Chicago articles

n Kenseth disappointed despite second-place run
n Kenseth had right car, wrong strategy
n Earnhardt’s gamble leaves Kenseth in the pits
n Kenseth 2nd in Chicago
n Kenseth the best, but can't get best of Earnhardt
n Tire decision costs Kenseth a victory
n Finish tires out Kenseth
n Crew chief takes blame: Reiser says his pit call cost Kenseth
n Kenseth one of many looking for a lift
n Nextel Cup results
n Busch results
n Kenseth maintains hope despite winless season
n Kenseth slowly finding his way back
n Starting, staying up front key for Kenseth
n With right tire and a little luck, Kenseth could challenge Stewart 
n Kenseth hopes good times start rolling
n Kenseth: Three top-11 finishes signal turning point to dismal season
n Kenseth picks up steam with strong Daytona showing
n Ford Racing interview with Matt & Robbie

Matt Kenseth dominates USG Sheetrock 400; Finishes 2nd

n Cup race photos by ASP

JOLIET, IL (July 10, 2005) — It was a red, white and blue weekend as Matt Kenseth dominated the inaugural USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway by leading the majority of laps in his No. 17 USG Sheetrock/ DEWALT Ford Taurus. After a late caution and pit stop to change four tires, Kenseth drove his way back to a second-place finish after leading the pack for over 170 laps.

The weekend was a good one for Kenseth in the red and blue USG Sheetrock/DEWALT Ford. He started out strong on Friday, posting the tenth quickest lap in the first practice session. He followed that up by qualifying in the fourth starting position by getting around the 1.5-mile tri-oval in just 28.816 seconds. In the second practice session held on Saturday, Kenseth led the field by logging the fastest lap in practice. He ended the third and final practice with the seventh fastest lap.

Feeling confident, Kenseth rolled off the grid in the fourth spot and quickly moved to the front. Because of concern over tire wear, NASCAR called for a mandatory caution period after 25 laps to examine the Goodyear rubbers. Kenseth brought the No. 17 down pit road during this first caution period and received four fresh tires and fuel, along with an air pressure adjustment to add grip in the car. The crew determined that there were no major problems with the tires and Kenseth restarted the race in the third position. Kenseth made his way into the top spot on lap 32 and earned five bonus points early on for leading a lap. Kenseth bounced around between second and third position before assuming the lead on lap 70. Kenseth would hold the No. 17 USG Sheetrock/DEWALT Ford in that spot for approximately 170 laps.

Kenseth came down pit road during the second caution period, which slowed the field on lap 79, and received another air pressure adjustment, four new tires and fuel, in an effort to tighten the car up just a bit. Kenseth radioed to his crew that the No. 17 was pretty good at the end of the run. Kenseth continued to dominate and led the field through lap 118, when the fourth caution of the afternoon slowed the field. Continuing to make small adjustments to the car, Kenseth got four fresh tires, fuel and another set of air pressure adjustments. The crew completed the stop in just 13.3 seconds and Kenseth maintained his position in the lead.

By the time the next caution flag flew, Kenseth had developed a two and a half second lead over second place. Kenseth continued to lead until lap 243 when a late, and unwanted, caution brought the field to a halt. Kenseth was running away with it but, with approximately twenty-five laps to go, elected to come down pit road for fresh tires. Many in the field elected to stay out and some took two tires only. As a result, Kenseth restarted the event in eighth place on lap 248. He managed to pick up a couple of spots before another late caution slowed the field on lap 249. The field didn’t receive the green flag until lap 254, with Kenseth in sixth place. With thirteen laps to work with, Kenseth managed to move into the second spot, where he would ultimately take the checkered flag for his best finish of the season.

“I know finishing second was a good finish for us,” said Kenseth after the race, “but I can’t help feeling disappointed. We had the car to win this thing today and we came up short. We were fast all weekend, qualified well, and led the most laps here today. We’re close. We’re really close. We finally figured something out that’s helped us over the last four or five weeks and our finishes reflect that. I think we can race our way into the Chase, and that is our goal for the next eight races.”

With his second-place finish, Kenseth gained three spots in the Nextel Cup point standings, moving up to the 16th position.

The No. 17 DEWALT Ford Taurus will be back in competition next Sunday at the New Hampshire International Speedway.

Kenseth finishes 8th in Busch race at Chicagoland

n Busch race photos by ASP

JOLIET, IL (July 9, 2005) – After a break from Busch competition, Kenseth made his return in the No. 17 Waste Management Ford Taurus to compete in the USG Durock 300 at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday. Kenseth continued his string of top-ten finishes by taking the checkered flag in the eighth position.

Kenseth qualified the Waste Management Ford in the 28th starting position on Friday, but would have to start at the back of the field on race day for changing the right front tire after the qualifying run. Kenseth experienced a tire rub during his qualifying laps which damaged the right front. When the field took the green flag on a hot Saturday afternoon at Chicagoland, Kenseth rolled off in the 40th-spot. He quickly began to move up through the field, however, and was running 23rd when the first caution of the day slowed the field on lap 29.

Kenseth brought the No. 17 down pit road for service and received four fresh tires and fuel, along with air pressure and track bar adjustments. By the time the second caution was displayed on lap 57, Kenseth was up to the 21st-spot. In a strategic move on pit road, Kenseth and his crew elected to take right-side tires only, gaining valuable positions off of pit road. Kenseth restarted the event in tenth place.

Kenseth would keep the Waste Management entry in the top ten for the next forty laps or so, and was running 11th on lap 120 when he felt he had a flat tire. Kenseth was forced to come down pit road early for a green flag pit stop to change four tires and, as a result, rejoined the field in 31st place, two laps down. As the laps ticked off, the competition began to come down pit road for their regularly scheduled green flag stops and Kenseth was able to make up the ground he lost by coming in earlier. By lap 152, when the fifth caution flag of the afternoon flew, Kenseth was back on the lead lap and running in the 13th position. He brought the No. 17 down pit road and, because the car was a little tight, the crew took a rubber out of the left rear, made an air pressure adjustment and gave Kenseth four tires and fuel.

The No. 17 was back in the top ten by lap 180, and Kenseth managed to pick up a couple of spots to finish in the eighth position. “The car was decent today and we were able to continue our string of top ten finishes. We’ve had several weeks off in our Waste Management car and although I’m glad we were able to finish in the top ten again, I’m looking forward to next week being even better now that the team has knocked a little of the rust off this weekend,” said Kenseth, after the race.

Kenseth will again be behind the wheel of the No. 17 Waste Management Ford Taurus next Saturday in Loudon, New Hampshire.

Matt Kenseth post-race quote

MATT KENSETH - No. 17 DeWalt Power Tools Taurus (finished 2nd)

WOULD A LITTLE MORE TIME HAVE BEEN ENOUGH FOR YOU? “Yeah, it’s just you put yourself that far behind at a track that’s 100 percent dependent on aerodynamics. It’s pretty frustrating. We had a car that’s three-tenths faster than people and we lost.”

ON HIS SECOND-PLACE FINISH. “We just weren’t in front. It was a big advantage to be out front today. Hindsight is 20/20. You know, we were kind of a sitting duck. We knew we wanted to put four tires on the car because we ran so good all day, but you knew a bunch of them were going to get two, so with that last caution we just didn’t have enough time. But it was a great job by the guys in the pits. They did it perfect every time we stopped on pit road, and I got to thank USG Sheetrock for sponsoring the race on our car this week. At this point, to have the field covered that bad and lose it then.”

WHAT ABOUT THE MOMENTUM THIS TEAM HAS GAINED IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS? “They asked me two weeks ago if we thought we’d make the Chase and I really honestly think we can. Robbie’s done a great job figuring out some things on these cars to make them run faster. We’ve used a lot of Greg’s stuff, Greg and the 16 crew have helped us a lot. It’s just awfully frustrating when you get beat when you’re running that good.”

MATT KENSETH - No. 17 USG Sheetrock Taurus Press Conference

“We pretty much led the whole race, and thought we had, if not the best car, one of the best cars, just disappointed to give it away. You hate to not be a gracious loser but it’s tough to lead almost every lap and get beat at the end on pit strategy. So, it was a tough loss for us to take, but we’ve been gaining some momentum and we’ve been running a little bit better.”

IT’S EASY TO LOOK BACK NOW AND MAKE THE CALL, BUT WAS THERE MUCH DEBATE AT THE TIME ABOUT WHAT TO DO, OR WERE YOU PRETTY SURE? “Well, there really wasn’t any debate. We were up front pretty much all day and we really didn’t have much to talk about. I think we led the whole last three-quarters of the race, so every time the caution came out if we ran 10 more laps we came in and got four tires. We never really had anything to talk about all day, there wasn’t any calls to discuss. And when the caution came out I just I said Robbie to we stay or do we get four? I wasn’t going to argue with him. I knew that some guys were going to get two. I knew the guys that were running right up front were probably going to get four, and I knew there might be a couple of guys that were gambling and stay out. It’s difficult to pass here when you get behind because of the aerodynamics and how fast we’re going. I still thought we had a shot at ‘em until we got that last caution, and then we just didn’t have enough time, really. But, there was really no debate for it, and I don’t know if it was the right or wrong call. We didn’t win the race and we had the best car, so it just seems right now it was the wrong call but it’s hard to say if we went green for 20 laps or 19 or whatever it was on the last restart, I still think we would’ve won the race and it would’ve been the right call, so it’s tough to figure out.”

EVEN THOUGH IT’S FRUSTRATING NOT TO WIN, BECAUSE YOU AND DALE ARE SUCH GOOD FRIENDS, IF YOU HAD TO LOSE TO ANYBODY, WOULD HE BE THE GUY YOU’D RATHER LOSE TO TODAY? “No.”

WHO WOULD IT BE? “No one. You don’t want to lose. We’re all racing to win and you hate to lose, especially on a day like this. I guess if you were going to lose, you’d rather lose by somebody like Tony that came out at the end of the race and was faster, wasn’t faster than us, but could keep up with us. You always hate to lose to somebody that you never had to race with all day and then you get yellows. I’m glad for him and his team, but I’d much rather be there, obviously.”

YOU’VE STILL HAD FOUR TOP-10S IN YOUR LAST SIX RACES. DOES THIS GIVE YOU OPTIMISM HEADING INTO THE SECOND HALF OF REACHING THE TOP 10 IN STANDINGS? “I said that a couple weeks ago. Obviously, if we go next week and run 30th, we probably out of it, but I said that a few weeks ago. I was watching all the articles about Dale, Jr. and Jeff Gordon and we’re not far behind them. Today we didn’t make up a lot of points on the leader, obviously, he finished right behind me. So, obviously we didn’t gain much on the leader, but we are gaining on the top 10, and it seems like we figured something out that helps us perform better, about three or four weeks ago, and if we can keep our performance how it is and not have problems, I think we can still get back in it.”

GIVEN THE TROUBLE PEOPLE WERE HAVING WITH TIRES TODAY, HOW BIG OF A GAMBLE DO YOU THINK IT WAS FOR JUNIOR TO TAKE TWO ON THE LAST STOP? “None. I mean, they only had 20 laps left. We were running full-fuel runs most of the day. It was still only one full fuel run. He pitted with 50 laps, and that was less than a full fuel run. I think we went 65 laps on fuel, so it really wasn’t any gamble at all as far as having trouble with the tires.”

WOULD THAT GAMBLE HAVE PAID OFF FOR YOU HAD THERE NOT BEEN THE LAST CAUTION THAT ATE UP THREE OR FOUR GREEN-FLAG LAPS? “I think it would’ve, because, especially on the restart, on the first restart I passed three cars and I was underneath Jeremy and almost had him passed and had a two-car cushion behind Tony and the caution came out. And after that I spent two or three laps passing Jeremy and then Tony got up in my right rear and passed me and I passed him back and he passed me back and I passed him back again, and that probably cost us two seconds to the leader right there. I knew after he passed me the first time and he had four tires, which that’s the way you have to race but then get the best finish you can, that the way we were racing we were losing a lot of time to the leader and I knew it was going to be tough to accomplish. But if we did get our 19 green laps in, I’m pretty confident that we would’ve got up there and beat ’em.”

Matt Kenseth post-qualifying quote

MATT KENSETH - No. 17 DeWalt Power Tools Taurus (qualified 4th) — “We’ve had a good day. We unloaded in race trim and I was pretty happy with our car. We made some changes to it, kind of off of what we did to our Busch car, and it seemed to respond to them really well. And Robbie [Reiser] changed a bunch of stuff on this car before we got here and it seems like he did a good job with that. Overall, it’s been a good day. We qualified better than what we expected, ran faster than I thought we were going to run, and it’s been handling good in race trim, too, so I’m pretty excited for the weekend. We got our USG car, and they’re sponsoring the race and our car, and I think this is probably the best engine we’ve ever had. Doug Yates and those guys have really been working hard, and we’ve got tons of horsepower, so we just have to keep working on the car and hopefully we’ll be there on Sunday.”

YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS TRACK? “We’ve had some okay runs here. We definitely have never had any spectacular, we’ve never been a contender to win — here and Kansas for some reason, they’re sister tracks, but we struggle a little bit at both tracks for I don’t know what the reason is. I think we’re better this time. We ran really well at Michigan and I think we learned a lot there. You run the same type of package here, pretty close, similar set-ups and same type of cars, and the tracks drive pretty similar. So, I’ve got a good feeling about this weekend.”

ON HIS LAP. “That was good. Whenever we can pick up from practice, that’s a great thing. I’m really looking forward to Sunday. We’ve got our USG Sheetrock car racing in the USG Sheetrock 400, so I think Robbie’s done a good job with the car. It’s had a lot of speed since we’ve been here. It was really good in race trim this morning, and it was fast in qualifying trim, too, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Chicagoland Race Preview
July 6, 2005

Chicagoland Speedway • Joliet, Ill.
USG Durock 300 • Saturday, July 9 • 2:00 pm/e NBC
USG Sheetrock 400 • Sunday, July 10 • 3:00 pm/e NBC

 
Matt Kenseth Busch Series record at Chicagoland

Date	S	F	Laps	Reason
07/14/01	3	30	152/200	Engine
07/12/03	7	2	200/200	Running
07/10/04	4	16	200/200	Running

 
Matt Kenseth Busch Series totals at Chicagoland

	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles
Cumulative	3	0	1	1	0

 
Matt Kenseth Cup Record at Chicagoland

Date	S	F	Laps	Reason
07/15/01	37	7	267/267	Running
07/14/02	16	14	267/267	Running
07/13/03	24	12	266/267	Running
07/11/04	26	12	267/267	Running

 
Matt Kenseth Cup Series totals at Chicagoland

	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles
Cumulative	4	0	0	1	0

 
Matt Kenseth on racing at Chicagoland:

“We’ve consistently finished in the top fifteen at Chicago, so it’s not a bad track for us. Our team is really focused right now, with the goal of finishing in the top ten every week in order to work our way into the Chase. We’ve been strong for the last several weeks and have posted some good finishes that have us moving up in the points. We’re looking for another top ten finish this weekend in our USG Ford.”

Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at Chicagoland:

“I’m really proud of our team right now, the way they’ve focused and pulled together to start getting some solid finishes. We’re taking car number 39 to Chicago, which we ran in Dover just over a month ago. Our seventh-place finish there really began our turnaround, so I’m looking forward to good things out of that car in Chicago.”

Busch Series Crew Chief Chad Norris on racing at Chicagoland:

“The team is really excited to go to Chicago after the long break we’ve had since we last raced. We are taking the car we had prepared for Dover to Chicago this weekend. It was fast at Dover so we’re looking forward to good things in Chicago.”

Fast Facts

n In his three Busch Series starts at Chicago, Matt Kenseth has one top-five finish.

n In his four Cup Series starts at Chicago, Matt Kenseth has finished in the top-fifteen four times, with one top-ten finish.

n Kenseth will be running chassis number 50 on Saturday in the USG Durock 300 Busch Series event. This is a brand new car that the team tested at Dover in May.

n Kenseth will be running car number 39 in the USG Sheetrock 400 on Sunday in Chicago. This is the same car that ran in the All-Star Challenge this year, and finished seventh in Dover last month.

n Matt Kenseth will be driving the red and blue No. 17 USG Ford Taurus this weekend at the Chicagoland Speedway.