Dover Busch & Cup Preview
May 30, 2007

Dover International Speedway • Dover, Del.
Dover 200 • Sat., June 2 • 2:30 pm/e ESPN2
Autism Speaks 400 presented by VISA • Sun., June 3 • 1:00 pm/e Fox

Nextel Cup Chassis — #17 DeWALT Ford Fusion
• Primary — COT RK-473 (Last ran Darlington, finished 7th)
• Backup — RK-457 (Last ran Martinsville, finished 10th)

Busch Chassis — #17 Arby’s Ford Fusion
• Primary — RK-360 (Last ran Charlotte, finished 7th)

 
Matt’s Cup Series summary at Dover:

Date	S	F	Laps	Led	Reason
09/24/06	3	10	399/400	215	Running
06/04/06	19	1	400/400	83	Running
09/25/05	11	35	367/400	0	Accident
06/05/05	23	7	400/400	0	Running
09/26/04	8	32	319/400	58	Accident
06/06/04	39	22	381/400	0	Accident
09/21/03	1	9	400/400	1	Running
06/01/03	4	7	400/400	0	Running
09/22/02	17	4	400/400	0	Running
06/02/02	1	40	297/400	0	Running
09/23/01	40	29	390/400	0	Running
06/03/01	13	16	399/400	0	Running
09/24/00	31	12	399/400	0	Running
06/04/00	26	2	400/400	0	Running
09/26/99	13	4	400/400	0	Running
09/20/98	16	6	400/400	0	Running

 
Matt Kenseth Cup Series totals at Dover:

	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles	Laps Led
Spring	7	1	2	4	1	83
Fall	9	0	2	5	0	274
Cumulative	15	1	4	9	1	357

Matt Kenseth Busch series summary at Dover:

Date	S	F	Laps	Status
09/23/06	8	2	202/202	Running
06/03/06	18	26	197/200	Running
09/24/05	14	38	1/200	Accident
06/07/04	22	35	62/200	Accident
05/31/03	3	4	200/200	Running
09/22/01	20	10	199/200	Running
06/02/01	9	2	200/200	Running
09/23/00	14	1	200/200	Running
06/03/00	16	3	200/200	Running
09/25/99	1	38	120/200	Crash
06/05/99	14	32	154/200	Crash
09/19/98	4	1	200/200	Running
05/30/98	2	40	136/200	Crash
09/20/97	15	3	200/200	Running
05/31/97	32	11	199/200	Running

 
Matt Kenseth Busch Series totals at Dover:

	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles
Cumulative	15	2	7	8	1

 
Matt Kenseth on racing at Dover:

• Cup: “Dover’s been my favorite track for quite awhile now. I used to always say that, and it seemed like we’d have bad luck there, so last year I kept telling myself how much I disliked it and it worked. We ended up winning there in the spring and coming pretty close to winning last fall. So, I guess in that line of thinking, again, I really dread going to Dover, it’s not one of my favorite tracks.

“But, in all seriousness, Dover’s always been special to me because I made my first start there in Bill Elliott’s car and was able to finish sixth that day, just a day after we won our first Busch race there. Then, to win there last year made it even more special. I love the track. It’s a super fast one-mile oval that commands a lot of respect and it’s just a lot of fun to race there.

“I’m hoping we’re as good there in the COT as we were last year in the old car. We felt pretty good after Darlington and felt like we’d gotten a little better with the COT. We were able to drive up towards the front and lead some laps, and do some things that we hadn’t done before in that car. We’re taking that same car this weekend, so I’m hoping we’ve learned some things that can help us get to the front again this week.”

• Busch: “Charlotte didn’t go as well as we would have liked. We had a great qualifying run, but it kind of went downhill from there. We really struggled with the handling of our car and never could get it where we needed it to be. We are taking our Charlotte car to Dover this weekend and it is a car that has been great to us in the past. Hopefully we can get the handling dialed in and get another good finish for Arby’s, maybe even win some more free fries for America.”

Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at Dover:

“We’re bringing the same car we ran at Darlington a few weeks ago. It was pretty good down there and we felt like we’ve learned some things with the COT that should help us this coming weekend.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how these cars handle at Dover. I think we’ll see a lot of the same issues we’ve been having with these cars. Obviously, if we could’ve tested there like originally scheduled, then we might have a better handle on it, but at least everyone’s in the same boat. Nobody has tested there, so you’ll probably see teams trying a lot of different things on Friday.

“Charlotte was a little disappointing because our finish didn’t really represent where we ran or how good our car was. But, you know, we’ve done the opposite of that so many times, where we pulled out a much better finish than what our car was capable of through good pit stops and track position and all of those things. So, I guess Sunday was one of those that went the other way. But, I know the character of this team and you can be sure that we’ll be back at it and working even harder at Dover this weekend.”

Busch Series Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer on racing at Dover:

“We are heading to Dover with the same car we took to Charlotte. Matt (Kenseth) was able to win the pole with this car in Charlotte, but we couldn’t quite get it handling as well as he needed it to in order to be competitive for the win. I think we can get all that worked out for this weekend and get RK-360 back to the front where it belongs.”

Dover Fast Facts

n Matt Kenseth is the only driver in the NEXTEL Cup Series that has completed every lap to this point in 2007, a total of 4,053.

n Kenseth’s average finish in the NEXTEL Cup Series this season is 8.8, second only to Jeff Gordon.

n Kenseth made his Cup debut at Dover International Speedway in September of 1998 at the age of 26. He substituted for Bill Elliott that day and drove to a sixth-place finish.

n Kenseth scored the first pole of his Cup career at Dover in June of 2002, one of only three (Kansas and Bristol, both in ‘05).

n Kenseth’s first Cup victory at Dover came last June in the Neighborhood Excellence 400.

n In addition to his Cup victory, Kenseth also boasts two NASCAR Busch Series wins at Dover, his first coming in September of 1998, the day before his first Cup start, and the second in September of 2000.

n Kenseth has led 637 laps in his NBS career at Dover, the most among all active drivers in the Busch Series. His seven top-five NBS finishes is tops among all NBS drivers, past or present.

Coca-Cola 600 race recap

No. 17 R+L CARRIERS/DEWALT FORD FUSION RECAP
PROMISING NIGHT ENDS WITH FRUSTRATING FINISH

After qualifying fifth for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 team spent almost the entire event inside the top 10 and much of that portion inside the top five. Kenseth even drove the R+L Carriers paint scheme to the front and led four different times for a total of 50 laps. However, fuel mileage prevailed, shuffling the finishing order and Kenseth outside the top 10, where he crossed the finish line in the 12th position.

The hottest race day of the 2007 season greeted a crowd of nearly 175,000 at the 1.5-mile oval located in Concord, N.C. Ryan Newman led the field to the green at 5:49 PM Eastern. Kenseth qualified fifth; his best qualifying effort of the season (he started fourth at Texas, but qualifying was rained out, and starting order set by points).

NASCAR’s longest event became the typical war of attrition that it’s known for. Two multi-car pileups early in the race significantly thinned the field and many other teams suffered tire and engine failures. Only 12 cars finished on the lead lap, and 27 cars finished three or more laps down.

One of the greatest challenges of the event is battling the ever-changing racetrack. With the race starting with the sun still out and gradually transitioning to darkness, crews that can stay on top of the ever-changing conditions usually prevail.

Kenseth reported the car being too loose to start the race as he worked inside the top five. After entering the pits for the first time in the fifth position, the “Killer Bees,” which again remained “killer” all day, turned a great four-tires-and-fuel pit stop and got Kenseth out in the third position. That became even more important one lap after the restart, on lap 53, when a tire from the No. 48 car came off in the tri-oval and started a 13-car melee. Just one lap after the field restarted on lap 61, five cars were swept up in a wreck started when two cars got together coming off of turn four. Fortunately Kenseth was just ahead of both incidences.

Kenseth moved into the second position shortly after the ensuing restart, but began reporting the car as again being too loose. After the field cycled through green-flag pit stops, Kenseth was running in the sixth position when the next caution flag flew on lap 140. The crew made major adjustments on the following stop in an effort to make the change needed to get Kenseth to the front, but to no avail as Kenseth continued to toil around the 10th position.

After a pit stop on lap 170, Kenseth’s No. 17 machine began to come around to his liking. Kenseth, restarting ninth, quickly moved into the fifth position and following a fuel-only stop on lap 186, was in the third position. But, it wasn’t until a pit stop on lap 223 that Kenseth made his charge to the front.

Immediately after the restart on lap 227, Kenseth grabbed the lead for the first time of the evening, leading when the field circuited back around for the first lap under green. Kenseth led the next 17 laps and for the first time appeared primed to contend for the win. For the next 70 laps, Kenseth exchanged the lead with the No. 48 and No. 20, all of which looked to be the class of the field.

The No. 17 team led their last lap of the event on lap 310 of the 400-lap race and from that point on struggled to find the handling on the racecar. Kenseth began reporting the car as being too tight, so the crew made adjustments when Kenseth came to pit road for the second to final time on lap 338.

After restarting fourth, Kenseth climbed to third, but around lap 368 began reporting the car as being too loose. Sliding back into the seventh position and losing ground on the leaders, Robbie Reiser called Kenseth to pit road on lap 380, in an attempt to “short-pit,” take on two tires, make a minor adjustment, and hopefully gain ground on the race track to the cars who had yet to pit. The plan would’ve worked, and at least kept Kenseth in the seventh position, but unexpected to all of the leaders, five cars managed to play fuel strategy perfectly and not pit for the final time. As a result, Kenseth and the No. 17 team were forced to settle for a 12th-place finish.

“That’s kind of a frustrating finish considering where we ran for most of the race,” said Kenseth. “The guys did a great job in the pits all night and we were able to gain track position on pit road, which is always nice. We kept working on getting the balance of the car where we wanted it and I thought we got pretty close. With about 100 (laps) to go we were able to run with the 48 and the 20 and were able to lead a little bit, but after that we just went backwards. I’m not really sure what happened but the car got extremely loose there at the end. We short pitted trying to make up some ground but then four or five guys made it without pitting, so that got us finishing where we did. Had that not happened, we would’ve finished about seventh, which is about where we were running in the last 50 laps or so.”

NEXT UP:
Autism Speaks 400 presented by VISA • Dover International Speedway • Sunday, June 3

RACE SUMMARY
Matt Kenseth • Started 5th • Finished 12th

POINTS SUMMARY
Race Total: 132 points
Season Total: 1714 points
Ranked 3rd, 207 points behind first

Kenseth in R+L car for Coke 600
May 24, 2007

MATT KENSETH TO FLY R+L CARRIERS COLORS AGAIN IN COCA-COLA 600
Ohio-based company launches 2007 campaign with first primary paint scheme of the year

CONCORD, N.C. — For the second consecutive season, Matt Kenseth will pilot the No. 17 R+L Carriers Ford Fusion in the season’s longest race, the Coca-Cola 600. Kenseth’s familiar yellow and black DEWALT Ford will be yellow and green this weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, as the R+L Carriers paint scheme will run its first of four races in 2007 as primary sponsor of Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 17 Ford. The other three dates for the R+L Carriers scheme are July 7 at Daytona International Speedway, September 2 at California Speedway, and October 21 at Martinsville Speedway.

“It’s good to have R+L Carriers back on board with us,” said Kenseth, the 2003 NEXTEL Cup Champion. “We’ve enjoyed a successful relationship in 2006 and so far in 2007. I’d like nothing more than to get these guys into Victory Lane this year. We’re taking the same car back this weekend that ran in the All-Star race. It was really fast out front in that race and we’re expecting the same this weekend. With a little luck… who knows? Maybe we can finish Sunday night up front and give R+L Carriers the kind of finish they deserve.”

Kenseth’s record in the Coca-Cola 600 is stellar. In seven starts, Kenseth has scored five top-five finishes and one win in 2000, when he became the only rookie ever to win the Coca-Cola 600. Last season, in R+L Carriers’ first primary paint scheme since 1997, Kenseth finished fifth. For his career, Kenseth has scored four wins at Lowe’s Motor Speedway; two in the Busch Series, one in the All-Star race in 2004, and the 2000 Coca-Cola 600.

About R+L Carriers

Based out of Wilmington, Ohio, R+L Carriers is a family owned and operated company that with over 40 years of committed service to their customers, has grown to be one of today’s leaders in the Less than Truckload (LTL) industry. R+L Carriers, the first major LTL trucking company to sponsor a cup car in 1997, made the decision to rejoin the sport due to the positive impact between employees and customers and the connection NASCAR has of bringing them both together. With nearly 10,000 employees, R+L Carriers Inc. currently services 49 states, as well as Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and all of Canada. R+L Carriers continues to be the “The ONE CALL — ONE CARRIER” that you can count on.

n R+L Carriers Racing website

Charlotte Busch & Cup Preview
May 24, 2007

Lowe’s Motor Speedway • Concord, N.C.
Carquest Auto Parts 300 • Sat., May 26 • 8:00 pm/e ESPN2
Coca-Cola 600 • Sun., May 27 • 5:00 pm/e Fox

Nextel Cup Chassis — #17 R+L Carriers Ford Fusion
• Primary — RK-323 (Ran at the All-Star race last weekend; led 36 laps, finished seventh; also ran 10 times in ’06 with two wins, five top fives, and seven top 10s)
• Backup — RK-340 (Tested Las Vegas, Jan. ’07, Last ran at Pocono, Jun. ’06, finished fifth)

Busch Chassis — #17 Arby’s Ford Fusion
• Primary — RK-360 (Last ran Texas, finished first)

 
Matt’s Cup Series summary at Charlotte:

Date	S	F	Laps	Led	Reason
10/14/06	11	14	332/334	1	Running
05/28/06	6	5	400/400	1	Running
10/15/05	18	26	326/336	0	Running
05/29/05	3	37	254/400	0	Accident
10/16/04	36	11	334/334	0	Running
05/30/04	37	3	400/400	1	Running
10/11/03	29	8	334/334	0	Running
05/25/03	18	2	276/276	82	Running
10/13/02	7	34	254/334	27	Engine
05/26/02	21	2	400/400	21	Running
10/07/01	32	12	334/334	1	Running
05/27/01	40	18	334/334	2	Running
10/08/00	26	9	334/334	1	Running
05/28/00	21	1	400/400	32	Running
10/11/99	27	40	231/334	0	Accident

 
Matt Kenseth Cup Series totals at Charlotte:

	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles	Laps Led
Spring	7	1	5	2	0	139
Fall	8	0	0	2	0	30
Cumulative	15	1	5	7	0	169

Matt Kenseth Busch series summary at Charlotte:

Date	S	F	Laps	Status
10/13/06	2	4	203/203	Running
05/27/06	1	38	136/200	Engine
10/14/05	16	25	183/200	Suspension
10/15/04	13	2	200/200	Running
05/24/03	9	1	200/200	Running
10/06/01	14	16	200/200	Running
05/26/01	10	2	200/200	Running
10/07/00	1	1	200/200	Running
05/27/00	5	30	196/200	Crash
10/09/99	1	7	200/200	Running
05/29/99	9	3	200/200	Running
10/03/98	2	2	200/200	Running
05/23/98	5	5	200/200	Running
10/04/97	38	12	200/200	Running
05/24/97	35	22	199/200	Running
05/25/96	37	31	194/200	Running

 
Matt Kenseth Busch Series totals at Charlotte:

	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles
Cumulative	16	2	8	9	3

 
Matt Kenseth on racing at Charlotte:

• Cup: “You know, I’ve always enjoyed the track at Charlotte. It’s a little quirky, but it used to be one of those tracks where tire wear was a factor, it was all about handling and if you could get your car to handle a little better, then you could really pass some guys and race your way up through the field. But, the tire we race there right now is so hard, it’s the same tire we had last spring and we couldn’t really race then and I don't think it's going to be better now. You just get incredibly tight whenever you get behind someone.

“Charlotte will always be a special place for me. It’s where I got my first Cup win, we won the All-Star race there in ’04 and we’ve picked up a couple of Busch wins too. We were pretty close to picking up a win last Saturday, but I got a little too aggressive on pit road. I’m not saying we could’ve won, but we were one of the better cars when in clean air.

“The promising thing for us was that the car was pretty competitive, at least the most competitive it’s been in a while on Saturday and we’re taking it back there this weekend. If we can get it to turn a little bit better we might have something for them on Sunday.”

• Busch: “Charlotte has always been one of my better tracks. I’ve won twice there in the Busch car and should have earned a third win in the fall, but I spun out on the last lap and still managed a fourth-place finish. Our test there went really well last week and Arby’s is back on our car this weekend. Hopefully everything will go well and we’ll win some more curly fries for America.”

Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at Darlington:

“The All-Star race weekend was a pretty good motivator for these guys. They kicked off things on Friday evening by helping Matt win the pole with an excellent pit stop. To me, that’s the real pit-stop competition; when you’ve got to click off a good four-tire stop on a live car, with your driver, with everyone watching and your time depending on it, that’s the real deal and our guys did real good.

“The race itself was promising for a lot of reasons. The team was good, but more promising was how well the car ran. It wasn’t nearly as good in traffic, but out in front it looked like it could run with anybody. We were so pleased with that car that we decided to turn it around for this weekend.

“The 600 is a tough race. It’s long and takes a great amount of concentration from the driver and the crew. We’ve had some pretty good success in this race and hopefully that will continue this weekend. We feel like the car will be decent and we feel confident that we have one of the best drivers and pit crew, so if we take care of business on Sunday, we should be around with a shot at the end.”

Busch Series Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer on racing at Charlotte:

“It’s great to have Arby’s back with us this weekend in Charlotte. Last time they were on our car we were able to pull off a win. Actually, we are taking the same car that we won with in Texas with the Arby’s paint scheme. Plus Matt tested with us last week here and the car was handling really well. If all goes well we will have a solid run and be in contention for the win.”

Coca-Cola 600 Fast Facts

n Matt Kenseth has scored four career victories at Lowe’s Motor Speedway; 2000 Coca-Cola 600, 2004 All-Star Race, and two Busch Series wins.

n Kenseth’s win in the 2000 Coca-Cola 600 was the first of his Cup Series career and the first and only time a rookie has won the event.

n Chassis number RK-323, that Kenseth will pilot in Sunday’s event, ran last weekend in the All-Star race (leading 36 laps and finishing seventh) was the workhorse for the No. 17 team in 2006, racing in 10 events and scoring two wins, five top fives, and seven top 10s.

n Kenseth’s average finish in the NEXTEL Cup Series this season is 8.5, second only to Jeff Gordon.

n Kenseth has completed every lap so far in 2007, one of only two drivers to do so (Jeff Gordon).

n Kenseth and the No. 17 team will be flying the R+L Carriers colors this weekend for the first of four races in 2007; Daytona, Fontana, and Martinsville being the other three.

n Kenseth has five top-five finishes in seven starts in the Coca-Cola 600 including the win in 2000.

n Kenseth made his first career NASCAR Busch Series start at LMS in May of 1996, driving a Chevrolet for Wegner Racing; he finished 31st.

All-Star Challenge race recap

No. 17 DEWALT FORD FUSION RECAP
SPEEDING PENALTY ENDS KENSETH’S CHANCE AT ALL-STAR VICTORY

For two of the four 20-lap segments, Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 DEWALT team appeared to be unstoppable. Without a doubt, when Kenseth’s car was out front, in clean air, it was as good as anyone. Kenseth ended the third segment in front and led the field in for the mandatory stop before the final segment. The only rule was that each car had to come to a complete stop, any service after that was optional. The call was for a stop-and-go, which Kenseth executed perfectly then proceeded to exit pit road with the lead. But, soon afterwards, NASCAR penalized Kenseth with speeding when he exited pit road and as a result, forced him to pit again, dropping him from first all the way back to 16th for the final segment. Kenseth made a valiant charge to get back to the front, but ran out of time, finishing in seventh.

SEGMENT ONE
20 Laps
Started: 1st
Finished: 1st

After the No. 17 team dominated the qualifying session on Friday evening, winning the pole by nearly two seconds, Kenseth led the field to the green flag for the second time in his career at the All-Star Challenge. The green flag fell at 9:21 PM Eastern at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and Kenseth immediately continued his dominance throughout the first segment, leading all 20 laps.

By the end of the caution-free first segment, Kenseth had stretched his lead to 1.7 seconds and out of the gate, appeared to be the car to beat.

SEGMENT TWO
20 Laps
Started: 6th
Finished: 4th

The No. 17 machine came to pit road after segment one for the optional pit stop, and the “Killer Bees” responded by keeping Kenseth ahead of all other cars that got four tires. However, two cars remained on the track and three others took two tires only, therefore, Kenseth began segment two in the sixth position.

Immediately Kenseth drove up to third place in only four laps, but his advance stopped there as he learned quickly that the No. 17 Ford did not handled nearly as well in traffic as it did out front. The car had become tight in turns three and four and Kenseth reported the car as having no “front grip.”

After hanging on to the fourth spot, Kenseth entered the 10-minute, red-flag intermission looking forward to making the proper adjustments on the car.

SEGMENT THREE
20 Laps
Started: 4th
Finished: 1st

Under the red flag the crew made some fairly major adjustments to improve the handling of the racecar and when the field took the green flag, it quickly became apparent that the No. 17 was again the car to beat.

Kenseth took the green flag on lap 41 and by the time he reached turn three had already moved into second. After a caution flag flew on lap 41, Kenseth restarted second on lap 45. But, by the time the field entered turn one on the restart, Kenseth blew past the No. 5 car and again set sail.

From lap 45 to the end of segment three, lap 60, Kenseth again pulled away from the field, with the only challenge appearing from the No. 24 car. Kenseth won segment three by .453 seconds.

SEGMENT FOUR
20 Laps
Started: 16th
Finished: 7th

After segment three, NASCAR mandated that each team come to pit road under caution, enter their pit stall and come to a complete stop, but anything in addition to that, such as fuel and tires, was optional. Kenseth, again, led the field to pit road and would be the first to make the decision. The call was for a stop-and-go only, so Kenseth wheeled his Ford directly into the stall then immediately back into traffic and attempted to avoid the cars entering and exiting their respective pit stalls all while trying to beat everyone out of the pits.

For a moment, it appeared that the No. 17 team was successful. Kenseth exited pit road still with the lead, but less than half a lap later, NASCAR radioed that Kenseth was too fast exiting pit road and forced him back down pit road for a stop-and-go penalty. Since they were forced back in the pits, the No. 17 team elected to take on four tires, but returned to the track in the 16th position, which is where Kenseth took the green for the final segment.

Down but not out, Kenseth came roaring back; gaining four positions on the first green-flag lap and working his way into the ninth position by lap 63, just three laps after the restart. Two cautions bunched the field over the course of the final 20 laps, the last occurring on lap 64.

Kenseth sat in seventh for the final restart and due to his car again becoming tight in traffic, was unable to improve his position over the final 15 laps. While Kevin Harvick took home the checkered flag, Kenseth couldn’t overcome the penalty and had to settle for a seventh-place finish.

“I was speeding coming off pit road,” Kenseth said following the race. “It wasn’t necessarily a tough break, it was a dumb mistake by me. It was real important to be up front tonight. When we were in the front, we were one of the best cars. When we were behind, we were just one of the guys, for whatever reason. I just left pit road and there was a lot of traffic because we did a stop-and-go and I looked out of the mirror and looked back down and knew I was going too fast. I tried to jab the brake to correct, but it must have been a real short segment. It was just a dumb mistake that cost us the race.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE TIRE?

“It’s the same tire we had last spring and we couldn’t really race then and I don’t think it’s going to be better now. It’s just tough. When we were in front we could drive away or hang in there with those guys. The 24 was a little better on long runs and so was the 5, but we could really run with them. When we got behind, even in second or third place, you just couldn’t do anything – you’d just get so tight and you couldn’t really get anything to work for some reason. So it was just real important to be in front. I was overly-aggressive to try and stay in front and got in trouble going a little too fast down pit road and that kind of cost us.”

RACE SUMMARY
Matt Kenseth • Started 1st • Finished 7th

NEXT UP:
Coca-Cola 600 • Lowe’s Motor Speedway • Sunday, May 27

Nextel All-Star Challenge preview
May 18, 2007

Lowe’s Motor Speedway • Concord, N.C.
Nextel All-Star Challenge • Sat., May 19 • 7:00 pm/e Speed Channel

Kenseth qualified for the All-Star Challenge by winning at Dover in June of ’06. He also qualifies as a past winner of the event as well as being a former NEXTEL Cup Champion.

Nextel Cup Chassis — #17 DeWALT Ford Fusion
• Primary — RK-323 (Last ran at Homestead Nov. ’06, finished sixth; also in ’06 ran 10 times with two wins, five top fives, and seven top 10’s)
• Backup — RK-340 (Tested Las Vegas, Jan. ’07; Last ran Pocono in Jun. ‘06, finished fifth)

 
Matt’s All-Star race history at Charlotte:

Date	S	F	Laps	Led	Reason
5/19/06	7	11	72/90	0	Accident
5/21/05	10	11	89/90	0	Running
5/22/04	3	1	90/90	5	Running
5/17/03	17	6	90/90	NA	Running
5/18/02	1	3	90/90	NA	Running
5/19/01	13	14	70/70	NA	Running

 
Matt Kenseth All-Star race summary:

Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles	Laps Led
6	1	2	3	1	5

 
Matt Kenseth on racing in the Nextel All-Star Challenge:

“I think it’s like any other sport, the All-Star race is cool if you get to be a part of it because not everybody gets to do it. To be a part of that group is always cool and to do it at Charlotte is a lot of fun. It pays a lot of money and it’s a short race with no points, so it’s always fun. To me, the most fun thing is it involves the crew so much. They have the pit crew competition during the week and then they do a pit stop for qualifying, so they have a lot to do with the qualifying position, and they have some green-flag pit stops in the race. So, it really focuses on the team a lot and I really like that.

“The year we won was pretty cool. It was a fun race. Ryan (Newman) stayed out on tires. We were running side by side and I had to pass him for the win right at the end, and that was a really exciting race for us.”

Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on the All-Star Challenge:

“I think the All-Star event means a lot to everybody on the team because we’re in it. It separates the elite, and I think that makes everybody feel special, and it allows us a chance to go run against the best, and that’s what everybody wants to do.

“With the way the All-Star Challenge is set up, it allows the guys that work on the car every week to get to step out on stage and see what the fans all think of them, and it gives them an opportunity to be a part of it, in the qualifying event where you go three laps, we do a pit stop, which gives us an opportunity to shine.

“A couple of years ago we sat on the pole, and it was all off our pit stop, which made the guys all feel real great, and the same way with the race. The way the race is structured, I think two of the stops this year will be pitting on the fly. So, it gives the guys on pit road a real opportunity to be a part of this race and make a difference.”

All-Star Fast Facts

n Matt Kenseth has competed in every All-Star race starting with his sophomore season in the NEXTEL Cup Series in 2001.

n Kenseth has scored four career victories at Lowe’s Motor Speedway; 2000 Coca-Cola 600, 2004 All-Star Race, and two Busch Series wins.

n Kenseth won $1,044,000 in prize money after winning the 2004 All-Star race, which remains the largest, single-race purse that Kenseth has won in his career.

n Chassis number RK-323, which Kenseth will pilot in Saturday night’s event, was the workhorse for the No. 17 team in 2006, racing in 10 events and scoring two wins, five top fives, and seven top 10s. After finishing sixth at Homestead in November, it went in for a “make over” and will make its 2007 debut Saturday night.

n Kenseth’s average finish in NEXTEL Cup this season is 8.5, second only to Jeff Gordon.

n Kenseth has completed every lap so far in 2007, one of only two drivers to do so (Jeff Gordon).

Pit Crew Challenge preview

ROBBIE REISER SIZES UP HIS “KILLER BEES’” CHANCES AT THE NEXTEL ALL-STAR PIT CREW CHALLENGE

CONCORD, N.C. — Long considered one of the best pit crews in the Nextel Cup Series, the aptly named “Killer Bees,” the over-the-wall pit crew for Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 DEWALT Ford Fusion team, will be one of the teams competing in the Nextel All-Star Pit Crew Challenge Wednesday evening at Bobcats Arena in downtown Charlotte, N.C.

While the No. 17 pit crew is consistently one of the best on Sundays, they have struggled adapting to the new Pit Crew Challenge format, which started in 2005, which calls for teams to end their round by pushing a 3,400-pound stockcar 40 yards. Robbie Reiser, who was featured on Monday’s NASCAR Teleconference, addressed the discrepancy in real pit stops and what is asked of the crews in the Pit Crew Challenge and how he thinks his team, two-time champs under the original format in 2001 and 2002, will stack up.

“The chances at the competition this year are pretty tough for our team,” Reiser admitted. “With the structure that they have, the pushing of the car, my guys aren’t really structured to push the car real fast, but they do great pit stops, and we’ll see how they make out. I think individual-wise they’ll be pretty tough, but on the overall competition they’re going to have their work cut out for them.

“I think over the years the 17 has been very fortunate with the group we’ve had, and we’ve had a lot of long-time loyal members of this team that have put a lot of dedication into this thing. They show it every week they go on the race track. On Sunday, they were second-to-none on pit road, getting five, six spots at a time when they came onto pit road. Actually they were the ones that helped us get a top-10 finish. Our car wasn’t all that great at the end of the race, and the job that they could do on pit road and get us some positions and put us in a spot of running decent was a job they were getting done. It was pretty awesome.”

---

The Killer Bees

From left to right: McDonald, Binger, Smith, Ebert, Strupp, Nottestad, Brook. Credit: Action Sports Photography, Inc.

RUSS STRUPP, Jackman
Home: Allenton, Wis.
Age: 44 • Height: 5'7" • Weight: 195
Years over the wall: 14 — Began in 1994 with Reiser Enterprises’ No. 17 NBS team
Years with No. 17 team: Nine — ORIGINAL MEMBER — Began in 1999

JUSTIN NOTTESTAD, Front Tire Changer
Home: Cambridge, Wis.
Age: 30 • Height: 5'11" • Weight: 180
Years over the wall: Seven — Began in 2001 with Roush Racing’s No. 17 NNCS team
Years with No. 17 team: Seven — Began in 2001

CHRIS BROOK, Front Tire Carrier
Home: Davie, Fla.
Age: 36 • Height: 6'0" • Weight: 265s
Years over the wall: Eight — Began in 2000 with Sonntag Racing’s No. 73 NCTS team
Years with No. 17 team: Five — Began in 2003

DAVE SMITH, Rear Tire Changer
Home: Millersville, Md.
Age: 33 • Height: 6'0" • Weight: 180
Years over the wall: Eight — Began in 1999 with Roush Racing’s No. 17 NNCS team
Years with No. 17 team: Four — ORIGINAL MEMBER — Began in 1999

GREG EBERT, Gasman
Home: Marshall, Wis.
Age: 29 • Height: 5'9" • Weight: 215
Years over the wall: Seven — Began in 2001 with Roush Racing’s No. 50 NCTS team
Years with No. 17 team: Three — Began in 2005

DAVE MCDONALD, Catch Can Man
Home: Clinton, Mich.
Age: 38 • Height: 6'1" • Weight: 200
Years over the wall: Four — Began in 2002 with Ganassi Racing’s No. 41 NNCS team
Years with No. 17 team: Three — Began in 2005

JASON BINGER, Rear Tire Carrier
Home: San Antonio, Tex.
Age: 36 • Height: 5'11" • Weight: 205
Years over the wall: Nine — Began in 1999 with Parker Racing’s No. 72 NBS team
Years with No. 17 team: 2007 is his first season with the No. 17 team

Interview with Crew Chief Robbie Reiser

NASCAR Teleconference Transcript
An Interview With ROBBIE REISER

THE MODERATOR: We’d like to welcome everyone this morning to a special Monday morning NASCAR teleconference in advance of Wednesday’s NASCAR Nextel Pit Crew Challenge that will be held Wednesday nice in Charlotte, North Carolina at Charlotte Bobcats Arena.

The Pit Crew Challenge kicks off a great couple of weeks in the Charlotte area which also includes Saturday night’s NASCAR Nextel All‑Star Challenge, and the week after, the Coca-Cola 600 on May 27th. Both of those races are held at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, the great facility in Concord, North Carolina.

Today’s guests are some of the finest crew chiefs in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup series. We are joined by Robbie Reiser, chew chief for Matt Kenseth 17 DEWALT Ford, and Kevin Manion, crew chief on the No. 1 No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Chevrolet driven by Martin Truex.

We’re going to open up with Robbie. Robbie has really developed one of the finest pit crews in the series many recent years, and what a lot of people hopefully remember is in a previous pit crew competition NASCAR had prior to the start of the NASCAR Nextel pit crew challenge, the No. 17 team won that competition a couple of years.

Robbie, maybe you can talk about your chances in this week’s NASCAR Nextel Pit Crew Challenge and give us an idea of how important the pit crew is to the team’s chances in the All Star event.

ROBBIE REISER: The chances at the competition this year are pretty tough for our team with the structure that they have. The pushing of the car, my guys are not really structured to push the car real fast. But they do great pit stops, and we’ll see how they make out. I think individual-wise they will be pretty tough. But on the overall competition, they are going to have their work cut out for them.

I think, you know, over the years, the 17 has been very fortunate with the group we’ve had, and we’ve had a lot of long‑time loyal members of this team that have put a lot of dedication to this thing, and they show it every week they go on the racetrack. I mean, yesterday, they were second to none on pit road, getting five, six spots at a time coming out of pit road, and they were the ones that helped us get a Top-10 finish.

Our car was not all that great the at the end of the race, and the job they did on pit road put us in a spot of running decent was a job they were getting done and it was pretty awesome.

Q. When you guys won the championship in 2003 with Matt, that was a championship that was built on consistency; just how important was the crew’s work to that championship season?

ROBBIE REISER: Well, you can’t win a championship without a team effort, and it takes everybody throughout the year to do that. And not only all of the work they do in the shop but the work they do over the wall is a key ingredient to making that all happen.

Like I say, we’ve had a group of people that have stayed here for a long time. I think, you know, three out of the five guys that go over to the wall, tire changers and jack men, are the same people in Chris Brook, Justin Nottestad, and Russ [Strupp]. We have a couple new guys in Dave Smith and Jason Binger that carry rear tires and they do a great job every week. Our fuelers have always been the same; Dave Ebert and Dave McDonald have been with us for a few years. So having that core group stay together makes a big difference.

Another thing that helps us out is the guys behind the wall do an exceptional job supporting those guys and making sure they can do their jobs; with the detail they work they do, it makes it all possible.

Q. Can you talk a little about what the All-Star event means to you as a crew chief? You guys won it a couple years ago, and to me it seems like the ultimate racing event since there’s no points on the line.

ROBBIE REISER: Well, I think the All-Star event means a lot to everybody because we’re in it. Just it separates the elite, and I think that makes everybody feel special, and, you know, allows us a chance to go run against the best and that’s what everybody wants to do.

With the way the All-Star Challenge is set up, it allows the guys that work on the car every week to get to step out on stage and see what the fans all think of them. And it gives them an opportunity to be a part of it by, you know, in the qualifying event where you go three laps, we get to do a pit stop can which gives us an opportunity — a couple of years ago we sat on the pole, and it was all because of our pit stop, which makes our guys feel really great.

The way the race is structured, two of the stops we’ll be pitting on the fly. So it gives the guys on pit road a real opportunity to be a part of this race and make a difference.

Q. Are they the most underrated guys in the race team, the guys who go over the wall; do they ever get their dues in this?

ROBBIE REISER: Well, I mean, the way NASCAR is structured, obviously it’s all towards the drivers. But I think if you watch during the race and the things that have gone on the last few years, they get their opportunity to shine every week and they put the car in a position to win and I think that’s satisfaction for them.

Q. It looks like the 24 car is coming together at this point, Letarte and Gordon; how important is the relationship and the chemistry between the driver and the crew chief in terms of success?

ROBBIE REISER: Well, it’s a major ingredient. If you don’t get along, you’re probably not going to be too successful.

I think the communication and the things that we do as a group between myself and Matt is a reflection on our whole race team. If we get along well and work well together, the rest of the team sees that example and works well together. You know, that kind of sets a tone for what is going to happen during the season or during a race. And as you work together during the race, it’s very important that you communicate and understand what the other person is trying to say so that you can try to help him with his issues.

Q. Were and you Matt comfortable right off the bat together?

ROBBIE REISER: I think if you look back at our backgrounds being that we raced as kids and our fathers were a major part of it; we grew up kind of in the same area around the same racetracks and had, like I say, a family base that helped us. So I think that part of it made us look at racing the same. You know, we didn’t have highly-financed backgrounds or anything. We just had family teams that wanted to go stock car racing, and both of us wanted to win and go to the racetrack and do that.

You know, our dads taught us well, and when we got together, it just kind of fell together. He wanted to win races; I wanted to win races; and we never really had the money to do it with, but we just went at it as hard as we can go and it’s worked out.

Q. Can you talk about the training your pit crew goes through on a weekly basis?

ROBBIE REISER: Well, it’s gotten a lot more involved over the years. You know, now at Roush Racing here, we actually have trainers hired that are on staff and we have pit crew coaches that are on staff, and they try to take care of all — I think we have 13 teams here and they pretty much try to cover all of that.

So if you look at it that way, then the fellas that are required — the seven guys that go over the wall are required to be in a workout program Monday through Friday; some of it more stressful than others. Wednesday is usually the hard workday here when you take them out back and really run them through their bases, and they are required to work out every day. Then they have a pit stop practice three times a week which is Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. And there’s one day that’s set aside for just looking at films from the previous race so we can pick out things that we want to work on.

We also have a full-team practice where the guys behind the wall work with that same group so that everybody is pretty coordinated when we show up for the racetrack.

Q. And to follow up on that, how many of your crew guys are just crew guys versus people who actually have shop day duties throughout the week?

ROBBIE REISER: Well, I think to tell you that the only thing they do is they go over the wall; here at Roush Racing, that’s not the case. Everybody that goes over the wall on the 17 team is also a mechanic on this team, and I think that’s pretty hard to find in this sport today.

I think, you know, these guys have a part of the car, plus what they do over the wall and maybe that’s what brings them success. But we are required to use mechanics to go over the wall here at Roush.

Q. How much has changed as we head into the Pit Crew Challenge this year based on the Car of Tomorrow, the preparing for it; how much has your job changed, your role changed?

ROBBIE REISER: Well, I don’t really know if it’s changed all that much. It’s definitely been more work because we’ve had the two cars to work on. And getting involved with pitting the cars, you’d have to look at it a little differently, because the bodies are a little more set backwards on the COT car than what it is on the current car. So we have had some work to do there.

But I would say that all in all, I show up for work Monday through Friday and do the same thing, work on race cars and try to go fast.

Q. Aside from the combination of the Pit Crew Challenge, talk about the competition on pit road in general which is so separate from what we see, a great competition and fun to watch, but it’s a little bit different down on pit road.

ROBBIE REISER: Well, that’s what kind of puts us at a disadvantage for the competition. It’s not really built around what we do during the race. During the race, we pit a car and we try to change four tires and fill it with fuel and do that as fast as we can do it.

In the competition, each person is separate, at a separate station and then they have to run to the back of the car and then they have to push the car. Probably 75 percent of the competition is pushing the car.

So the way our team is kind of structured, we’re not real good at the push so it puts us as a disadvantage. So I would rather be pretty stellar on pit road on race day than what I am in the competition.

Q. Your team overall, has to feel like there’s another championship or more in you, don’t you think, with Matt and the whole group?

ROBBIE REISER: I hope there’s a few more championships. I ain’t planning on giving up in the near future.

Q. You guys were the last team to win the championship pre-Chase but have been real competitive since the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup began. Matt kind of had a label on him that he was all about consistency and he’s shown that that isn’t really true. With the new format and emphasis on winning, he’s shown he can win a lot of races; how do you feel about your championship chances?

ROBBIE REISER: I think they are real good. In the years past, we have been contenders and this year we’ll be contenders.

The biggest challenge ahead of us is to be ready for the last ten races. Last year I thought we were really prepared. We went into the first five races and did a really good job. We were right there until the end. We just didn’t have the car performance-wise to be able to finish it off.

And this year, I think we got a little slower start on the COT, but everybody seems to be working hard at it. And maybe what it comes to them last ten races, we’ll have all our stuff together and we’ll go get them.

Q. It’s been quite a while since we’ve had a double-digit victory on the season in the series. A lot of people thought those days might be over, and this year you have two people headed there. What does it say about parity and the sport in general?

ROBBIE REISER: I think you’ve got to look at the sport for the team that’s winning right now and Hendrick has done a really good job of putting a lot of support into their COT. And they have come out of the box stronger than the rest of us, and I think that’s shame on the rest of us because we didn’t do as well of a job as what they did. They came into the season more prepared than what we were and they are reaping the benefits for it.

I don’t think that the days of domination from a certain team are gone. I think that, you know, you’ve got to commend those guys for the effort they put in, and all of the things that they have done to be ready for the season. I think that they deserve a lot of credit for that and we shouldn’t look past that point.

They did do a great job, and it’s up to us, you know, the teams that are on the outside right now to step it up and try to be competitive for the rest of the season.

Q. Does the Car of Tomorrow have something to do with it?

ROBBIE REISER: Whenever you have something new, you’re going to have teams that are going to be on top of it and you’ll have teams that are going to struggle. The commitment Hendrick put into the COT car — and Chevrolet teams in general, Gibbs and Childress, all those teams have really stepped up and come out in the COT and said, hey, come get us, guys. They are out there running well, and the rest of us are playing catch-up.

Q. What was your fastest pit stop yesterday? The guys on the air said it was a 13-flat or something. And how did you have to adjust for the Car of Tomorrow? And the one thing that the guys said in the booth was the fact that you’re still hands-on with your guys to get over the wall. Do you think that that’s what has made the difference over the year?

ROBBIE REISER: Oh, I don’t know. I just don’t know how to do it any other way. This group here has been together so long, I just try to be a part of it. That’s part of my job I feel, and what we do on pit road is I’m responsible for this race team, so I try to keep my nose in there a little bit.

I’ve got to give a lot of credit to the trainers and the pit coaches and all of the other people that help. They are part of this, too, and they all try to help to make it better. So I don’t want to say that I’m the only guy trying to help here. All of these guys work together and try to make it the best. I try to keep my nose there because it’s my team, and when things go wrong, I’m the first one to yell. I want to be there to make sure — to make sure we’re doing it and be as prepared as we possibly can. I’m pretty proud of the track record that we have on pit road over the years with our race team. It’s been second to none and I’m pretty proud of that.

Q. Can you talk about the adjustment that you made for the Car of Tomorrow, and when did you start training with that in mind, because it did change the dynamics, didn’t it?

ROBBIE REISER: Well, it did, and what we did was we came out — probably in the off-season, we had one car that we were using for testing and we went and did a couple of stops and just looked at it and said, okay, where is it going to be different, what’s it going to affect us, where the hoses are going to lay and are we going to be able to gas it the same and work around the wing and do some of them things.

It really wasn’t that much of an adjustment from where we were at. There were a couple small things that we had to change and we fixed, and you know, other than that it was pretty much the same.

Q. Back to recognizing your coaches and trainers for your pit team; what are their names?

ROBBIE REISER: Wayne DeLorean is our head pit coach and Andrew Carter who works with our 17 team. And we have a fellow named Jesse Aupps at the Busch shop that oversees that. And then we have Robert Johnson who is a trainer on the 5 Winston Cup program, so them are the fellas that help. Pretty much Andrew Carter and Robert Johnson are involved with our team on a day-to-day basis and help me with — when we have injuries, and when we have problems, they help me sort them out.

THE MODERATOR: Robbie, thanks so much for joining us, we really appreciate that. Great information leading into the NASCAR Nextel Pit Crew Challenge. Best of luck to you.

Darlington race recap

No. 17 DEWALT FORD FUSION RECAP
KENSETH RECORDS SECOND STRAIGHT TOP-10 AT DARLINGTON

The “Track Too Tough To Tame” hasn’t been too kind to Matt Kenseth in NEXTEL Cup competition throughout the years, but on Sunday he managed to score his second consecutive top-10 finish at the Darlington Raceway and the eighth top 10 in 11 starts in 2007. Kenseth cashed in on a superb effort by the “Killer Bees” on pit road and some flawless pit strategy to overcome a loose racecar. Still, the fifth “Car of Tomorrow” race was by far the most competitive the No. 17 DEWALT team has been to this point with the COT, leading a total of 29 laps on Sunday.

For the second consecutive weekend rain won the day on Saturday evening, again postponing the race to Sunday afternoon. As a result, the dwindled audience witnessed Clint Bowyer lead the field to the green flag at 1:15 PM Eastern on Sunday. Kenseth rolled off 31st and struggled to make progress early in the race.

Reporting that the car was too loose in and off the corners, Kenseth had made his way into the 28th position by the time the mandatory caution flew on lap 40. Robbie Reiser and company went to work making some major adjustments early on to affect the handling of the racecar.

Kenseth restarted 24th and soon after cracked the top 20, but soon after starting loosing ground rapidly. The car was too loose and Kenseth began moving backwards again. Reiser called Kenseth to pit road a bit early to get his driver fresh tires and make several more adjustments. The early pit stop worked perfectly. Kenseth cycled in 28th, but after the entire field had pitted was running in the 14th position

Kenseth reported the brakes going soft early on and so under the next two cautions, the crew removed tape from the brake ducts allowing more air to flow to the brakes. After a caution on lap 123, Kenseth came down for four new tires and to have the final brake duct opening cleared. He returned to the track in the 15th position, but with seven lap fresher tires than the cars in front of him.

The adjustments and the fresh rubber gave Kenseth the advantage he needed. Immediately after the restart, Kenseth charged his way inside the top 10, as high as seventh by the time the next cycle of green-flag pit stops occurred. Due to Kenseth’s previous pit stop, which happened seven laps after the other leaders, he was able to stay out and lead several laps before ducking onto pit road on lap 181 for service. Thanks to a 12.16-second stop by the “Killer Bees,” Kenseth cycled out in the fourth position, picking up three spots under the green-flag stops.

After working his up to second, the caution flag flew on lap 238. Kenseth came onto pit road in second, but after an 11.84-second stop by his crew, returned to the track in first. For nearly the next 30 laps the No. 17 DEWALT Ford ran out front, until the sun peeked out for the first time in nearly two days. With the sun out, the track became much slicker and Kenseth immediately began to feel the effects.

Reporting the car as being “way too loose,” Kenseth began falling through the top 10. After leading for the final time on lap 269, Kenseth fell all the way back to ninth by lap 284. The crew tried frantically to get the car back as good as it was before the sun came out, but never quite dialed the car back in.

After the final pit stop of the day, Kenseth ran eighth and was able to climb inside the top five on lap 350, just 17 laps shy of the finish. Over the remainder of the race, Kenseth fought hard to keep a very loose racecar inside the top 10 and was able to bring home a seventh-place finish, his second straight top 10 and fifth of his career at Darlington.

“I feel like we’re gaining on it,” Kenseth said in reference to the “Car of Tomorrow.” “We’re not where we need to be, but I feel like we’re definitely gaining on it. Before the sun came out, we weren’t the car to beat, but we made some adjustments and got up within the top-five cars and actually led a little bit. The cars are just very, very sensitive — at least ours are. The sun came out and it just really threw the car for a loop and we could never get it back.”

NEXT UP:
Nextel All-Star Challenge • Lowe’s Motor Speedway • Saturday, May 19

RACE SUMMARY
Matt Kenseth • Started 31st • Finished 7th

POINTS SUMMARY
Race Total: 151 points
Season Total: 1582 points
Ranked 3rd, 299 points behind first

Darlington Busch & Cup Preview
May 8, 2007

Darlington Raceway • Darlington, S.C.
Diamond Hill Plywood 200 • Fri., May 11 • 8:00 pm/e ESPN2
Dodge Avenger 500 • Sat., May 12 • 6:30 pm/e Fox

Nextel Cup Chassis — #17 DeWALT Ford Fusion
• Primary — COT RK-473 (Brand new, never tested)
• Backup — RK-457 (Last ran Martinsville, finished 10th)

Busch Chassis — #17 Dish Network Ford Fusion
• Primary — RK-346 (Last ran Atlanta, finished ninth)

 
Matt’s Cup Series summary at Darlington:

Date	S	F	Laps	Led	Reason
05/13/06	31	3	367/367	64	Running
05/07/05	31	26	367/370	1	Running
11/14/04	9	20	365/367	1	Running
03/21/04	15	31	289/293	0	Running
08/31/03	6	14	367/367	37	Running
03/16/03	12	8	293/293	0	Running
09/01/02	9	37	325/367	0	Running
03/17/02	34	8	293/293	0	Running
09/02/01	28	23	365/367	0	Running
03/13/01	30	19	292/293	0	Running
09/03/00	24	33	286/328	0	Running
03/19/00	16	6	293/293	3	Running
08/22/99	31	37	145/270	0	Accident

 
Matt Kenseth Cup Series totals at Darlington:

	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles	Laps Led
Spring	7	0	1	4	0	68
Fall	6	0	0	0	0	38
Cumulative	13	0	1	4	0	106

Matt Kenseth Busch series summary at Darlington:

Date	S	F	Laps	Status
05/12/06	5	2	147/147	Running
05/06/05	24	1	147/147	Running
11/13/04	32	5	147/147	Running
09/01/01	9	7	147/147	Running
03/17/01	3	2	147/147	Running
09/02/00	15	8	147/147	Running
03/18/00	3	2	147/147	Running
09/04/99	6	3	147/147	Running
03/20/99	9	1	147/147	Running
09/05/98	11	6	147/147	Running
03/21/98	13	4	147/147	Running
08/30/97	14	12	147/147	Running

 
Matt Kenseth Busch Series totals at Darlington:

	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles
Cumulative	12	2	8	11	0

 
Matt Kenseth on racing at Darlington:

• Cup: “Darlington is a really cool racetrack. It’s unique and challenging and, to me, that makes it a lot of fun to drive. Tire wear is so important there, and you’re really sliding around more and more as a run goes on, so it’s extremely important to get your car to handle there.

“Now, with that being said, it’s going to be interesting with the ‘COT’ there because we really haven’t had much luck with the handling on these cars yet. We’ve been struggling with getting the car to turn through the center without getting it too loose on exit. So, couple that with a place like Darlington and it should be interesting to say the least.

“We’re bringing a brand new car this weekend and I honestly don’t know what we’ll have. But, hopefully we’ll continue to improve and make these cars better to where we can start competing for wins again.”

• Busch: “Darlington is one of my favorite tracks. I like it because it is a unique track. You really have to have your car handling well to be competitive, especially on old tires. This track tends to wear out tires very fast, so the better your car handles on old tires the better you will be at the end. Drew (Blickensderfer) and the guys have been giving me some great cars lately. Our last three runs together have resulted in a win and two second place finishes. Plus last year we finished second here, so hopefully we can get the car setup right to be there at the end and earn a solid finish.”

Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at Darlington:

“Darlington should be fun. It’s going to be challenging like it always is, but this time there’s going to be a certain level of uncertainty going in. But, it’s pretty much the same for everybody.

“The bottom line is we’ve got to get our stuff running better. On race day, our guys have done as good as job as anybody out there, and I think that shows if you watch the race. We really haven’t had top-10 cars in the COT races, but we’ve had excellent pit stops and we’re able to make the right adjustments and Matt has done an excellent job to where we’ve snuck out a few top 10s. That’s the good news. The other side to that is our cars aren’t performing good enough to consistently run in the top 10 and challenge for wins right now, and that has to change going forward if we’re going to contend for the championship this year.”

Busch Series Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer on racing at Darlington:

“Darlington always makes for a great race and this Friday night should be no exception. Matt (Kenseth) has a great record here, but just came up short of a win last year… just like last weekend. We are taking chassis 346 to Darlington, which is the same car we took to Atlanta. We didn’t get the finish we would have liked in Atlanta, but hopefully we can turn that around and get a good finish Friday night.”

Darlington Fast Facts

n Matt Kenseth’s average finish in NEXTEL Cup this season is 8.7, second only to Jeff Gordon.

n Kenseth’s average finish in the Car of Tomorrow in four races is 9.0, good enough for fifth best among Cup drivers.

n Kenseth has completed every lap so far in 2007, one of only two drivers to do so (Jeff Gordon).

n Kenseth’s third-place finish last year at Darlington Raceway was his first top-five finish at the track in 13 attempts.

n Kenseth’s Busch Series record at Darlington is brilliant. In 12 starts he has recorded two victories, eight top fives, 11 top 10s, never finished worse than 12th, and has completed every lap in all 12 races (1764 of 1764).

n Kenseth’s average finish at Darlington in the NBS is 4.4, tops among all drivers in the NBS with five or more starts at the 1.366-mile oval, and ranks second among Kenseth’s NBS career behind only Pikes Peak (4.0 in two starts).

n Kenseth is ranked fifth in the NBS point standings heading into Darlington despite having started only eight of the series 11 events. Remarkably, Kenseth is ahead of 12 drivers who have started in all 11 NBS races this season.

Madison Race

LESS THAN 60 DAYS TO THE ALL-STAR CHALLENGE
Tickets and pit passes still available

Friday, April 27, 2007 (Cambridge, WI) — Everyday, Roy Kenseth goes to his mailbox to receive his daily batch of ticket orders for the First Supply All-Star Challenge presented by Capital City Harley-Davidson event on Tuesday, June 26, at Madison International Speedway in Oregon, Wis. Later on that day, Roy goes to the post office to send out those orders to race fans from all over the Midwest.

In less than 60 days, RK Race Promotions will host its third annual event for the second year in a row at MIS. The event will be headlined with two NASCAR Nextel Cup Champions, Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart.

“We are right on track with the advance orders that we had last year at this time,” Kenseth recently stated. “We are working with Dave Grueneberg and his staff at MIS to make this event much better than last year. We learned a lot from last year’s event and we are going to work hard to make this a more fan friendly event for everyone.”

 TICKET INFO 

General admission tickets are currently on sale at the RK Race Promotions office, located next to the Village Motel (101 Hwy 18) on the corner where Hwy 12 & 18 split entering Cambridge, about a quarter-mile east of the Matt Kenseth Fan Club Headquarters. The office is open seven days a week between the hours of 4–8 p.m. until further notice. Or you can purchase tickets via mail with the printable ticket form. Please note that the date for personal checks to be accepted has been extended through June 1.

General admission tickets are $25 for ages 11 and up and $10 for ages 10 and under, or ages 18 and over can purchase an advance pit pass for $50. The pit pass will also give you access to the grandstand area.

 COMPETITOR INFO 

This year’s event will feature the best area super late model competitors to compete along with Kenseth and Stewart.

The entry form is now available and is due by June 1st. Those interested in the entry form, please e-mail your request to kmrpr17@charter.net.

In order to be eligible for The Swiss Colony Pole Award ($500), the Rockweiler Insulation Halfway Leader Award ($500), and for one of the maximum top-five payouts, you will need to send in your entry form and fee by June 1st. Those who are not pre-entered will not be eligible for the Pole Award, Halfway Leader Award and if they finish in the top-five, they will receive a reduced payout.

“The reason for the pre-entry is simple,” Kenseth explained. “We are putting together a great program for the event and it will also be broadcasted LIVE on ESPN Radio 1070 AM in Madison. The advance entry forms will ensure that your car is listed in the program along with your main sponsor and it will help ESPN Radio with their broadcast. Plus, it will also give us the opportunity to let the fans know who is coming to compete against Matt and Tony.”

The main event will be 100 laps with a break at the halfway point. The tentative starting field will consist of 24 cars, but Kenseth is leaving the door open to allow more cars into the main event, depending on the car count. 16 cars will automatically make the field by time, four will come through qualifying races (15 laps each) and four promoter choices. It will be a 4-tire race; tires must be purchased at the track that day. The event will follow the Wisconsin Challenge Series rules.

Kenseth has also stated that the top-five finishers will automatically be guaranteed a starting spot for the All-Star “50” super late model event at the Milwaukee Mile on Sunday, August 26th.

The minimum payout is as follows: 1. $6,500; 2. 4,000; 3. 3,500; 4. $3,000; 5. 2,000; 6. 1,750; 7. 1,500; 8. 1,400; 9. 1,350; 10. 1,300; 11. 1,250; 12. 1,200; 13. 1,150; 14. 1,100; 15. 1,050; 16. 1,000; 17. 950.00; 18. 950.00; 19. 900.00; 20. 900.00; 21. 850.00; 22. 850.00; 23. 800.00; 24. 800.00 (25th on back $500).

All cars not making the feature will receive $250.00.

Advance entry fee is $100 and pit passes will be sold for $50 on the day of the event. Those who are not pre-entered will receive a minimum of: 1. $5,000; 2. 3,500; 3. 3,000; 4. 2,500; 5. 1,500.

SCHEDULE

The tentative schedule for the day includes: pits open at 9:00 a.m., practice from 12–3 p.m., qualifying at 4:00 p.m., racing at 7:00 p.m. The 100-lap feature will start around 8:00 p.m.

RAIN DATE

The rain date will be Wednesday, June 27th.

QUESTIONS?

If you have any questions, please contact Roy Kenseth at (608) 209-1188 or e-mail him at mattsdad@mattkenseth.com. Entry forms are available by e-mailing your request to kmrpr17@charter.net.

Don’t wait until the last minute; get your tickets and entry forms in now for the First Supply All-Star Challenge presented by Capital City Harley-Davidson on Tuesday, June 26th at the Madison International Speedway.

Richmond race recap

No. 17 DEWALT FORD FUSION RECAP
KENSETH AND COMPANY GRIND OUT ANOTHER TOP-10 FINISH

It wasn’t easy, but again Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 DEWALT Ford team made the most out of what they had and were able to scratch and claw their way to another top-10 finish at Richmond on Sunday. Rain put a halt to the race before it ever began in earnest on Saturday night, delaying the start until 1:12 PM on Sunday afternoon. Kenseth started 28th and fought handling issues for much of the day, but through another extraordinary effort by Kenseth, Robbie Reiser and the “Killer Bees,” they managed to salvage a 10th-place finish and remain third in the NEXTEL Cup point standings.

The Crown Royal presents the Jim Stewart 400 actually started twice this weekend. First, on Saturday night, under ominous skies and an irritating mist that later turned into rain, the field took the green and yellow flag to start the race around 7:44 PM Eastern. After 10 laps of circling the track under caution, NASCAR put out the red flag and stopped the race. The rain set in and the race was postponed until Sunday afternoon and the lap count reset to zero.

Series point leader Jeff Gordon led the field to the green flag at 1:12 PM Eastern on a windy and chilly Sunday in Richmond. Kenseth rolled off 28th and had trouble with the handling on his No. 17 Ford from the beginning. By the time NASCAR threw the “competition caution” on lap 41, so that teams could make adjustments due to the night-and-day different race settings from the day before, Kenseth had only moved up to the 26th position.

The handling was a concern all day and Kenseth reported it as being, “tight in the center, loose off, with no grip coming off the corners.” Robbie Reiser and the No. 17 crew had their work cut out for them and fortunately they were up to the task. The adjustments made on the lap 42 pit stop weren’t enough, so they decided to go further with the next adjustments when Kenseth was one of the few to come to pit road on lap 58 while under caution.

Kenseth restarted 34th and soon after the restart fell to 35th. But, suddenly the car seemed to come to life and Kenseth began his march towards the top 20. Reporting that the handling was much better on this run, Kenseth moved from 35th to 24th in a little under 40 laps.

Two pit stops later, Kenseth, who pitted while most of the lead-lap cars stayed out on lap 120, was scored in the 29th position. But with a few adjustments and about 15-lap fresher tires, Kenseth was prepared for another big advance. Twenty laps into the run, Kenseth had finally cracked the top 20 on lap 145, and by the time the field began its cycle of green-flag pit stops, he had moved into the 13th position.

Since Kenseth was on a different pit cycle than most of the leaders, he was the last of the lead-lap cars to come to pit road on lap 212 after he had assumed the lead and picked up five valuable bonus points.

After working his way up to the 12th position on the track, Kenseth along with the rest of the field came to pit road under caution on lap 252. With some minor adjustments and a 12.65 second stop by the “Killer Bees,” Kenseth returned to the track in the 10th position with a little under 150 laps remaining.

The No. 17 machine never was quite good enough to threaten the top five, but with Kenseth behind the wheel, was able to hold its position over the final 150 laps. Kenseth avoided several close calls in the waning laps as cars continued to wreck either directly in front of or just behind the No. 17 Ford.

Needing a long green-flag run in order to make up ground, Kenseth never received what he needed in the last 100 laps. Still, despite an ill-handling racecar, Kenseth and the No. 17 team were able to take care of everything within their control during the race and churn out another top-10 finish, their seventh of the year and third in four races with the Car of Tomorrow.

“I feel like we’ve got 20th-place cars,” said Kenseth. “We’re just getting good pit stops and calling the race good and not getting in accidents and finishing 10th with them. We’ve got a long ways to go with these cars. I don’t know. We just can’t keep up.”

NEXT UP:
Dodge Charger 500 • Darlington Raceway • Sat., May 12

RACE SUMMARY
Matt Kenseth • Started 28th • Finished 10th

POINTS SUMMARY
Race Total: 139 points
Season Total: 1431 points
Ranked 3rd, 260 points behind first

Matt Kenseth show car stolen
May 2, 2007

If you have any information as to the whereabouts of the stolen show car, please contact the Auto Theft Unit of the Dekalb County Sheriffs Office at (770) 724-7650.

ROUSH FENWAY RACING SHOW CAR STOLEN IN ATLANTA
No. 17 USG Sheetrock Ford Fusion is missing

CONCORD, N.C. (May 2) — A Roush Fenway Racing show car transporter and the No. 17 USG Sheetrock Ford Fusion NASCAR show car it carried were stolen Wednesday morning from the Hampton Inn parking lot off Druid Hills Road in Atlanta, Ga. The theft occurred sometime between 5 and 5:45am.

The custom 2006 Ford F-350 dually crew cab truck with Illinois license plates towed a custom Featherlite trailer containing the show car. The rear of the trailer featured a glassed-in display for viewing the No. 17 USG Sheetrock show car inside. The truck and trailer were recovered later in the morning, but both had been vandalized and then abandoned along the road.

Still missing is the No. 17 USG Sheetrock Ford Fusion show car, which is a replica of the Roush Fenway Racing’s #17 entry driven by Matt Kenseth in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series. The car is blue and red with numerous logos. USG Sheetrock is advertised on the hood and the number 17 is on the sides and roof of the car.

If you have any information as to the whereabouts of the stolen show car, please contact the Auto Theft Unit of the Dekalb County Sheriffs Office at (770) 724-7650.

Richmond Busch & Cup Preview
May 3, 2007

Richmond International Raceway • Richmond, Va.
Circuit City 250 • Fri., May 4 • 9:30 pm/e ESPN2
Crown Royal presents the Jim Stewart 400 • Sat., May 5 • 7:00 pm/e Fox

Nextel Cup Chassis — #17 DeWALT Ford Fusion
• Primary — COT RK-451 (Last ran Phoenix, Apr. 21, finished fifth; Also ran Bristol, Mar. 25, finished 11th)
• Backup — COT RK-458 (Backup at Martinsville, never ran)

Busch Chassis — #17 Dish Network Ford Fusion
• Primary — RK-395 (Last ran Phoenix, finished 2nd)

 
Matt’s Cup Series summary at Richmond:

Date	S	F	Laps	Led	Reason
9/9/06	10	8	400/400	39	Running
5/6/06	11	38	351/400	0	Running
9/10/05	13	2	400/400	3	Running
5/14/05	26	12	400/400	2	Running
9/11/04	16	28	397/400	5	Running
5/15/04	29	5	400/400	4	Running
9/6/03	18	7	400/400	0	Running
5/3/03	18	7	393/393	0	Running
9/7/02	25	1	400/400	134	Running
5/5/02	7	6	400/400	0	Running
9/8/01	38	35	301/400	0	Running
5/5/01	19	8	400/400	0	Running
9/9/00	20	32	376/400	0	Engine
5/6/00	37	15	400/400	0	Running

 
Matt Kenseth Cup Series totals at Richmond:

	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles	Laps Led
Spring	7	0	1	4	0	6
Fall	7	1	2	4	0	181
Cumulative	14	1	3	8	0	187

Matt Kenseth Busch series summary at Richmond:

Date	S	F	Laps	Status
09/08/06	3	3	250/250	Running
05/05/06	6	3	250/250	Running
09/09/05	4	3	253/253	Running
05/13/05	11	8	253/253	Running
09/05/03	28	6	250/250	Running
09/07/01	16	2	250/250	Running
05/04/01	1	4	250/250	Running
09/08/00	8	8	250/250	Running
03/05/00	4	2	250/250	Running
09/10/99	30	20	249/250	Running
05/14/99	18	3	250/250	Running
09/11/98	23	4	250/250	Running
06/05/98	14	3	250/250	Running
09/05/97	32	22	248/250	Running

 
Matt Kenseth Busch Series totals at Richmond:

	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles
Cumulative	14	0	9	12	0

 
Matt Kenseth on racing at Richmond:

• Cup: “I always enjoy racing at Richmond. It’s the ideal short track. It’s wide, fast and smooth; pretty much all of the qualities that you usually don’t associate with short-track racing. The thing I enjoy most of racing there is that you don’t have to ‘move’ someone out of the way in order to pass them. You really don’t have to move someone anywhere, you shouldn’t, but at Bristol and Martinsville, it’s a lot harder to avoid that situation than at Richmond, where there’s plenty of room to set up the pass.

“We ran a lot better than I thought we would at Phoenix in the COT a couple of weeks ago. That’s somewhat promising because the car we used at Phoenix was the car we tested at Richmond just a couple of weeks before that. The Richmond test was good for us and I think we learned some things that are going to help in our performance. Phoenix was definitely a step in the right direction and I hope we can continue that this weekend.”

• Busch: “Richmond is a track where we’ve had some success at in the Busch car, but have never quite been able to pull off a win. Drew (Blickensderfer) and the guys keep giving me good equipment and we are able to go out there and be competitive each week. Actually the car we are taking this weekend is the same car we tested with a few weeks ago at Richmond and the same car that finished second at Phoenix. The car was fast during testing and hopefully we can carry that speed over into Friday night’s race and pull off a good finish.”

Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at Richmond:

“We’re bringing the same car that we took to Phoenix and did a pretty good job with out there. We had a top-five car but we were just a little off on the final run there which put us fifth for the race. I feel a lot better now about our COT program than I did a month ago, but I’m sure we aren’t the only ones singing that tune. Plus, we still have a little ways to go in order to compete against some of the guys who seem to have this thing figured out. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting closer.”

Busch Series Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer on racing at Richmond:

“Matt is really good a short tracks and has the record to prove that. We are taking the same car to Richmond that we tested there with. It was fast during testing and will hopefully be fast Friday night under the lights. Matt (Kenseth) has a great record at Richmond, but doesn’t have a Busch Series victory there. Hopefully we can help him out and get a win at Richmond for Matt and Dish Network.”

Richmond Fast Facts

n Matt Kenseth has scored eight top-10 finishes at Richmond in 14 races, which ranks second behind Tony Stewart among all drivers at Richmond since Kenseth’s rookie season in the NEXTEL Cup Series (2000).

n Kenseth has scored nine straight top-10 finishes in the Busch Series at Richmond and has 12 total top-10 finishes in 13 Busch Series starts at the .75-mile Virginia oval, including three straight third-place finishes.

n Kenseth has completed every lap so far in 2007, one of only two drivers to do so (Jeff Gordon).

n Kenseth’s average finish in NEXTEL Cup this season is 8.6, second only to Gordon.

n Richmond International Raceway is one of 10 NEXTEL Cup tracks (including North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham) that Kenseth has scored a Cup victory.