.

Not that the finish resulted from a lack of trying. Kenseth, displaying his usual “run and gun stretch run,” made up eight positions in the final 27 laps, but wasn’t able to crack the top-10 at the checkered flag.

Afterward, Kenseth was worried about giving too much on a day when so much seemed to be going their way:

“We had a second or third-place car and finished 13th with it. You just can’t do that. You give away too many points. When you play conservative, that’s when you get bit. They said that’s all the fuel we had, but I don’t know, everybody else made it and got some cautions so we need to look that over. There was only three or four of us that had to pit that time. If it’s half or three-quarters of the field, then you can live with it, but when you’re one of only three or four cars to pit, you’ve got something wrong and you’ve got to figure out what it is.”

It should be noted that at the time, Kenseth likely didn’t know that the team only lost two points to their nearest competitor, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who once again took over the second spot after Jeff Gordon succumbed to a wreck on lap 124.

In the end, the competitive side of Kenseth is burning as bright as ever and it should serve as a warning to his closest pursuers down the stretch. When asked about the title chase and the inevitable questions of gaining and losing spots, Kenseth made a bold statement to the media:

“Yeah, but I’m not even that worried about it. You take a third-place car and finish 13th with it, I’m just mad. I don’t care where everybody else finishes. I feel like we’re running good enough to beat those guys and finish in front of them. The 8 got real lucky on that one long green, but then they did a real good job with their pit strategy to get their car up front. I think we had a better car than he did today and a little bit better than the 97 and he ran second, so it’s just real disappointing.”

Despite Kenseth’s disappointment, the team continues to serve as a shining example to all of the other competitors longing for decent finishes. When a 12th or 13th place finish completes a tough day at the racetrack, things are definitely going in the right direction.

• Results from Slinger Super Speedway
• Kenseth prefers life out of limelight
• Official New Hampshire Winston Cup Review
• Matt Kenseth rocks steady
• Kenseth downplays pole position in race
• Consistency is paying off for Kenseth
• Kenseth counts his points but not his chickens
• Playing the Numbers: Kenseth showing why he is No. 1 this season
• Team Feature: Transporter driver Brent Swim Keeps on Truckin’

Pennsylvania 500 • Sunday, July 27
Pocono Raceway • 2.5 miles • Long Pond, Pennsylvania

Matt Kenseth at Pocono Raceway:

DATE	START	FINISH	LAPS	WINNINGS	STATUS
06/19/00	29	14	200/200	$48,665	Running
07/23/00	24	5	200/200	$71,590	Running
06/17/01	31	6	200/200	$59,715	Running
07/29/01	24	14	200/200	$46,840	Running
06/09/02	4	35	161/200	$53,865	Running
07/28/02	22	8	175/175	$64,765	Running
06/08/03	25	3	200/200	$109,870	Running

Matt Kenseth on racing at Pocono:

“We had a good run there last month. We decided to take the same car and hopefully we can repeat the results, or improve on them. Pocono is cool track since it is technical with the shifting, and set-up is very important. You have so much speed coming off the straightaways that you need to handle well through the corners.”

Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at Pocono:

“We’re bringing the same car that finished third in June. Matt was real pleased with how the car handled so there is no reason to make a change since it has only been a few weeks since we were there. We just need to keep getting consistent, strong finishes.”

Notes

• Matt Kenseth now has 15 top-10 finishes in 19 starts, a league-leading statistic. He also has eight top-five finishes.

• Kenseth’s 2003 Winston Cup point lead is now 234 points over second place Jeff Gordon.

LOUDON, NH (July 20, 2003) — Just one week ago at Chicagoland Raceway and after a 12th place finish, Roush Racing driver Matt Kenseth remarked that he was “ashamed” of how he and the team performed. What a difference a week makes. Matt Kenseth had another stellar run in his bid to capture the Winston Cup Championship, coming home in 3rd place at New Hampshire’s “Magic Mile.” It was Kenseth’s 8th top-five finish and his series’ leading 15th top-10 finish in 19 starts.

After rain showers washed out Friday’s qualifying session, Kenseth started the race from the point and led lap one, gaining five bonus points in the process. The second lap proved more challenging as Kenseth got into the turn too hot and washed up the racetrack, falling back to 6th place. The first of twelve caution periods occurred on lap 16, but the leaders stayed out. Kenseth reported that the car was tight and the track was slick. On lap 63, Kenseth came onto pit road for service and crew chief Robbie Reiser elected to change two tires only. Both he and Kenseth had noted that during the Busch race on Saturday, the tires didn’t seem to wear too badly as the long green flag runs continued. After the ensuing restart, Kenseth hung around in the top-five over the next 40 laps. Kenseth moved as high as second behind then race-leader Kevin Harvick by lap 66.

The caution flag waved again on lap 101 for debris in turn two. Kenseth pitted for four tires, a track bar adjustment and fuel in 14.60 seconds, but restarted the race in 12th as several teams opted for two tire stops. Kenseth began one of his famous charges up through the field as the No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford moved back into the top-10 on a lap 122 restart. Five laps later, he took over the ninth spot from teammate Kurt Busch. He got as high as seventh place before another caution flag flew on lap 143 for Jeremy Mayfield’s flat tire. Kenseth ducked in the pits and overshot his stall, but backed up for service without further trouble. He was listed in 16th position on the lap 151 restart.

Again, Kenseth worked his way steadily up through the field - all the way to seventh by lap 193. He reported that the car was balanced and working well.

The real challenge of the day for the DEWALT team occurred shortly after the eleventh caution period on lap 204 for a fuel spill on pit road. Kenseth twice returned to pit road to top off his fuel tank in a bid to make it the rest of the way. In doing so, he gave up a massive amount of track position and restarted the race in 32nd place - one of the final cars on the lead lap. The race restarted on lap 212 and Kenseth went right to work dispatching cars right and left as he avoided trouble and worked his way patiently up through the field. By lap 217, he was 30th. Ten laps later, he was running in 26th. Many of the cars at the front of the field would need one more stop and the frontrunners themselves were certain not to make it all the way to the checkered. By lap 232, Kenseth found himself in 23rd.

After the final caution flag of the day flew on lap 233 for Christian Fittipaldi’s wreck on the front stretch, Kenseth jumped ahead of all competitors ducking onto pit road to top off for the final fuel run. His closest championship pursuer Jeff Gordon was among them. By staying out under this caution period, Kenseth moved up to 12th on the final restart on lap 240. Twenty laps later, he cracked the top-five running order. With just 34 to go, he moved around Robbie Gordon for fourth place. The leader of the race and the other two cars ahead of Kenseth were supposedly within a lap of finishing the race, fuel-wise. Kenseth radioed to the crew for a recalculation of their gas mileage efforts. He openly asked if he needed to conserve fuel or if he should go for it. Crew chief Robbie Reiser assured Matt that according to their calculation; they should be OK, but that they weren’t stopping anyway, regardless of the consequences.

Armed with that reassuring information, Kenseth moved around the outside of Ryan Newman for third place with just 12 laps remaining in the New England 300. Without anyone running out of fuel, that’s where he finished, behind winner Jimmie Johnson and second-place Kevin Harvick. The biggest news involved Jeff Gordon, his closest points pursuer, who had dropped precipitously in the field, finishing 24th. After the race, Kenseth spoke about his day:

“We were just having fun. I think we [Kenseth & race-winner Jimmie Johnson] were both trying to save gas. We had a real good car all day; we just really didn’t have great track position. Robbie and the guys knew what they were doing and got it full of gas when we needed to. On four tires I could run pretty good, we had a pretty competitive car. They gave me good pit stops. I didn’t do too good of job. I overshot the pits and that cost us some positions, but those guys did a great job and we came home with a great finish.”

This finish bolstered Kenseth’s 2003 Winston Cup Championship point lead to 234 points over second place. It is the largest lead of the year in what is steadily becoming a runaway success for the No. 17 DEWALT Tools team. Kenseth reflected on his good points fortune in the post-race press conference, when he was asked if he could keep up this pace for the remainder of the year:

“I don’t know. I guess that’s the four million dollar question. I hope we can keep doing it. All you can do is show up every week and do the best job you can. This week I feel real fortunate to get out of here and gain points. I thought we had a good car all day, but the [No.] 24 was really stout all day. I thought it looked like he was either gonna win or run second, but I don’t know what happened to him there at the end. All you can do is go and run as hard as you can every week and try to gather as many points as you can and see how it shakes out at the end of the year. We’re not doing anything different than we ever did, things are just falling into place more than what maybe they have in the past.”

Next week, the tour heads back to Pocono’s “Mountain Thunder” for another race at the triangular 2.5-mile track. Kenseth finished 3rd in the previous race in June.

JOLIET, IL (July 13, 2003) — A twelfth place finish at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday left an impression on fans of the No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford that even when times are tough, it’s a measure of just how high the expectations have gotten for driver Matt Kenseth. While most teams would consider the finish a decent day at the track, Kenseth was disappointed with only his 4th non top-10 finish in 18 starts this season.

“It was just a frustrating day,” said Kenseth. “We were real lucky to get a 12th-place finish out of it. I’m just going to be happy that we salvaged a terrible day with a decent finish and go on to next week and try to do better.”

Better?

Kenseth still holds a 165-point advantage in the point standings after close rivals Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Bobby Labonte both succumbed to crashes, which ended their respective days. Only Jeff Gordon gained ground on the DEWALT team, finishing fourth and picking up 15 points on Kenseth.

Rolling off the starting grid in 24th place, Kenseth maneuvered the No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford into the top-10 for the first time on lap 58. He radioed that the balance of the car was good, but he had a lack of grip as a primary complaint. His first pit stop of the day occurred on lap 62, as he came down pit road for four tires and fuel. Rotating back out onto the track as other teams pitted, Kenseth was shuffled back to 13th, but hung out in the top-15 until the first caution period of the day for debris on lap 81. Crew chief Robbie Reiser elected to go with a two-tire stop and Kenseth jumped back up to 9th on the lap 86 restart.

As the day went on, Kenseth complained that the car was loose, then alternating tight. He did manage, however, to stay among the top-10 over the next 40 or so laps, alternating as high as seventh place on lap 122 before the fourth caution of the day on lap 127.

Kenseth took four scuffed tires for the restart on lap 131, but the handling went away very quickly. The car had become very tight and was difficult for Kenseth to maneuver through the turns. He keenly felt the car was off speed lap after lap. He was losing several tenths of a second per lap over the next 20 circuits, short pitting just in time to avoid going a lap down to then leader Jeff Gordon. This time, the No. 17 DEWALT team went back to the sticker tires and the handling came back. However, Kenseth went one lap down to leader Jimmie Johnson while re-entering the track on lap 178.

Kenseth caught a break as the caution waved on lap 207 for a one car wreck involving Dale Earnhardt Jr. Reiser contemplated keeping Kenseth out on the track to gain track position, but overruled himself and brought the car down pit road for four more tires. Kenseth restarted in 18th and the caution they would have hoped for did occur just one lap later on lap 213 as Bobby Labonte endured a horrifying wreck in which his car was engulfed in flames. Luckily, Labonte escaped uninjured.

Trapped as the first car one lap down, Kenseth could not catch the leaders, who had the luxury of clean air up front. He maintained his steady reputation, however, by moving up through the field until he was the first car one lap down. With less than 50 laps to go, Kenseth was running 15th. He would pick up three more positions over the closing laps, but was unable to take advantage of getting back on the lead lap for a shot at those repeat top-tens his fans have become accustomed to.

Kenseth expounded on the reasons for what he deemed a sub-par run following the race.

“We all tried really hard, we just made poor decisions,” said Kenseth. “I started making them, got the wrong tires on the car and just the way the pits stops worked out and everything, just got us so far behind we could just never come back from it,” he added.

When reminded of his point tally, however, he sounded a little relieved.

“To mess up as many things as we messed up and finish 12th is a great job, so I’m real proud of all the DEWALT guys, the guys at Roush Racing that give us this reliable equipment and we needed to be there at the end and we were. We didn’t run good, and I’m real ashamed of the way we ran and the things we did today, but I’m excited that we still got a good finish out of it.”

Next week, Matt Kenseth and the Winston Cup Series head to the “Magic Mile” of New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire.

• What a difference a year makes for Kenseth
• Kenseth extends points lead
• Matt Kenseth
• Can anyone catch Kenseth?
• Steady Kenseth rises to top
• Kenseth top story at 2003 midpoint
• Kenseth’s poor start doesn't hurt his standing
• Kenseth happy with showing
• Kenseth comes through Daytona still out front of the pack
• Unsung Kenseth takes one for the team
• Kenseth roars past the flag toward career as pitchman
• No glitz, no problem: Kenseth tops points chase without flare
• Show time for the ‘Killer Bees’
• Leading by example

CONCORD, NC (July 8, 2003) — It’s time to meet one of the No. 17 DEWALT Racing team’s unsung heroes — truck driver Brent Swim. He’s the guy logging over 60,000 miles on the road each year carrying a very precious cargo — the No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford and the rest of the mobile shop on wheels that’s known as the team transporter.

Brent has been with the team for four years and he’s as dependable as they come. Crew Chief Robbie Reiser sleeps at night knowing that Swim is in charge of transporting all of the race cars and equipment to every race and every test session. “Brent’s really got his act together,” said Reiser. “That’s what you strive for on any team, a truck driver who is so dependable that you don’t give it a second thought that you’re gonna see your transporter in the garage when you get there Friday morning.”

Brent Swim is a native of Princeton, W.Va., and has been married to Kim for the last 16 years. They have two children, Chase and Jenna, and they all live in Mooresville, N.C. When Brent is home, that is. Unfortunately, his job driving over the road does keep him gone quite a bit, and probably more than he’d like — but Swim never complains.

“This is a great job to have, especially when you drive for a successful team,” said Swim. “It’s kind of hard to log all of those hours each year if you’re hauling a rig for a non-competitive team… sometimes that’ll eat at you that you’re wasting your time. I certainly have never felt that way here at the 17 [team]. With the way we’re running this year, it’s almost exciting to get out on the road and watch how the people going up and down the highway react to you.”

Another interesting aspect of Brent Swim’s duties are his “chef” capabilities. Brent cooks for the dozen or so guys who travel each week as part of the road crew. His specialties are chicken and shrimp. “Cooking is a nice diversion from all the hectic stuff that goes on in the garage,” says Swim. “When you get compliments from the guys on your cooking, you know you’ve done good,” he adds. But he quickly qualifies that statement with the converse: “Oh, and if you mess something up, you won’t hear the end of it for a while,” he says, laughing. He’s probably thinking back to that afternoon in Pocono earlier this year when he tried to bake some macaroni and cheese. Needless to say, it didn’t work and the guys ribbed him about it. “Oh yeah, the macaroni… so it was a little tough,” says Brent. “How do you think the cowboys used to eat when they were on the range?”

Tropicana 400 • Sunday, July 13
Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet, Ill. • 1.5 miles
Chassis Number MMR-19, finished second in the Coca-Cola 600

Matt Kenseth performance at Chicagoland Speedway:

DATE	START	FINISH	LAPS	WINNINGS	STATUS
07/15/02	37	7	267/267	$70,650	Running
07/14/02	16	14	267/267	$75,800	Running

“I guess most people really look at this week as the mid-point of the 2003 season and I’m really happy with how it’s played out so far. I think a lot of people said we were going to stumble at Sears Point and stumble at Daytona and lose a bunch of points, but that didn’t happen. I think it’s a real credit to Robbie Reiser and this team and the way they perform each week. I’m looking forward to Chicago. It’s close to home and I like the track. I’m also running the Busch race this week so that’ll give me some extra laps for the Cup race. As a team, we just want to keep this momentum moving forward and not worry about how much of a point lead we have or who’s gaining on us.”

Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at Chicago:

“I think we passed a real test over the past two weeks and I’m real proud of my guys for the way they’ve handled themselves. Chicago is just another race for us — another week for us to go out and do our best. We know we’re bringing a great car to this event. We finished second at Charlotte with it earlier this spring and it really responds to adjustments well. I think it’ll do a nice job for us this weekend.”

Notes

• Matt Kenseth now has 14 top-10 finishes in 17 starts, a league-leading statistic. He also has seven top-five finishes.
• Kenseth’s 2003 Winston Cup point lead is now up to 180 points over second place Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Jeff Gordon sits in third, 23 points back from second place.
• Chicagoland Speedway is the closest track on the Winston Cup circuit to Kenseth’s hometown of Cambridge, Wisconsin.

As almost anyone knows, Metallica is Matt’s favorite band. Matt & Katie went to last Sunday’s Metallica concert in Boston and met everyone in the band except Lars! Katie says that Matt was more than a little star struck, even though the band was so friendly, and that they had a great time. Click photo to enlarge.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL (July 5, 2003) — Matt Kenseth, driving the No. 17 Smirnoff Ice Triple Black Ford, had a spectacular night coming home in 6th place in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Kenseth bested all but one of his closest rivals in the 2003 points race, including event-favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. It was Kenseth’s 14th top-10 finish in 17 events so far this year. Though plenty pleased, he was quick to point out there is a long road ahead.

“It is a load off my shoulders to get out of Daytona with a top 10 finish and not really lose any points. We lost a couple to Bobby [Labonte], I guess. I don’t know who else finished up there, but other than that, we didn’t really lose any points. That was a great night for us. Everybody was talking about going to Sears Point and losing a bunch and coming to Daytona and losing a bunch and we really didn’t do that bad. I feel great about what we’ve done so far, but we’re still not here to the halfway point and we’ve got a lot of work to do.” 

After using a provisional to start the race in 37th place, Kenseth quickly moved up through the field in a car he was plenty happy with following the final practice session at the 2.5–mile track. Drafting up through the middle of the field with help from teammate Kurt Busch, Kenseth found himself in 15th place by the 10th lap. The racing groove was a little crowded and Kenseth had a minor bump with rookie Casey Mears going through the tri-oval two laps later. He radioed to his crew that the car was a little tight and that the track was slick. The car, it seemed however, could run anywhere on the track.

Kenseth came in for his first pit stop on lap 38 and got right side tires only. Seven and a half seconds later, he was on his way. The only adjustments used all night on the car were air pressure changes to the tires. With the gutsy two-tire stop, Kenseth rotated out to fifth place on the grid when the pit cycle ended. He stayed in the top-five lead draft over the next 20 laps until the first caution flag of the night flew on lap 63.

Coming down pit road on the next lap, Kenseth overshot his pit stall, narrowly missing right front tire carrier Chris Brook in the process. The over the wall crew didn’t panic, but simply backed Kenseth into position and completed a four-tire stop. Due to the lengthy nature, however, he restarted the event in 27th position on lap 68. Remarking on his pit crew’s successful evening, Kenseth offered these thoughts:

“Everything went good except for when I overshot the pits. Our pit stops were good times and we had great stops on pit road.”

Just five laps later, the “big one” occurred as teammate Kurt Busch’s right rear tire went down and he spun in front of the pack coming off of turn two. A dozen cars were collected, but Kenseth turned down and went under the spinning cars, missing it completely. After topping off the fuel tank, Kenseth restarted in 12th on lap 79. One lap later at the halfway point, he was back in the top-10.

Through the pit cycle in the coming laps around 105, crew chief Robbie Reiser had Kenseth stay out as others pitted. This strategy helped Kenseth lead four laps from 106 to 110, earning five bonus points. Kenseth pitted for right side tires and fuel on lap 116, relinquishing the lead.

As the laps wound down, drama began to unfold in the pits as Kenseth twice called over the radio to see if they could stretch their fuel mileage to a win. Crew chief Robbie Reiser told the disappointing news after conferring with crewmember Dave Paronto. They were three laps short according to the calculator.

With 21 laps to go, the leaders pitted for their final stop, handing Kenseth second place overall behind teammate Greg Biffle. Kenseth urged Reiser to keep him out on the track as long as possible before the final pit stop—presumably with only three laps remaining in the contest.

The race almost became two races in one at that point—those that could go the distance versus those that couldn’t. Though Kenseth was short on fuel, a caution would have set him up nicely. The laps ticked down, and with four to go, Reiser brought Kenseth down pit road for a splash of fuel. Two seconds later, he was out of the pit stall and heading back out onto the track in a desperate attempt to stay ahead of the cars who pitted several laps before him.

He was able to stay in front of them and crossed the line in 6th place overall, missing a top-five by about 10 feet as the fifth place car of Bobby Labonte ran out of gas on the last lap, but coasted to the line just ahead of the No. 17 Smirnoff Ice Triple Black Ford.

Afterwards, Kenseth was beaming about the team’s performance.

“It doesn’t matter where you start here. That’s just as fast as our car was. I felt good about getting up front if we had good pit stops and the way the draft works and everything. I actually felt good about my car after practice yesterday. It handled really well. It wasn’t the fastest, but it handled good. A lot of people weren’t handling like we were and that was a big key to us staying up front on older tires. There were a lot of guys that went for it. Some of them didn’t make it and some of the ones who did had good gas mileage. We almost had as good of gas mileage, we were just a lap or two away and just didn’t want to take the gamble tonight.” 

Matt Kenseth actually stretched his point lead on his closest followers — now a 180-point advantage heading into next week’s event at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois.

Pepsi 400 • Saturday, July 5
Daytona International Speedway • 2.5 miles
Chassis Number MMR-22, same car as Daytona 500

Matt Kenseth performance at Daytona International Speedway:

DATE	START	FINISH	LAPS	WINNINGS	STATUS
02/20/00	24	10	200/200	$198,196	Running
07/01/00	22	20	160/160	$55,480	Running
02/18/01	16	21	196/200	$136,584	Running
07/07/01	15	16	160/160	$61,875	Running
02/17/02	40	33	154/200	$147,662	Accident
07/06/02	38	30	154/160	$73,700	Running
02/16/03	35	20	109/109	$200,345	Running

“The point lead that we have right now is a nice cushion, but we want to be protective of it without holding anything back week in and week out. Our approach to this race is just the same*to go out and do the best job we possibly can and hopefully stay out of trouble. This is one of those events where a lot of factors are taken out of the driver’s hands, but if we’re heads up, there’s no reason why we can’t have a day like we did at Talladega earlier this year.”

“We’re bringing the same car we used in the [Daytona] 500 and it performed pretty well for us at Talladega, as well. Qualifying for this event is one step and we don’t get too involved with it. The draft kind of equalizes the cars. You have to be in the right position at the right time.”

• The No. 17 Roush Racing Ford will once again sport the colors of Smirnoff Ice Triple Black for this event. It is the second race out of seven total for this sponsor in 2003.
• Matt Kenseth’s 174-point lead in the standings at this point is the largest spread in 16 years.
• Kenseth and wife Katie just finished up a drive in the 2003 Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America on their Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

• Quiet Kenseth keeps opponents at bay by staying on track
• Kenseth Lays Low While Out in Front
• Unflappable Kenseth shows no signs of weakness
• 17 team stays aggressive in pursuit of title
• Reiser’s preparation, confidence in crew put 17 on top
• Kenseth follows Labonte plan to lead former champ
• Kenseth quietly enjoys sitting on top
• Kenseth’s points lead the widest since Earnhardt’s 1987 edge
• Points leader holds ground at Infineon