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Matt tests ‘Car of Tomorrow’ at Bristol
 50
NASCAR Nextel Cup teams traveled to Bristol today for the
first large test of the new “Car of Tomorrow.” The new body
types will make their debut at the half-mile track in three
weeks.
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Photos & Videos from testing
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Suspended crew chiefs get brief respite
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Test session to serve as dress rehearsal for first ‘COT’
race
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Teams get down to
business, up to decent speeds with new cars
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NASCAR may move Car of Tomorrow to full schedule in 2008
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COT comparisons
Bolin named Crew Chief of the Race
February 25, 2006
Interim crew chief Chip Bolin wins WYPALL Wipers Crew
Chief of the Race
 FONTANA,
California (February 25, 2007) — In only his second race
in command of the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford
Fusion, interim crew chief Chip Bolin guided Matt
Kenseth to a successful defense of his Auto Club 500
title and a sweep of the California Speedway race
weekend. Rallying the No. 17 team from a 25th place
qualifying run, the lead engineer-turned crew chief led
Kenseth to his second trip to victory lane in less than
24 hours and his first Nextel Cup victory under a crew
chief other than Robbie Reiser. In addition to
transforming a lackluster race car into the fastest car
on the track, Bolin displayed the poise and
decision-making of a veteran crew chief. For his
pre-race adjustments and impeccable judgment, Bolin won
the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race.
Bolin exhibited his expertise within the first 20
laps of the race. After a wreck involving Scott Riggs,
Jamie McMurray and Reed Sorenson on the 7th lap, Bolin
requested that Kenseth enter the pits to fill up on gas
and make a minor adjustment to the car. Just twelve laps
later, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s flat tire brought the
leaders around to pit road. Having pitted earlier, the
No. 17 car was able to stay on the track and immediately
move into 3rd place. The team never looked back.
“Our M.O. is to make slight adjustments as we go,”
said Bolin after the race. “We fix what we need to as
the race goes on.” In reference to the factors that gave
his team the advantage, Bolin stated that it was “the
pit stops. I can’t say enough about the crew and how
fast pit stops were. After that, it was easy. We just
left it up to Matt.”
A panel of voters including a member of the local
media, Tony Eury Jr. and a WYPALL Wipers representative
agreed that Chip Bolin made the best calls and
adjustments during the race. “For Chip to step up and
fill in for Robbie [Reiser] and win was something else,
said Eury Jr. “He made calls like he had been in charge
for years. Chip and his crew were top-notch.”
As the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race, Bolin
received $1,000. At the end of the season, the crew
chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000 and
be crowned WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Year.
California race recap
February 25, 2006
No. 17 CARHARTT/DEWALT FORD FUSION RECAP:
California Sweep! Kenseth goes two for two in Fontana
Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 Carhartt/DEWALT Ford team
dominated the Auto Club 500 at the California Speedway
on Sunday, leading 133 of 250 laps and bringing home
their first win of 2007. By winning the Auto Club 500
for the second consecutive year, Kenseth completed the
“weekend double,” winning Saturday night’s Busch race as
well. The win was Kenseth’s sixth at the California
Speedway (four in Busch, two in Cup) extending his mark
as the all-time win leader at the two-mile, Fontana,
Calif. oval.
Cold weather ruled the day for the second straight
race as 43 NEXTEL Cup cars were led to the green flag by
Jeff Gordon at 12:47 PM Pacific time. Kenseth rolled off
25th but just like last year, when he won from the 31st
position, the No. 17 team was confident that their car
was setup well for the long haul.
Carrying the predominantly black Carhartt paint
scheme, Kenseth quickly moved up to 18th by the time the
first caution waved at lap seven. Interim Crew Chief,
Chip Bolin (Robbie Reiser was serving his second of a
four-race suspension) decided for a two-tire pit stop in
order to pick up track position and the gamble paid off
12 laps later when the second caution flag was displayed
and the rest of the field came down for service. On the
ensuing restart, lap 24, Kenseth was riding in the third
position.
Throughout the race, Kenseth radioed that while he
was happy with the balance of the No. 17 Ford, he felt
as if the right front of the machine was bottoming out
as it went into the corners, especially on fresh tires.
But the condition didn’t stop Kenseth from storming to
the front for the first time on lap 30.
Fortune plays a part in every race, and Kenseth
received his share early in the race when he barely
avoided being trapped a lap down on pit road twice. The
first time was on lap 53, just three laps after Kenseth
had pitted under green. By the time the caution flag was
displayed he was back on the tail end of the lead lap,
and once the rest of the field pitted, Kenseth was back
in the lead. The next instance came on lap 93 when
Kenseth was leaving pit road after a green-flag stop,
just as the caution came out. Kenseth managed to return
to the track just ahead of leader and was again scored
on the tail end of the lead lap. Just like before, once
the rest of the leaders pitted, Kenseth was back in
front.
The field restarted on lap 97 and Kenseth began to
exert his dominance, leading the next 46 laps, including
a spirited battle for the lead with Gordon. After
falling back to third, Kenseth came in for the third
green-flag pit stop of the day and the “Killer Bees”
responded, changing four tires and fuel in 12.79
seconds. Once the field cycled through their respective
stops, Kenseth was in second, close to the lead, which
he regained on lap 163.
As the field cycled through yet another green-flag
pit cycle, Kenseth fell back into the second position
behind Jimmie Johnson, which is where he remained until
a caution for debris grouped the field on lap 226, just
24 laps from the finish. All of the leaders came to pit
road and thanks to yet another great pit stop by the No.
17 crew, Kenseth entered the pits in second, but exited
in first, which ended up being the pass for the win.
Kenseth pulled away on the restart but was gradually
being reeled in by Kevin Harvick before the caution was
displayed for the final time on lap 243; just seven laps
shy of the finish. The red flag was displayed on lap 244
as extensive cleanup was needed for a big wreck in turns
three and four. As the field sat on the backstretch and
awaited the restart, Kenseth needed to plot his strategy
if he had any hopes of holding off a faster Harvick.
But, as misfortunate as Kenseth was in the last
quarter mile of the Daytona 500, he was as fortunate on
the final restart on Sunday. As the field came to the
green flag on lap 247, Harvick peeled onto the pit road
with a flat left-front tire. That was all of breathing
room Kenseth needed as he pulled away from Gordon and
Johnson over the final four circuits and recorded the
15th win of his career.
“Oh my gosh, that was a special one,” said an
emotional Kenseth from Victory Lane. “Tonight without
Robbie… You know, Robbie was home working on this car
all week while we were at Daytona, and this team is
built by Robbie Reiser. None of us would be here without
him, for sure. This is an emotional win. This is an
awesome win for us. I thought it was going to slip away.
The 29 (Harvick) was better and had some bad fortune
there and we were able to hold them off. It’s pretty
awesome to do ‘the double’ here. Every race is a little
different and I really thought we were going to lose,
honestly when the 29 was running us down and when he had
his trouble, me and Jeff (Gordon) were battling hard
earlier in the day and I knew he was going to be pretty
aggressive to get the spot but, we were able to pull
away at the end. These guys just pull everything
together and really make it happen. These guys are
great.”
WINNING STATS:
• The win was Kenseth’s 15th of his career, but
first without Robbie Reiser atop the pit box. It was
also Interim Crew Chief, Chip Bolin’s, first win as
crew chief.
• Kenseth moves into 42nd on the all-time win
list, tied with Kurt Busch and Ernie Irvan.
• The wins marks the first Cup win under Roush
Fenway Racing title.
• Kenseth has now won at least one Cup race in
every season since 2002, six straight years.
• For the first time in his Cup career, Kenseth
won in a paint scheme other than DEWALT. Carhartt,
which has been a long-time team sponsor, collected
its first primary paint-scheme win. The next
Carhartt race will be in June at Michigan.
• California Speedway becomes the fifth track
where Kenseth has recorded multiple Cup victories,
the others being Bristol Motor Speedway, Las Vegas
Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway and
North Carolina Speedway (Rockingham).
• Kenseth leads all drivers with six victories at
California Speedway (four in Busch and two in Cup).
• Kenseth has now won the second NEXTEL Cup race
of the season in four of the past six seasons.
RACE SUMMARY
Matt Kenseth • Started:
25th • Finished: 1st
POINTS SUMMARY
Race total: 195 points
Season total: 232 points, Ranked 12th, 103 points behind
first.
NEXT UP:
UAW-DaimlerChrysler
400 •
Las Vegas Motor Speedway •
Sunday, March 11
Kenseth sweeps California
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Photos from California
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Matt Kenseth inducted
into California Speedway Walk of Fame
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Photos from Walk of Fame
induction
 Matt Kenseth dominated the weekend at
California Speedway, capturing both the Busch
series and Nextel Cup events. Leading 129 laps today, he
solidifies his role as the “California King.” This is also
the first time in his Nextel Cup career that he has taken a
special paint scheme to Victory Lane.
Way to go Carhartt! As a result of the win and
ten bonus points for leading the most laps, Matt jumps 28
spots in the points standings and lands in 12th.
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Race results
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Points standings
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Kenseth
post-race press conference transcript
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Emotional Kenseth
salutes suspended crew chief
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Diary of a proud man: Reiser takes full blame
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Once again, driver rating gets it right
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Kenseth defends Auto Club 500 title, sweeps in Calif.
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Kenseth
doubles up at California
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No ‘I’ in No. 17 team: Kenseth’s win a first for Roush
Fenway
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Kenseth corrals California double-dip
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Kenseth wins again on
Sunday, notches the California sweep
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Kenseth bounces back
with California win
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Kenseth repeats at
Fontana
(also featuring excellent photo galleries)
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Kenseth
shows how to win in the West
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Breaks fall Kenseth’s way in California victory
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Kenseth gets helping hand
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Kenseth
wins Auto Club 500, completes sweep
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Kenseth’s win shows current penalties aren’t enough
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Kenseth sweeps in California; Victories come minus crew
chief
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King Of The Mountain, Matt Kenseth
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Kenseth fends off Chevys; Martin takes lead in points
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Kenseth
completes California sweep
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Late-race
shootout works better for Kenseth
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Kenseth holds off
Hendrick, RCR cars
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Kenseth repeats at California
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Waltrip: Year of the
sweep as Kenseth, crew dig deep
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Lights, Camera, Kenseth!
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Chip Bolin named Wypall
Crew Chief of the Race
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Kenseth crew
well-equipped for challenge
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Kenseth helps ease sting for Roush
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Can Kenseth save Roush
Fenway? More importantly...should he?
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California race recap
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Motorsport.com photos
California post-race press
conference
February 25, 2006
MATT KENSETH COMPLETES BUSCH-NEXTEL CUP SWEEP AT
CALIFORNIA
- Matt Kenseth’s victory in the Auto Club 500 at
California Speedway was the 15th of his career.
- Kenseth also won the NASCAR Busch Series race on
Saturday.
- Kenseth now has two Cup wins and four Busch wins
at California Speedway. His other Cup win at the
track occurred last year.
- Ford has now won 577 all-time NASCAR Nextel Cup
Series races.
- Ford has now won eight times in 14 Nextel Cup
races at California Speedway.
- The win is Fusion’s seventh all-time NNC triumph
since its debut in 2006. Fusion’s first-ever NNC
victory was by Matt Kenseth last February at
California Speedway.
Post-race press conference
JACK ROUSH — Roush Fenway Racing — “It speaks to
the depths of the team, the effort they’ve made all
winter, to be able to have two cars, a Busch car and a
Cup car that was able to perform so good here. It’s a
pleasure to have a chance to win here, which is the
second race for our new association with Fenway Sports
Group. The first call I got last night was from John
Henry; the first call I got this morning, I actually
wasn’t up when he called this morning, and he had a
family thing to do, but we’ll dedicated my part of this
victory to John. He is the owner of record for the 17
car moving forward. The pit crew did an awesome job on
pit road. I don’t think we would’ve been able to have
the result we had had they had more trouble than they
had. The cars, Matt and I were just talking about, they
have the characteristic to be aero-tight here, so you
get a car that runs really as good as it should and does
what it needs to up front, and it won’t be right behind
three or four other cars. The 48 car had a bad stop, it
looked like, and they got stuck back there. But the pit
crew did a great job. Matt was in tune with Chris
Andrews, our engineering manager, and Chip Bolin, who’s
stepping in and doing a heck of a job. We’ve had
conversation with Chip different times over the years
about what he might like to do, and he’s always said
he’d rather not have the responsibility to do what
Robbie had been doing, but he got thrust in to it and
has done a really good job. I’m just glad to be here and
a part of this myself.”
MATT KENSETH — No. 17 Carhartt/DeWalt Ford Fusion
— “Really, the car was really good all day. Where we
started, I was kind of pleasantly surprised, it was a
little too tight but we were able to make a way forward
those first couple of runs. So, I was really pretty
pleased with it. So, we didn’t have to make a lot of
changes. When we were down to quarter-pound adjustments
I knew we were pretty close. One time we’d fight a
little too free and sometimes we’d fight being a little
too tight, but we were always pretty close and it seemed
like we were always able to maintain the top three or
four. The pit thing, we got lucky and pitted it right in
the beginning of the race to get us our track position
and we were able to hold on to that, and a couple of
times the cautions fell right for us, for sure, and git
us back up front. Overall, it was a great day. Robbie
did a great job with this car, he worked on it all week
while we w ere in Daytona, and got the team prepared to
come out here. Chip did a wonderful job all weekend, and
all last weekend, as well. Just lucky to be driving this
stuff, and it was a great day.”
RIGHT BEFORE THE RED FLAG, KEVIN HARVICK WAS CHARGING
PRETTY HARD. HOW CONCERNED WERE YOU? WHAT WOULD’VE
HAPPENED HAD IT STAYED GREEN TO THE FINISH? “I was
concerned. Our car was real good on a short run and the
first three or four laps I was able to put a pretty huge
distance up there, after that he certainly was cutting
out of it every lap, was a little quicker every lap, and
with seven or eight laps to go, I don’t know, getting
there is one thing, passing’s another, but he certainly
was faster at the time. He was certainly going to get
there and make it hard. I don’t know if we could’ve held
him off or not. I’m glad we didn’t have to find out. I
started sliding the tires and I was using the tires up
pretty hard, and the caution really helped us, was able
to get the tires cooled off a little bit sitting there.
They came back and felt almost as good as new ones for
the last four laps.”
JACK ROUSH, continued — ON BOUNCING BACK AFTER
LOSING POINTS BEFORE THE SEASON. “We’ve made a
decision to appeal the points thing. Certainly, we have
no quarrel with NASCAR’s prerogative to do what they’d
like as far as deciding what’s right and wrong, but the
idea of taking points before we had any is
unprecedented, and of course we’re going to talk about
that. We think that that’s excessive. I’ve not been
successful with appeals before, and I’ll be surprised if
I get relief, that I think it’s justified and I expect
really to have to lumber on. But Matt and the guys have
done what they can to start to put a dent in that. It
takes a while to make up 50 points. With a few points a
position, I don’t expect to recover from that before we
get to Bristol with the Car of Tomorrow. But hopefully
we’ll be back on track by then. To be able to come out
here to the California track, which is one of our
favorites, with the way you’re able to race side by side
— and really, somebody runs into somebody on the
California Speedway, they’re not doing what they need to
be doing because it’s a big, wide race track with a lot
of grooves that work really well. It’s been good to come
back here. To answer your specific question, we’ll do
what we can with our repeal and just lumber on. We
decided a long time ago we’d subjugate ourselves to
NASCAR’s policies and their determination s and we’re
just stuck with what we’ve got.”
CHIP BOLIN — interim crew chief, No. 17 Carhartt/DeWalt
Ford Fusion — WHAT WERE YOU THINKING AT THE END?
“We were hoping Kevin wasn’t going to pass us, is what
we were thinking. The guys did a really good job all
day. Everybody keeps asking me all the calls I made and
the things that were going on; I think Robbie deserves a
lot of credit, in that he’s the one that put this whole
group together and told them all what needs to be done
and how to do it, including myself, and he’s got a
machine here that will run itself as long as we all do
the jobs we’re supposed to be doing. He should be very
proud of what we’ve done, just based on what he’s taught
us and what we’ve accomplished — without him being here
with us.”
WERE THERE ANY SURPRISES FOR YOU, STEPPING IN AS CREW
CHIEF FROM ENGINEER? “No, not really, because, like
I said, Robbie’s got it all laid out, and I just go
about doing what I always do and then just kind of pick
up the slack on the things that he does. The group’s
been together so long and runs so flawlessly that we’re
just following what we’re supposed to be doing, and it
pretty much builds.”
KENSETH, continued — THIS IS THE SECOND
STRAIGHT YEAR YOU’VE WON AT CALIFORNIA AFTER A
DISAPPOINTMENT AT DAYTONA. WERE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO
COMING OUT HERE? “I was looking forward to coming
here. This year, for some reason during this off-season,
there’s probably been, at least on my part, more
uncertainty than any other off-season, just because at
the end of the year we didn’t exactly set the world on
fire the last five or six weeks. We took our cars, we’ve
done a lot of different stuff, Chip and the engineer in
the engine department did some different stuff, Robbie’s
done some different stuff aero-wise — I just wasn’t sure
it was all necessarily going to be the right stuff or if
it was going to be the stuff we were going to come right
out of the box and run fast with or if it was going to
take a couple of months to figure out. So, I was
pleasantly surprised about our third time on the race
track we’re running pretty darn competitive with this
car. I guess to answer the question, yeah, I was looking
forward to coming out. I didn’t really know what to
expect. Obviously, I’m very happy today.”
WERE THOSE LAST TWO RE-STARTS AS GOOD AS YOU COULD
HOPE FOR? “I was happy with them. Gosh, these guys
did a great job for me all year long last year, put me
in position to win a few races, and we were able to win
a few, but I sure lost a few right at the end, too. I
was real concerned about spinning the tires. Doug Yates
and Jack, since they put that engine thing together, and
now we’ve got excess horsepower, especially in second
gear with these hard tires, and it’s very easy to spin
them when they’re used. I did spin the tires — usually
when I spin the tires I’m not real smart, I hold the gas
down and it just goes slower and spins them faster — and
I was able to breathe it a little bit and I could feel
them hook up again and I was able to launch a couple of
car lengths away. So that was important. Getting through
the gears and getting through one and two very fast is
always important with a short run at the end. I think if
you get a little cushion there it helps you because as
aero sensitive as they are behind somebody, if you’ve
got somebody tucked up right behind you it hurts you
because you’ve got all the air on the nose and no air on
the spoiler. So I think it’s important to get that
little bit of a gap, so you can have as much clean air
as possible.”
HAVE YOU TALKED TO ROBBIE? “I have not talked to
Robbie since the race got over. I’ll call him on the way
to airport. I haven’t talked to him since the race got
over. It was kind of funny — I was on him last week
because he said he wasn’t going to watch the race, and
he walked in with 17 to go and I told him he needed to
be watching the race, which is probably the wrong thing,
I probably don’t need to tell him anything right now
because he’s not in a very good mood, but I told him I
thought he should watch the race and maybe scan some
other people and learn some stuff and watch it. He made
sure to tell me yesterday that he was going to be home
and watch the race today. So I think he was watching on
that Hot Pass thing today, so I think he was going to
try to get that and watch what we were doing. He should
be real proud of the team he’s assembled, like Chip
said, he’s done a great job and they always function at
a top level.”
ROUSH, continued — “One of the comments I wanted
to make before I get away from the table here is I want
to compliment Sunoco for this environmentally friendly
lead-free fuel that caused us no problem. We went
through testing, practice and qualifying and we looked
at the valve seats and inspected the engines carefully.
We didn’t have an issue with valve seat recession or
anything else that was a concern. From what I can see
the people that had trouble, it didn’t relate to the
fuel. The fuel gave us good fuel mileage and it
performed admirably. I’m real happy to go forward with
the Sunoco lead-free fuel. I think they did a great
job.”
BOLIN, continued — WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE ON
THE LAST TWO PIT STOPS? “I think the next-to-last
pit stop was under green, if I remember correctly. The
second one was under caution. Under caution, our guys,
their expertise and their skill level tends to shine
under caution because everyone comes in under it, you
don’t factor in speed-in and speed-out, it’s just
whoever’s got the fastest pit stop is going to shine,
and the group of guys we’ve got are really good. That’s
why you usually get that much attention.”
KENSETH, continued — “I think our pit stops were
good all day, but our last one was one of the faster
ones and it got us in position. As much as being a great
stop, we did come in second and I think the 48 had some
troubles.”
WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THE BUSCH RACE THAT YOU COULD
APPLY TODAY? “That’s probably an answer Chip can
probably answer for you. We went over the stuff this
morning and we basically left the car the same it was in
Happy Hour. But we did learn some stuff last night,
Chris Andrews and Chip were in the Busch Series pit all
night and looking at the tires and tire pressures, and
seeing how the track changed. The cars were set up
fairly similar. The cars are enough different now where
you can’t run the same set-up in both cars. But we
basically had some of the same ideas, I guess, in both
cars.”
WHAT EFFECT, IF ANY, DID THE WEATHER HAVE ON TODAY’S
RACE? “If anything, it probably made the track more
consistent, because it was pretty much cloud cover all
day. We didn’t have sun in and sun out, and that change,
and it usually puts more grip in the track the cooler it
is. The track really didn’t change much. We were able to
make very, very small changes all the time, and it would
really change our car. We were making quarter-pound
adjustments, which I was really kind of laughing to
myself and I’m sure Chip was probably laughing at me,
but you could really feel it make a difference because
the tires were real consistent and the track was real
consistent because the weather was cool and overcast all
day and it never really changed.”
Matt wins Busch race in Dish Network
car debut
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Photos from Busch win
In his first start in the #17 Dish
Network
 Ford Fusion,
Matt Kenseth captured his fourth Busch
Series win at California Speedway. Kenseth moves to 5th on
the Busch Series all-time
win list. It was his 200th Busch Series start and 22nd win
in the series. Matt’s win also earns a $5000 gift for a
local Big Brothers Big Sisters agency.
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Kenseth gets Busch
Series win
n
Kenseth wins another one for Roush
n
Kenseth continues success at Fontana
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Kenseth wins his fourth NBS race at California
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NASCAR’s Matt Kenseth races to win $5,000 for Big Brothers
Big Sisters with each victory on the track
Kenseth is “King” of the second round
February 24, 2006
MATT KENSETH HARD TO BEAT ON SERIES’ SECOND STOP
Three wins since 2002 make Kenseth “King” of the
second round
CONCORD, N.C. — Since 2002, no one in NEXTEL Cup has
enjoyed more success in the series’ second race of the
season than the driver of the No. 17 DEWALT Ford, Matt
Kenseth.
Kenseth has set the standard for shaking the Daytona
doldrums by posting three wins, and a third-place finish
in four of the past five years in the season’s second
race. In the only finish outside of the top three during
that span, Kenseth still managed to lead 57 laps.
This weekend, Kenseth returns to the site of last
year’s second-race triumph, the two-mile California
Speedway, for Sunday’s Auto Club 500. Kenseth will be
flying the Carhartt colors this weekend for the first of
four races in which Carhartt will be the primary in
2006.
In addition to his “second-race” prowess, Kenseth’s
9.84 average finish at two-mile ovals (California and
Michigan) is tops among Cup drivers, past or present,
with 11 or more starts, and no one has completed more
laps since 2000 at these two tracks in the NEXTEL Cup
Series.
Kenseth will start 25th for Sunday’s Auto Club 500,
which starts at 3:00 PM Eastern and is broadcast on
television by FOX and on radio by MRN.
Kenseth by the numbers in the second race of the
season since 2002:
|
Date |
Venue |
Start |
Finish |
Laps |
Led |
|
2/24/02 |
North Carolina
Speedway |
25 |
1 |
393/393 |
152 |
|
2/23/03 |
North Carolina
Speedway |
18 |
3 |
393/393 |
2 |
|
2/22/04 |
North Carolina
Speedway |
23 |
1 |
393/393 |
259 |
|
2/27/05 |
California
Speedway |
6 |
26 |
249/250 |
57 |
|
2/26/06 |
California
Speedway |
31 |
1 |
251/251 |
40 |
California Busch & Cup Preview
February 21, 2007
California Speedway • Fontana, Calif.
Stater Bros. 300 • Saturday, February 24 • 7pm/e ESPN2
Auto Club 500 • Sunday, February 25 • 3pm/e Fox
 Nextel Cup Chassis — #17
Carhartt/DeWALT Ford Fusion
• Primary — RK-317 (Last ran at
Pocono, Jul. ’06,
finished 14th; also ran All-Star race ’06, involved in accident, finished 11th;
’05 ran Kansas
(pole), Texas & Homestead, recording three top fives)
•
Backup — RK-385 (Last ran at Kansas, Oct. ’06,
finished 23rd; also ran Indianapolis, Aug. ’06, finished
2nd)
Busch Chassis — #17 Dish Network Ford Fusion
•
Primary — RK-360 (Last ran Homestead, finished
first)
Matt Kenseth’s Cup Series performance
summary at California
|
Date |
S |
F |
Laps |
Led |
Reason |
| 09/03/06 |
11 |
7 |
250/250 |
0 |
Running |
| 02/26/06 |
31 |
1 |
251/251 |
40 |
Running |
| 09/04/05 |
23 |
7 |
254/254 |
14 |
Running |
| 02/27/05 |
6 |
26 |
249/250 |
57 |
Running |
| 09/05/04 |
30 |
22 |
250/250 |
0 |
Running |
| 05/02/04 |
25 |
4 |
250/250 |
11 |
Running |
| 04/27/03 |
23 |
9 |
250/250 |
2 |
Running |
| 04/28/02 |
20 |
20 |
249/250 |
0 |
Running |
| 04/29/01 |
23 |
17 |
250/250 |
2 |
Running |
| 04/30/00 |
23 |
3 |
250/250 |
120 |
Running |
Matt Kenseth Cup Series totals at
California:
| |
Races |
Wins |
Top 5s |
Top 10s |
Laps Led |
Poles
|
|
Spring |
7 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
232 |
0 |
|
Fall |
3 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
14 |
0 |
|
Cumulative |
10 |
1 |
3 |
6 |
246 |
0 |
Matt Kenseth’s Busch
performance summary at California:
|
Date |
S |
F |
Laps |
Status |
|
09/02/06 |
18 |
7 |
150/150 |
Running |
| 02/25/06 |
4 |
6 |
150/150 |
Running |
|
02/26/05 |
17 |
9 |
150/150 |
Running |
| 09/04/04 |
9 |
12 |
150/150 |
Running |
|
05/01/04 |
20 |
4 |
150/150 |
Running |
| 04/26/03 |
19 |
1 |
150/150 |
Running |
|
04/28/01 |
22 |
20 |
149/150 |
Running |
| 04/29/00 |
8 |
1 |
150/150 |
Running |
|
05/01/99 |
2 |
1 |
150/150 |
Running |
| 07/19/98 |
3 |
3 |
150/150 |
Running |
|
10/19/97 |
5 |
3 |
150/150 |
Running |
Matt Kenseth Busch Series totals at
California:
| |
Races |
Wins |
Top 5s |
Top 10s |
Poles
|
|
Cumulative |
11 |
3 |
6 |
9 |
0 |
Matt Kenseth on racing at California:
Cup: “I’m definitely looking
forward to getting out to Fontana. It’s just such a
relief to get back into a normal routine at the
track. Daytona is so different, in the practice and
qualifying schedules and you’re down there for so
long, that it just seems to drag on. Then there’s so
much build up for the race, you just can’t wait to
get it started. This weekend will bring a little
normalcy back into our race weekend.
“Fontana has been a good track for us recently.
Last February was sort of a weird deal. We didn’t
have the best car, but we had it good at the end.
Then the two best cars had engine problems and the
next thing you know, we were leading when it
mattered. I really like this type of track. It’s
smooth and wide with plenty of room to try some
different lines and set up the pass.
“Chip (Bolin) did a good job for us last week at
Daytona and we were within about 300 yards of a
third-place finish, but that went away in a hurry.
We’ve always bounced back in a big way after
Daytona, so I’m expecting nothing less this
weekend.”
Busch: “Fontana will always be special place
for me, mostly because of the success we enjoyed out
there with Robbie (Reiser) and his dad John. We won
three Busch races and then finally we broke through
with a Cup win last February at Fontana. It’s just a
great race track. It’s big and fast, smooth and
wide. You can run several different grooves and try
some different things to make your car work better
through the turns. You don’t have to have a perfect
handling racecar because there are some different
things you can try on the entry and exit of the
turns to make your car work better. We were good
here last year in the Busch Series, but not quite
good enough to compete for the win at the end. I’m
sure Drew (Blickensderfer) and the guys have done a
great job setting the car up and if the Vegas Busch
test is any indication, we should be able to compete
for the win this weekend.”
Interim Crew Chief Chip Bolin on racing at
California:
“It’s business as usual for the No. 17 team.
Everyone has done a great job stepping up at the
track in Robbie’s (Reiser) absence and I don’t
anticipate a let down this week. At the shop,
nothing’s changed because Robbie is still there and
we continue to work in the same fashion and roles as
before. The truth is, we’ve been together so long
and Robbie’s done a good job of piecing this team
together, that the operation continues to run as
smoothly as ever.
“We had a good Vegas test in both the Cup and
Busch cars and I was able to attend both with Matt.
We’ll use that test along with what worked well for
us at California last year to hopefully be in
contention for a win this weekend.”
Busch Series Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer on racing at
California:
“We are taking the car that last ran at Homestead
and was really strong and it tested well at Las
Vegas this year. California has been good to Roush
Fenway Racing and we always look forward to going
out west. This is the first down force race this
year, so we are excited to see how all the things we
have been working on this winter will work out on
the track.”
California Fast Facts
n
Matt Kenseth is the defending Auto Club 500
Champion, winning this race last February by holding
off the No. 48 on a green-white-checkered finish.
n
Kenseth has posted four career wins at
California Speedway, three in the Busch Series and
one in Cup.
n
Since 2002, Kenseth has recorded three wins
and five top-six finishes in the second race of the
season: first at Rockingham ’02, third at Rockingham
’03,
first at Rockingham in ’04, sixth at Fontana in ’05, and first at Fontana
’06.
n
Kenseth will run the Carhartt paint scheme
for the first of four races this weekend, and the
other three being Michigan in June, Loudon in July,
and Charlotte in October.
n
In his career, Kenseth has led seven of his
10 Cup races at Fontana for a total of 246 laps
(fifth all time).
n
Since entering the Cup Series full time in
2000, no one has completed more laps on two-mile
ovals (California Speedway & Michigan International
Speedway) than Kenseth, who has completed 5,299 of a
possible 5,302.
n
Kenseth’s average finish at the two two-mile
tracks is 9.84, tops among active drivers with 11 or
more starts.
n
Sunday’s race will mark the second with
interim crew chief Chip Bolin calling the shots atop
the No. 17 pit box. Bolin, who hails from South
Carolina with a degree in mechanic engineering from
Clemson University, has been the engineer on the No.
17 team since its inception in 1999.
Matt comics return!
Artwork by Douglas Ladd
Kenseth carrying cameras for DirecTV HotPass at
California
Matt Kenseth’s No. 17 Carhartt/DeWALT
 Ford Fusion will carry
in-car cameras this Sunday at the Auto Club 500 at
California Speedway. Viewers will be able to watch the
entire race from three different views inside of Kenseth's
car and listen live to the No. 17 team's in-car
communications, only on DirecTV's HotPass.
n
More info
Kenseth is two-mile king
Matt takes Carhartt car and impressive stats to
California
n
Carhartt pictures from California
 Matt Kenseth will debut the popular #17
Carhartt/ DeWALT Ford Fusion in this weekend’s event at
California Speedway. Since entering the Cup series full time
in 2000, no one has completed more laps on two-mile ovals
(California & Michigan) than Kenseth, who has completed
5,299 of a possible 5,302. Kenseth’s average finish at the
two two-mile tracks is 9.84, tops among active drivers with
11 or more starts. Matt has four wins at Fontana, three
Busch and one Nextel Cup. In Saturday’s Busch event, Matt
will drive the #17 Dish Network car for the first time.
n
Matt Kenseth Visits Luke AFB, Flies in Fighter Jet
n
Busch pictures from California
n
Matt Kenseth hard to beat on series’ second stop
n
Nextel Cup starting
order: Matt 25th
n
California race preview
n
Drivers look to rebound in points race
Daytona 500 recap
February 19, 2006
n
Daytona 500 photos
No. 17 DeWALT Ford Fusion Recap:
KENSETH
GOES FROM THIRD TO 27TH IN FINAL TURN AT DAYTONA
Just when it appeared Matt Kenseth and the No. 17
DEWALT team were about to make it out of Daytona with a
career-best Daytona 500 finish, catastrophe struck
coming off of turn four on the final lap. Kenseth,
already involved in an accident that brought out the
caution on lap 196, restarted eighth as the field was
set for a green-white-checkered finish. Kenseth went to
the high groove and shoved eventual winner, Kevin
Harvick, into the lead on the final lap, but as the
field stormed off turn four for the final time, the No.
5 car lost control beneath Kenseth. The No. 5 car went
spinning, clipping the No. 17 in the process and sending
Kenseth spinning towards the inside wall. Kenseth was
able to regain control and limp across the finish line
in 27th.
In front of a capacity crowd, David Gilliland led one
of the most competitive fields in Daytona 500 history to
the green flag at 3:30pm Eastern. By virtue of a
fifth-place finish in Thursday’s Gatorade Duel, Kenseth
started the 49th running of “The Great American Race” in
the 10th position, a best for the 34-year old Cambridge,
Wis. native.
Kenseth toiled for much of the race in the top 10,
but wasn’t able to challenge for the lead due to a tight
handling condition on the No. 17 Ford Fusion. Interim
Crew Chief Chip Bolin who replaced the No. 17’s usual
captain, Robbie Reiser, after Reiser was suspended by
NASCAR for four races earlier in the week, proved to be
up to the task.
Bolin, with help from Kenseth and “The Killer Bees,”
was able to tweak the car throughout the evening to
Kenseth’s liking, and in typical No. 17 team fashion,
had the car running the best at the end of the event.
The No. 17 machine was good enough throughout, but
didn’t look capable of contending for the win. That was
until the race’s two dominant cars took themselves out
of contention by wrecking on lap 153. After that
incident, it appeared to be anybody’s race and Kenseth
quickly took advantage.
After pitting for four tires and adjustments on lap
156, Kenseth restarted fifth and wasted no time getting
to the front. Kenseth took the lead on lap 169 where he
remained when the caution flag waved on lap 174.
The decision was to come to pit road for four tires
and gas, and the “Bees” responded with a 12.36-second
stop that sent Kenseth out ahead of all other cars that
also took four tires. Six other cars in front of Kenseth
elected to take only two tires and it appeared as if
Kenseth was primed to make a run to the checkers.
A caution on lap 186 bunched the field again with
only 14 laps to go and Kenseth sat in third behind old
teammate Mark Martin and current teammate Greg Biffle.
As Kenseth and Biffle attempted to work together to pass
Martin, Kenseth nearly lost control coming off of turn
four but was able to save it and continue only to be hit
moments later by Harvick. Kenseth still managed to hang
on to the racecar and continue his assault through the
top five.
But, just two turns later, Kenseth got into the back
of the No. 26 and accidentally turned him into the
outside retaining wall. The ensuing caution eventually
brought out the red flag for 11 minutes, and set the
stage for a green-white-checkered finish.
Kenseth sat in the eighth position and on the restart
quickly moved to the outside with Harvick leading the
way. As it turned out, it was the help that Harvick
needed to propel him to the front and win the race. It
appeared as if Kenseth would benefit as well by bringing
home a third-place finish. But when Kyle Busch lost
control of his car and slid up the track and into the
No. 17, Kenseth was helplessly along for the ride.
As Kenseth and nearly 12 additional cars all wrecked
just several hundred yards from the start/finish line,
it became a game of who could nurse their car to the
finish line first. Once Kenseth righted his ship, it was
too late, and he came across 27th.
“It looked like the No. 5 just lost control of his
car and wiped us out,” Kenseth said of the final
incident. It got pretty crazy there at the end, and I
did the best I could. I wrecked Jamie (McMurray) and
caused that big wreck. It’s just crazy at the end. I
mean, you try to do everything you can, but nobody’s
perfect.
WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS BETWEEN GREG AND MARK
BATTLING AT THE END? “I was cheering for Greg Biffle
or Mark Martin to win, obviously. Mark is my mentor and
got me where I’m at. Obviously, I wanted him to win and
if he couldn’t win, I wanted Greg to win because he’s a
teammate, but it didn’t work out that way. If there are
cars on both sides, there’s only so much you can do. I
was on the outside and Mark was on the inside, so I
really couldn’t do anything.”
RACE SUMMARY
Matt Kenseth • Started:
10th • Finished: 27th
NEXT UP:
Auto Club 500 •
California Speedway •
Sunday,
February 25
n
Daytona 500 race recap
n
Nextel
Cup race results
n
Final
turn costly for Kenseth
n
Last-lap crash takes out top contenders
n
Kenseth’s interim chief not changing a thing
n
Nextel
Cup Rush Hour
2007
Matt Kenseth Nextel Cup Preview from Madison.com
n
Package from
the Wisconsin State Journal
Kenseth 12th in Arby’s car
debut
 Matt Kenseth started 13th and ran in the front of the pack
Saturday at Daytona, but lost the handling on the car toward
the end of the race and was unable to compete for the win.
Kenseth took the new Arby’s Busch series car across the
stripe in 12th place.
n
Race results
n
Busch photos
Gatorade Duel recap
February 15, 2006
n
Photos from the Gatorade Duel
n
Photos from Daytona
 No. 17 DeWALT Ford Fusion Recap:
KENSETH
FINISHES FIFTH, SET TO START 10TH IN DAYTONA 500
Overcast skies and cool temperatures welcomed 61
NEXTEL Cup cars to the famed Daytona International
Speedway for the running of the Gatorade Duel, two
60-lap, 150-mile qualifying races to determine the
starting lineup for the 49th running of the Daytona 500.
After having his 11th-place qualifying run on Sunday
disqualified due to a post-qualifying infraction, Matt
Kenseth and the No. 17 DEWALT Ford team started 29th in
the 30-car field that made up the second of the two
races. Veteran Ricky Rudd led the field to the green
flag at 4:30 PM Eastern, by virtue of his second-place
qualifying run in Sunday’s qualifying session.
Despite crew chief Robbie Reiser’s absence, the No.
17 Ford was strong in both practices on Wednesday, even
topping the speed charts in the AM practice session. So
it was no surprise when Kenseth roared up through the
field once the green flag waved. By the time the field
had circuited the track to complete lap one, Kenseth had
worked his way up to the 19th position — lap two, 13th —
and by the time lap three was complete, he had cracked
the top 10 where he would remain for the rest of the
60-lap event.
Kenseth was relatively quiet on the radio except
reporting that the car was “pretty neutral, but a little
tight off.”
The first caution of the day occurred on lap 24 for
debris after a car scraped the wall. By this time
Kenseth was running in the fifth position and was set to
enter pit road for the first competitive pit stop of
2007. The “Killer Bees” went to work and appeared as
strong as ever, clicking off a 12.97 pit stop that
included changing four tires and a full tank of gas. In
the process, the No. 17 team picked up two spots on pit
road and exited third.
Taking the restart on lap 29, one lap shy of halfway,
Kenseth was scored in the third position directly behind
the Busch brothers, where he was content to ride until
the next caution flag on lap 50. Riding in third,
Kenseth did what the leaders did and opted to stay out
instead of coming in to get tires. However, eighth place
and back came down to pit road to get fresh rubber.
The field restarted for the final time on lap 54,
just six laps from the finish. Kenseth immediately
pushed the elder Busch (Kurt) by the younger Busch
(Kyle) and brought Ryan Newman along with him.
It appeared as if Kenseth was on track for his first
restrictor plate victory in NEXTEL Cup as he set up for
a final charge. But as the field entered turn one for
the final time, Newman fell too far behind to aid
Kenseth in the draft. Meanwhile, Jeff Gordon on two
fresh tires and a ton of help came roaring by on the
outside as they entered turn three. Kenseth and Kurt
Busch were ganged up on in a big way in the final half
lap, but Kenseth was able to hold onto the bottom line,
without any drafting help, for a fifth-place finish.
The finish was Kenseth’s fourth consecutive top-six
finish in the qualifying races. By virtue of Kenseth’s
fifth-place finish and eventual winner, Gordon’s,
post-race infraction for his “car being too low,”
Kenseth will start the 49th running of the Daytona 500
in the 10th position, marking Kenseth’s career best
starting spot in “The Great American Race.”
“I thought it was pretty good,” said Kenseth. “I
thought I learned a lot about the draft. I had a lot of
fun. Carl (Edwards) worked with me real good and the No.
9 and the No. 29 before he broke. Then I got hooked up
with the No. 2 and Kurt has always been really good at
this kind of racing and we’ve been able to work together
in the past. We kind of got hooked up and were able to
stay in the front until the guys came on new tires.
LAST YEAR YOU HAD A GOOD CAR. IS THIS THE SAME CAR
“It’s all the same stuff we ran both races last year
and I feel good about our equipment. I think it’s really
good. The guys had a great pit stop today, so it was a
good warm-up for Sunday. I feel pretty confident.
YOU STAYED OUT AND DIDN’T PIT. WHY? “Chip
wanted to stay out. I was kind of thinking we needed
tires because of what went on this week, but the track
was cooler. We were in the front the whole time. We did
a good job of saving of our tires, so we just wanted to
stay out and stay ahead of the transfer spots. We knew a
bunch of the guys were going to stay out, so it was a
good call. If we wouldn’t have had all of those laps in
a row at the end there, we would have been able to hang
on, but Gordon came on new tires and he had all the help
and he’s real good at it.
HOW DO YOU FEEL FOR SUNDAY? “I feel great.
I’ve been really happy with my car. The guys had great
pit stops. We’ve got a couple new guys there and I feel
really good about it. I think we’ve got one of the best
teams on pit road and I think we’ve got a car that’s
capable of contending.”
RACE SUMMARY
Matt Kenseth • Started:
29th • Finished: 5th
NEXT UP:
Daytona 500 •
Daytona International Speedway •
Sunday,
February 18
n
Kenseth fastest in first Cup practice
n
Matt interview
on Bob & Brian radio show — listen live or download/podcast
n
Reiser takes his medicine, wonders about cause
n
Roush, Bosox owner form partnership
Arby’s announces ‘Matt’s Monday’
February 15, 2007
FREE CURLY FRIES AT ARBY’S ON “MATT’S MONDAY”
When Racing Maverick Matt Kenseth Wins — America
Wins!
ATLANTA (February 15, 2007) — NASCAR® and Arby’s fans
have a new reason to celebrate this racing season. Every
time Matt Kenseth wins a race (Nextel or Busch Series),
America wins! Arby’s will give away free medium Curly
Fries every Monday following the race weekend — deemed
“Matt’s Monday” — if Kenseth wins. Customers will need
to bring in a printed copy of the official race results
from either a newspaper or website as their coupon at
participating Arby’s on “Matt’s Monday” to receive their
free order.
“Matt has extra incentive to win for America,” said
Chris Kuehn, Senior Vice President of National
Marketing, Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc. “We’re
expecting a lot of Matt’s Monday celebrations and plan
to give away plenty of Curly Fries.”
“I’ve been a fan of Arby’s since I was a kid and
Curly Fries are a big favorite,” said Matt Kenseth.
“This motivates me to bring it home for the fans.”
The Arby’s brand is the primary sponsor of Kenseth’s
No. 17 Ford Fusion in the NASCAR Busch Series. The
Arby’s No. 17 car will debut during the season opener at
Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2007.
Arby’s will also appear as the primary sponsor on
Kenseth’s NASCAR Nextel Cup Ford Fusion in the Spring
2007 race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Arby’s “Matt’s Monday” free Curly Fry give away is
valid only on the Monday’s following a race won by Matt
Kenseth, limited to one order per person with coupon,
while supplies last, is not valid with any other offer
and is available at participating Arby’s locations.
About Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc. Arby’s Restaurant
Group, Inc., based in Atlanta, is the franchisor of the
Arby’s restaurant system, which consists of more than
3,500 restaurants worldwide, and is owner and operator
of more than 1,000 of those restaurants located in the
United States. Founded in 1964, Arby’s quick service
restaurant restaurants specialize in offering slow
roasted and freshly sliced roast beef sandwiches as well
as its Market Fresh® deli-style sandwiches, wraps and
salads with the convenience of a drive-thru. Arby’s
offers guests a unique, great tasting alternative to
traditional fast food with its one-of-a-kind menu items
including the Beef ‘n Cheddar, Curly Fries and Jamocha
shakes. Arby’s Restaurant Group also owns and operates
the T.J. Cinnamons® brand and is a subsidiary of Triarc
Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRY, TRY.B). To learn more about
Arby’s, please visit www.arbys.com.
Roush Racing reacts to NASCAR’s
ruling on the disqualification of the No. 17’s qualifying
lap for the Daytona 500 and ensuing penalties
February 13, 2007
CONCORD, N.C. — Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 team’s
11th-place qualifying effort for next Sunday’s Daytona
500 was disqualified by NASCAR on Sunday after officials
found one of the wheel wells on the car improperly
sealed during post-qualifying inspection. As a result,
Kenseth will start one of Thursday’s Gatorade Duels, the
two qualifying races to
In addition, NASCAR has docked the No. 17 team 50
driver and owner points, fined crew chief Robbie Reiser
$50,000 and suspended Reiser for four races starting
with the Daytona 500.
On Tuesday, Roush appointed Chip Bolin, long-time
engineer on the No. 17 team, as the interim crew chief
for the remainder of Speedweeks at Daytona and
throughout Reiser’s suspension.
“I am saddened by the fact that Robbie will not be
with the No. 17, Matt Kenseth-driven Nextel Cup race car
for this year’s Daytona 500,” said owner, Jack Roush.
“We remain very confident about the preparation of this
team for 2007 and remain confident of our chances for
success in the Daytona 500 and in the upcoming races.”
“To be clear on my position regarding NASCAR’s
decision to penalize the infraction, I respect and
accept NASCAR’s determination that the car was out of
compliance as it was inspected after Sunday’s qualifying
attempt. I have asked (Roush Racing President) Geoff
Smith to evaluate whether the penalties assessed are
unduly harsh for the circumstances before making a final
decision as to whether or not we will appeal the
severity of the penalty imposed.
“I feel certain however, that there was no intention
on Robbie’s part to side step any NASCAR rule or policy
in this regard.
“NASCAR officials have a tremendous responsibility
and a most difficult task, charged with making and
enforcing the many rules and regulations which make
possible the sport around which we build our lives. We
at Roush Racing are determined to abide by all of
NASCAR’s mandates and are committed to make our best
effort to avoid future embarrassments which are within
our control.”
“The extreme harshness of the penalty surprises me
given NASCAR’s recent history of imposing lesser
penalties on habitual offenders engaged in radically
more flagrant rule offenses,” said Smith. “For that
reason, I am likely to recommend that we appeal the
penalty assessment, although I have some more study to
do before I officially make that recommendation.”
For Reiser, the Daytona 500 will be the first Cup
race he has missed atop the No. 17 pit box since the
team’s inception in 1999, 255 races ago.
“Obviously I’m disappointed with the penalty and the
fact I won’t be there at the Daytona 500 and for the
following races,” said Reiser. “It was my job to ensure
that the cap on the wheel well was properly secured. But
it came off during our qualifying run and we ended up
outside of the rules because of it. I understand NASCAR
has a set of rules and we have to abide by them and it’s
ultimately my responsibility to make sure we do that.
“I have full confidence in Chip, Matt and the guys.
This group has been together for so long and they know
how to get the job done. We’ve got fast cars, a great
team, and a great driver, and if I have done my job as a
crew chief, then there’s no reason this setback should
keep us from competing for wins during my absence at the
track.”
n
Roush, Kenseth Address
NASCAR Penalties Full comments, Matt’s are at the bottom
of the page.
n
Kenseth, Roush, others miffed by pre-race crackdown
Kenseth
time disallowed after failing post-qualifying inspection
Although Matt
Kenseth was 11th fastest on Sunday, he will have to start at the
back of his Gatorade Duel field after an irregularity with the
car was discovered in post-qualifying inspection. Kasey Kahne
and Michael Waltrip also had trouble pleasing the NASCAR
inspectors. We will post further details as we have them.
n
Daytona
qualifying results
n
Kenseth, Kahne fail inspections, await penalties
n
NASCAR sends message
with qualifying penalties
Daytona Busch & Cup Preview
February 6, 2007
Daytona International Speedway • Daytona Beach,
Fla.
Gatorade Duel • Thursday, February 15 • 2pm/e Speed
Orbitz 300 • Saturday, February 17 • 1:15 pm/e ESPN2
Daytona 500 • Sunday, February 18 • 3:15 pm/e Fox
Nextel Cup Chassis — #17 DeWALT Ford Fusion
•
Primary — RK-327 (Last ran Jul.
’06 at Daytona, finished fifth; Feb. ’06 Daytona
500, led 28 laps before finishing 15th)
• Backup
— RK-418 (Brand New)
Busch Chassis — #17 Arby’s Ford Fusion
Crew Chief:
Drew Blickensderfer
• Primary — RK-414 (Brand new chassis)
Matt Kenseth’s Cup Series performance
summary at Daytona
|
Date |
S |
F |
Laps |
Led |
Reason |
|
07/01/06 |
10 |
5 |
160/160 |
1 |
Running |
|
02/19/06 |
11 |
15 |
203/203 |
28 |
Running |
|
07/02/05 |
38 |
9 |
160/160 |
0 |
Running |
|
02/20/05 |
14 |
42 |
34/203 |
0 |
Engine |
|
07/03/04 |
36 |
39 |
110/160 |
0 |
Accident |
|
02/15/04 |
12 |
9 |
200/200 |
2 |
Running |
|
07/05/03 |
37 |
6 |
160/160 |
10 |
Running |
|
02/16/03 |
35 |
20 |
109/109 |
2 |
Running |
|
07/06/02 |
38 |
30 |
154/160 |
0 |
Running |
|
02/17/02 |
40 |
33 |
154/200 |
4 |
Accident |
|
07/07/01 |
15 |
16 |
160/160 |
5 |
Running |
|
02/18/01 |
16 |
21 |
196/200 |
0 |
Running |
|
07/01/00 |
22 |
20 |
160/160 |
0 |
Running |
|
02/20/00 |
24 |
10 |
200/200 |
0 |
Running |
Matt Kenseth Cup Series totals at
Daytona:
| |
Races |
Wins |
Top 5s |
Top 10s |
Laps Led |
Poles
|
|
Daytona 500 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
36 |
0 |
|
Pepsi 400 |
7 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
16 |
0 |
|
Cumulative |
14 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
52 |
0 |
Matt Kenseth’s Busch
performance summary at Daytona:
|
Date |
S |
F |
Laps |
Led |
| 2/14/04 |
29 |
5 |
120/120 |
Running |
|
2/15/03 |
6 |
2 |
120/120 |
Running |
| 2/16/02 |
12 |
3 |
120/120 |
Running |
|
2/17/01 |
18 |
3 |
120/120 |
Running |
| 2/19/00 |
8 |
1 |
120/120 |
Running |
|
2/13/99 |
18 |
4 |
120/120 |
Running |
| 2/14/98 |
7 |
6 |
120/120 |
Running |
Matt Kenseth Busch Series totals at
Daytona:
| |
Races |
Wins |
Top 5s |
Top 10s |
Poles
|
|
Cumulative |
7 |
1 |
6 |
7 |
0 |
Matt Kenseth on racing at Daytona:
Cup: “The Daytona 500 is the biggest race of
the year for so many reasons. It has the most build
up, it has the most prestige, definitely the most
interest, and it pays far more than any other race.
We’ve had our share of disappointment in this race
over the years, including last year, which was
extremely frustrating because I really thought we
had a car good enough to win. But, I always look
forward to coming back.
“It’s a pretty cool qualifying format with the
Gatorade Duel. That race improved our starting spot
tremendously last season because we had a flat tire
about 200 yards before we took the green flag on our
solo qualifying run, and that put us qualifying dead
last before the Duel.
“Plate racing is always a crap shoot, because at
the end of the race there’s only so much you can do
and you rely on everyone else to help you. It seems
lately we’ve had a car capable of winning these
races but we haven’t gotten the help we need at the
end. I know the car we’re bringing is going to be a
good one, if we can avoid the wrecks and have some
things fall the right way for us at the end, we
should be in position to compete for the win.”
Busch: “It should be fun to get back in the
Busch car on a plate race. I haven’t run in the
Busch Series at Daytona since 2004, but we were
always able to compete and we won this race back in
2000 with Robbie and Johnny R’s team. It’s going to
be our first race with Arby’s and hopefully we can
have a great run with them on the car to kick off
the year. The first race of the season is always
exciting, and the fact we have a brand new sponsor
will just increase the excitement. Plus, this team
is on a win streak after winning the last two races
of ‘06. Hopefully, we can keep that streak alive
with a win at Daytona. I can’t think of a better way
to start the year.”
Nextel Cup Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at
Daytona:
“It’s always refreshing to get back to Daytona.
This is the start of the new year and our goals
really haven’t changed. I expect this team to be a
championship caliber team and to compete for the
title and compete for wins every week.
“We’re bringing the same car we brought last year
to Daytona for both races and it ran really well
both times. Matt likes the way it handles and it was
our strongest car during the test for sure. We built
a brand new car hoping to find some more speed but
wasn’t able to do so. That’s the bad news. The good
news is that the car we had before, that we’re
bringing back, is still fast and so we should be
okay.
“We’ll approach this race the way we approach
every plate race. Once the race begins, there’s only
so much we can control, but we have to make sure we
hold up our end on pit road, and don’t lose track
position. One slip on pit road could cost you three
seconds on the track, which could cause you to lose
the draft, which could end your day. So, we have to
be mistake free on pit road and keep the track
position we have all day.”
Busch Series Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer on racing at
Daytona:
“We are taking a brand new car down to Daytona,
this car tested well and hopefully we got it a
faster. Speedway racing is about being around the
front as the race is winding down. With Matt
driving, and a little luck, we should run up front
all day long and give the Arby’s Ford Fusion a good
finish.”
Daytona Fast Facts
n
Matt Kenseth enters 2007 coming off the
second best points finish of his career, only 57
points shy of his second Cup title.
n
The 2007 version of the “Killer Bees” (the
over-the-wall crew) welcomes two new members to the
fold. Rear-tire changer and original crew member,
Dave Smith, returns along with new rear-tire carrier
Jason Binger. Of the 24 race-day crew members on the
No. 17 team, 21 returned from 2006.
n
Kenseth has three top fives and five top-10
finishes in the past six restrictor plate races.
n
Kenseth finished fifth last season in his
respective race in the Gatorade Duel, marking the
third straight season he has finished sixth or
better.
n
A flat tire, which occurred just a few
hundred yards from taking the green flag during his
solo qualifying run in 2006, had Kenseth slotted
57th out of 57 cars after qualifying.
n
By finishing 42nd in the 2005 Daytona 500,
Kenseth & the No. 17 DEWALT team snapped a 71
consecutive-race streak in which they had been
inside the top 10 in the Championship Points
Standings, dating back to the 2003 Daytona 500.
n
Kenseth will pilot the No. 17 Arby’s Ford
Fusion on its maiden voyage on Saturday, Feb. 17 in
the NBS race, the Orbitz 300.
Reiser
signs 3-year contract extension with #17 team
 The Wisconsin State Journal reports
that Robbie Reiser has signed a three-year with the Roush Racing
to stay with the #17 team as crew chief. Reiser signed the
contract extension after Christmas.
n
Read more
Roush
Racing hosts NASCAR media
Members of the media were treated to a morning at Roush
Racing with Jack Roush and all of his drivers on Wednesday.
n
Photos from media day at
Roush Racing
n
Photos from #17 pit crew
practice — now with video!
n
NASCAR’s formula for change gets mixed reviews
Kenseth
tests at Daytona this week
 The 2007 NASCAR season got underway for Matt Kenseth and
the #17 DeWALT team at Daytona this week.
n
MK Teleconfrerence
transcript
n
Motorsport.com: Photos from Daytona testing
n
Kenseth: Ford needs to
keep marquee drivers
n
Kenseth holds out hope for Favre’s return
n
Kenseth pins hopes
on continuity
n
Kenseth’s team aims to be a little bit better
n
Kenseth says team gaining ground on ‘car of tomorrow’
|
