|
California recap
August 31, 2008
No. 17
R+L Carriers/DeWALT FORD FUSION RECAP:
Solid 5th place run at Fontana inches Kenseth closer to Chase
berth
|
Race Summary
Start: 37th
25 to go: 6th
Finish: 5th
High: 1st
Low: 36th
Fastest Laps: 1
Laps in top 15: 206
Laps: 250/250
Led: 1
Status: Running
Points: 160*5
Earnings: $169,941
Points Summary
Races: 25 of 36
Race Total: 160
Season Total: 3081
Ranked: 9th (+1),
-674 from leader |
I f you ask Matt
Kenseth, he’ll tell you that he runs better when he doesn’t qualify
well and tonight he proved that to be true at the Auto Club Speedway
in Fontana, California. After qualifying a less-than-stellar 37th
place for the Pepsi 500, Kenseth, with the help of the R+L Carriers
Ford Fusion team, rallied back to finish fifth in the 250-lap event.
Pole winner Jimmie Johnson led the 43-car field to the green flag
at the start of Sunday’s Pepsi 500. Kenseth, in the yellow and green
No. 17 R+L Carriers Ford Fusion, rolled off 37th and settled in for
what was sure to be a long night in Southern California.
The race was stalled by a yellow flag for the first time on lap
three. With little to lose and strategy in mind, Kenseth — running
in 31st place — made his way down pit road. Crew chief Chip Bolin
directed the No. 17 pit crew to change two right side tires and top
off Kenseth’s Ford with fuel. After the speedy stop, Kenseth
returned to the track in 29th position on lap eight when green flag
racing commenced.
Over the next run, Kenseth reported that his Ford was “too free,”
so when caution fell on lap 19, he was back on pit road for some
adjustments. Kenseth entered the pits in 25th place and after the
No. 17 was serviced with four tires, fuel and a track bar
adjustment, he rejoined the field in 24th position on lap 23 when
green flag racing resumed.
Kenseth continued to report loose handling throughout the
majority of the race and the No. 17 crew worked to correct the
problem over a series of scheduled pit stops. Though the adjustments
didn’t seem to remedy the handling problems, Kenseth inched his way
up the leader board with each stop.
By lap 180, Kenseth was running 10th and reported that his R+L
Carriers Ford was “getting better.” The No. 17 would see pit road
twice more before the race’s conclusion — once on lap 180 and again
on lap 217. With each scheduled stop, the Killer Bees quickly
fine-tuned Kenseth’s Ford and set him up for the final run of the
race.
With just 28 laps remaining in the race, Kenseth, in sixth place,
made a final charge to the front. Despite having a fast race car,
lapped traffic would hinder his advance past fifth place.
Jimmie Johnson dominated 228 of 250 laps and held off a late-race
challenge from Greg Biffle. Biffle lost ground after the Lap 223
restart when the water temperature in his No. 16 Ford spiked thanks
to paper stuck to his grille. Johnson beat Biffle to the finish line
by 2.076 seconds. Denny Hamlin ran third, followed by Kevin Harvick.
Kenseth finished fifth, his sixth top five of the season.
“We ran pretty good,” Kenseth said. “It’s just that these things
are pretty frustrating. You can’t ever really go anywhere. Those top
bunch of cars start there and they run there all day. It’s just hard
to do anything with these cars, so it gets a little frustrating, but
we had a great day on pit road. We were able to pass some cars and
we got a good finish.
“I don’t even know where we’re at in the (point) standings, but,
obviously, we’re probably in better shape than we were coming in,
but until you’re locked in anything can happen.”
The solid run for Kenseth and company advanced their points
standing from 10th to ninth — 674 points behind the leader, Kyle
Busch, and 92 points ahead of 12th place.
Next week, the Race to the Chase concludes at Richmond
International Speedway where Kenseth and the No. 17 crew will have a
final shot at being locked into the Chase for the Sprint Cup
Championship.
NEXT UP:
Chevy Rock & Roll 400 •
Richmond Int’l Raceway, Richmond, Va. • Saturday, September 6
California Sprint Cup Preview
August 28, 2008
Auto Club Speedway
• Fontana, Calif.
Pepsi 500 •
Saturday, August 31 • 7 pm/e ESPN Sprint Cup Chassis — #17 DeWALT Ford Fusion
• RK-550
— Last outing: Chicago, July ’08, started ninth and finished
seventh. Also raced the Coca-Cola 600, started 12th and finished
seventh; Texas, started eighth and finished ninth; and California,
started fourth and finished fifth.
Matt Kenseth’s Cup performance summary at
California:
| Date | S | F | Laps | Led | Reason |
| 02/24/08 |
4 |
5 |
250/250 |
4 |
Running |
| 09/02/07 |
36 |
7 |
250/250 |
0 |
Running |
| 02/25/07 |
25 |
1 |
250/250 |
133 |
Running |
| 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 totals at California:
| | Races | Wins | Top 5s | Top 10s | Laps Led | Poles | |
Cumulative |
13 |
2 |
5 |
9 |
383 |
0 |
Matt Kenseth on racing at
California:
“California has been one of our better
tracks throughout our time in the Nationwide Series and in the
Cup Series, so it’s definitely a track I look forward to racing.
The track is just a real big, wide track. You get a little bit
of everything there. You get a lot of speed, especially now in
the new cars because they have less drag, so you really go fast
down the straightaways. It’s got some pretty big corners where
you can run around the bottom or you can run up high and you’re
always kind of searching for a groove, so the racing is always a
lot of fun.
“Over the past couple of weeks we’ve run really bad. I know
our finishes have been decent, that’s mainly because we’ve had
good pit stops and have been able to make a lot of good
adjustments. But in all honesty, the past few weeks have really
been a struggle for us. We haven’t really been finding the right
setups and it’s been really difficult for us. In the race, we’ve
been relying on Chip’s adjustments, which have been good and the
pit crew to keep me competitive. It’s not what we aim for every
week. For some reason, we’ve been quite a bit off from my
teammates. As we head into the last two races before the Chase,
we have a lot of work to do, but I feel confident that Chip and
guys will get us where we need to be.”
Sprint Cup Crew Chief Chip Bolin on racing at
California:
“We’re bringing RK-550 this
weekend to Fontana. We’ve raced this car a few times this year
and we’ve had some decent finishes in it. The last time Matt
raced this car we were at Chicago and he went from 30th, a lap
down on lap 176 to finish seventh just 90 laps later. I think he
set a record for cars passed in that race. Hopefully the car
will be just as fast and handle just as well this weekend at
Fontana. Fontana is a momentum track that fits Matt’s driving
style, so if we can get the right setup for him and have the car
handling just right, we should be fine.”
California Fast Facts n
Matt Kenseth will make his 14th NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series start at the Auto Club Speedway this weekend in the Pepsi
500.
n
For the record… In his previous starts at California, Kenseth
has achieved two wins, five top-five finishes, and nine top-10
finishes. He has completed 99.9% (or 3253 of 3255) of all laps
attempted. Kenseth has led a total of 383 laps at Fontana, more
than any other active driver.
n
In the LOOP… According to NASCAR’s Loop Statistics, over the
past seven races at Fontana Matt Kenseth has turned 90 of the
fastest laps and spent 1,521 laps (86.7%) in the top 15. His
driver rating is 112.7, which ranks Kenseth second to Jimmie
Johnson.
n
Rewind… After qualifying 25th and battling an ill-handling
racecar, Kenseth and crew captured a solid ninth-place finish
last weekend at Bristol.
n
Standings…With Kenseth’s ninth-place finish last week at
Bristol, he maintained his 10th-place standing in the NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series. Kenseth has 2,921 points. He is 688 points
behind first place and 66 points ahead of 12th place.
n
On the track… This weekend the No. 17 team will sport the yellow
and green colors of R+L Carriers. The guys will be unloading
chassis No. RK-550. Kenseth has raced this car four other times
this season and has scored one top-five and four top-10
finishes.
Bristol race recap
August 24, 2008
No. 17
DeWALT FORD FUSION RECAP:
KENSETH AND No. 17 DEWALT TEAM EARN HARD-FOUGHT NINTH-PLACE
FINISH UNDER THE LIGHTS AT BRISTOL
|
Race Summary
Start: 25th
Mid-race: 13th
50 to go: 10th
Finish: 9th
High: 9th
Low: 26th
Fastest Laps: 5
Laps in top 15: 271
Laps: 500/500
Led: 0
Status: Running
Points: 138
Earnings: $149,591
Points Summary
Races: 24 of 36
Race Total: 138
Season Total: 2921
Ranked: 10th,
-688 from leader |
Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 DEWALT Ford
Fusion team overcame a difficult weekend en route to a ninth-place
finish in Saturday night’s Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
After struggling to find the perfect setup during Friday’s practice
sessions and qualifying 25th for the 500-lap event, Kenseth and
company, led by crew chief Chip Bolin, faced an uphill battle. But
in true team 17-fashion, proper adjustments, speedy pit stops, and
hard driving earned Kenseth another solid finish.
Roush Fenway Racing
driver Carl Edwards led the 43-car field to the green flag under the
lights at The World’s Fastest Half-Mile. Kenseth rolled off 25th and
would be unable to make up any ground through the first run of the
night. Reporting that his DEWALT Ford was “extremely loose and
lacking grip,” Kenseth had his hands full trying to maintain
position. Lap 96 brought out the first caution of the race and
Kenseth gladly made his way down pit road. Scored in 26th place,
Kenseth brought the DEWALT Ford to his pit stall for four tires,
fuel, and a track bar adjustment. When green flag racing resumed on
lap 103, Kenseth was in 18th position.
Despite the adjustments
made to the No. 17, Kenseth continued to report loose handling
conditions. The ill-handling car, coupled with a long green flag
run, equaled more trouble for team 17 as Kenseth went one lap down
to the leaders on lap 181. For 20 laps, Kenseth maintained the Lucky
Dog position and when caution fell on lap 215 due to a multi-car
melee, he returned to the lead lap.
On lap 217 in 20th
position, Kenseth brought the No. 17 back to pit road for more
tweaking. After receiving four tires and fuel and adjustments to air
pressure and the track bar, Kenseth rejoined the race in 18th place
on lap 222.
The adjustments seemed
to work as Kenseth worked his way up to 13th spot by the halfway
point of the race. Kenseth would see pit road on three more
occasions before the race’s finale and the No. 17 would improve
track position throughout each stop. On lap 451, Kenseth took over
ninth position where he would ultimately finish the race.
“It was a good result,”
Kenseth said. “I mean, we ran really bad but we had good pit stops
and made a lot of good adjustments. It was really a struggle, but at
least we got a good result out of it. The car was all over the
place. It was terrible to drive, but my guys did a good job on pit
road and did a really good job when we needed it. Chip made a lot of
good adjustments today, so I’m happy to bring the DeWALT Ford home
in the top 10. It’s not what we aim for every week. For some reason,
we’ve been quite a bit off from these guys, but it was a good
result.”
Carl Edwards passed
Kyle Busch with 30 laps remaining and sailed on to his sixth win of
2008. Denny Hamlin ran third, followed by Kevin Harvick and Jeff
Gordon to complete the top five.
The solid finish for
Kenseth and the No. 17 team maintained their 10th-place Chase
standing. With just two races left in the Race to the Chase, Kenseth
is currently 66 points ahead of 12th place and just 63 points behind
seventh place.
NEXT UP:
Pepsi 500 •
Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, Calif. • Sunday, August 30
Bristol
post-race quotes
August 23, 2008
MATT KENSETH — No. 17 DeWALT Ford Fusion (finished 9th)
“It was a good result. I mean, we ran really bad but we had good
pit stops and made a lot of good adjustments. It was really a
struggle, but at least we got a good result out of it.”
TALK ABOUT YOUR RUN.
“It was all over the place. It was terrible to drive, but my
guys did a good job on pit road and did a really good job when we
needed it. Chip made a lot of good adjustments today, so I’m happy
to bring the DeWALT Ford home in the top 10. It’s not what we aim
for every week. For some reason, we’ve been quite a bit off from
these guys, but it was a good result.”
~ Ford Racing
Bristol Ford
Friday interview
August 22, 2008
MATT KENSETH — No. 17 DeWALT Ford Fusion
DOES THIS RACE LEND ITSELF TO MORE CONSERVATIVE RACING BECAUSE OF
WHERE IT FALLS IN THE CHASE CUTOFF?
“I don’t think it really has anything to do with that. I think
there’s a couple of things – the main thing is the track has been
reconfigured so it’s much wider than it used to be. You have some
options to pass cars, whereas before you didn’t necessarily have
that. If there was a guy in front of you and you were just barely
faster than he was and he was stuck right on the bottom, it was
almost impossible to pass him without running into him and moving
him out of the way. Now there are a lot more options. You can run on
the bottom, middle or top and you don’t really have to move somebody
out of the way or get moved out of the way to be able to pass, so I
think that’s the biggest thing. I think the racing here is always
intense when you get in an area this small and this fast and run 500
laps with 43 cars out there.”
DO YOU FEEL GOOD ABOUT KICK-STARTING THIS FINAL THREE RACES TO
THE CHASE?
“Well, I did yesterday but not so much after first practice.
Today has really been a struggle to say the least, so right now
we’ve got a lot of work to do and we’ll have to make a lot of
progress that last practice to be anything decent at all. We haven’t
run really that great here since they switched cars and then after
they reconfigured the track. It’s all basically new for everybody.
My teammates seem to be doing really good and I can’t seem to figure
it out for some reason, so we’ll just keep working on it and
hopefully it’ll get better.”
IS THIS PLACE MORE PHYSICALLY OR MENTALLY DEMANDING?
“It’s a little bit of both. I think that all of our races are
way more mental than physically. I think you see a lot of different
sizes and shapes of drivers driving these things and people with
different physically conditions, so I always think it’s much more
mental. But out of all the tracks, this is probably the most
physical track that we go to.”
HOW HAS THE CHASE CHANGED THINGS FROM A DRIVER’S POINT OF VIEW?
“Maybe with some people in some situations. Ours, we’ve never really
been in a situation where we really altered it a lot. I think the
first year of the chase we tried altering our testing schedule when
we used to be able to pick our tests and that kind of backfired on
us, so I guess there are certain situations, maybe, where you’d
change your strategy, but I haven’t really been in that situation.
We just do everything the same as we always do – bring your stuff
that you think is the best to the track and do the best you can to
try and finish as high as you can and go from there.”
YOU BACKLOADED YOUR TESTS IN ’05.
“Yeah. We tried to do all of our testing at the end and it didn’t
necessarily work out for us. We didn’t really have a test team or
extra stuff in place, so all the guys that were already tired from
racing 26 weeks had to go to the track every week for two extra days
and go test and do all that stuff and even if we did learn
something, you didn’t have enough time implement it in your cars
anyway, so it didn’t really work out for us. I think you just do
everything probably the same as you would do it if it was all season
long.”
CAN YOU IMAGINE RUNNING THIS CIRCUIT AT 18?
“Times change. It’s a lot different now than it was, obviously, with
the younger drivers coming in. You used to have to kind of prove
yourself through the short tracks and do all that stuff, and it’s
not that drivers don’t prove themselves now, but people start racing
at five years old now. When I started racing, most people started at
16. Some kids were doing go-karts, I guess, but all big-bodies stock
car stuff up in Wisconsin, you couldn’t drive them until you had a
drivers license so you couldn’t really start any younger. I think
that’s a big reason for it is the kids can get experience a lot
sooner than we used to be able to.”
CAN YOU IMAGINE BEING IN CUP AT 18?
“Not then I can, but in this day and age I guess maybe you could. I
was kind of glad because it went well for me. I got to learn a lot
about the cars and build cars and do all that stuff. We just did it
for fun and I just got a lot of good breaks along the way and got
kind of lucky. Back then, though, I couldn’t really imagine it.”
~ Ford Racing
Bristol Sprint Cup Preview
August 20, 2008
Bristol Motor Speedway
• Bristol, Tenn.
Sharpie 500 •
Saturday, August 23 • 7 pm/e ESPN Sprint Cup Chassis — #17 DeWALT Ford Fusion
• RK-516
— Raced Darlington this year; started 34th, finished sixth.
Matt Kenseth’s Cup performance summary at
Bristol:
| Date | S | F | Laps | Led | Reason |
| 03/16/08 |
4 |
10 |
506/506 |
0 |
Running |
| 08/25/07 |
12 |
39 |
452/500 |
0 |
Accident |
| 03/25/07 |
38 |
11 |
504/504 |
0 |
Running |
| 08/26/06 |
4 |
1 |
500/500 |
117 |
Running |
| 03/26/06 |
7 |
3 |
500/500 |
124 |
Running |
| 08/27/05 |
1 |
1 |
500/500 |
415 |
Running |
| 04/03/05 |
25 |
16 |
497/500 |
50 |
Running |
| 08/28/04 |
23 |
9 |
499/500 |
0 |
Running |
| 03/28/04 |
23 |
5 |
500/500 |
0 |
Running |
| 08/23/03 |
10 |
4 |
500/500 |
0 |
Running |
| 03/23/03 |
37 |
2 |
500/500 |
25 |
Running |
| 08/24/02 |
10 |
5 |
500/500 |
10 |
Running |
| 03/24/02 |
6 |
6 |
500/500 |
0 |
Running |
| 08/25/01 |
38 |
33 |
394/500 |
0 |
Accident |
| 03/25/01 |
24 |
14 |
500/500 |
1 |
Running |
| 08/20/00 |
22 |
39 |
379/500 |
0 |
Engine |
| 03/26/00 |
22 |
12 |
500/500 |
0 |
Running |
Matt Kenseth Cup totals at Bristol:
| | Races | Wins | Top 5s | Top 10s | Laps Led | Poles | |
Cumulative |
17 |
2 |
7 |
10 |
742 |
1 |
Matt Kenseth on racing at
Bristol:
“Bristol is one of my favorite places to race.
Part of that is because of the success we’ve enjoyed there over
the years. Since Bristol has been repaved the racing is not the
same, but they did a nice job of re-doing it. For the fans, I
know it’s not the racing that they’re used to, but for the
drivers the new track is a lot of fun to drive. There are two
grooves, so you can pretty much drive where ever you want on the
track. This makes the racing a bit different than it has been,
but as we’ve seen over the last two races there, the racing is
still good and there’s just as much action.”
Sprint Cup Crew Chief Chip Bolin on racing at
Bristol: “We
are bringing car No. RK-516 to Bristol this weekend. It’s the
car that we raced at Darlington this year and had a typical team
17 race. We started 34th and finished sixth and began turning
our season around. With only three races left until the Chase,
we need to get solid finishes so that we can insure a spot in
the top 10.
“At Bristol you’ve got to be able to drive off the corners
and not get wrecked. It’s a challenging track, but Matt’s had a
lot of success there and he knows his way around the place well.
I think if we can stay out of trouble, we should be fine this
weekend.”
Bristol Fast Facts n
Matt Kenseth will make his 18th NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series start at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend in the
Sharpie 500.
n
For the record… In his previous starts at BMS, Kenseth has
achieved two wins, seven top-five and 10 top-10 finishes. He has
completed 96.7% (or 8228 of 8510) of all laps attempted. Kenseth
has led a total of 742 laps.
n
In the LOOP… According to NASCAR’s Loop Statistics, over the
past seven races at Bristol, Kenseth ranks first in: fastest
laps with 218 and laps in top 15 with 3263. Kenseth ranks second
in laps led with 706 laps. He has a driver rating of 109, which
tops the list of active drivers.
n
Rewind… Kenseth and crew captured a solid fifth-place finish
last weekend at Michigan International Speedway. After
qualifying 14th and battling an ill-handling racecar, Kenseth
brought home his fifth top five of 2008.
n
Standings…With Kenseth’s impressive fifth-place finish last week
at Michigan; he gained two spots in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
standings. He is currently ranked 10th with 2783 points. He is
48 points ahead of 12th place.
n
On the track… This weekend the No. 17 DEWALT Ford Fusion team
will be unloading chassis No. RK-516. Kenseth drove this car
from a 34th-place starting position at Darlington to a
sixth-place finish.
Michigan
race recap
August 18, 2008
No. 17
DeWALT FORD FUSION RECAP:
KENSETH CAPITALIZES ON TOUGH DAY AT MICHIGAN
|
Race Summary
Start: 14th
Mid-race: 6th
20 to go: 12th
Finish: 5th
High: 5th
Low: 30th
Fastest Laps: 2
Laps in top 15: 193
Laps: 200/200
Led: 0
Status: Running
Points: 155
Earnings: $134,516
Points Summary
Races: 23 of 36
Race Total: 155
Season Total: 2783
Ranked: 10th (+2),
-646 from leader |
After
racing at two tracks — Pocono and Watkins Glen — historically unkind
to him, Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 DEWALT Ford Fusion team were
eager to travel to Michigan International Speedway this weekend in
hopes of a little redemption. Since Kenseth typically runs well at
the 2.0-mile track located in the Irish Hills of Michigan —posting
one win and three top fives in his last four starts — the No. 17
team was looking for another solid run. Over the course of the
200-lap event, Kenseth and crew spent 193 laps in the top 15 and
were consistently among the fastest cars on the track. But despite
the impressive stats, loose handling problems plagued the No. 17 and
Kenseth would struggle much of the day. Through the great effort of
the Killer Bees, who got Kenseth in and out of the pits quickly all
day, Kenseth was able to maintain track position and pull off a
solid fifth-place finish.
Pole winner Brian Vickers led the 43-car field to the green flag
for the start of the 3M Performance 400. Kenseth rolled off 14th and
soon began reporting that his DEWALT Ford Fusion was experiencing
“loose” handling conditions. Despite reporting an ill-handling car,
Kenseth worked his way up to 11th place by the race’s first caution
on lap 18.
Crew chief Chip Bolin called Kenseth to pit road during this
period for the first time of the day in hopes that an air pressure
adjustment would remedy the loose-handling Ford. After the No. 17
crew bolted on four fresh tires and filled the DEWALT Ford with
fuel, Kenseth rejoined the race in 12th place on lap 25.
Though Kenseth maintained his track position throughout the next
run, he continued to report that his Ford was “undriveable loose.”
Kenseth would see pit road on three separate occasions over 70
laps for scheduled pit stops. Each time, the No. 17 team would make
adjustments in hopes of resolving the loose handling conditions that
he continued to report. Despite gaining positions in the pits and on
the track as Kenseth moved from 11th on lap 25 to fifth on lap 96,
the handling problems were not resolved and continued for the
duration of the race. When the checkers finally waved, Kenseth
crossed the finish line in a hard-fought fifth place.
Roush Fenway Racing drivers made up four of the top five
finishers as Carl Edwards captured his fifth Sprint Cup Series win
of 2008. David Ragan finished third, followed by Greg Biffle, and
Kenseth.
The solid finish for Kenseth and the No. 17 team moved them from
12th up to 10th in overall point standings, 48 points ahead of 12th
place.
“It was a struggle, to say the least. We were way off. We were
really good here in the spring and probably had a car fast enough to
win the race, but we were just really off today,” Kenseth said after
climbing out the No. 17 DEWALT Ford. “All my teammates ran good. We
got better at the end, these guys did a great job on pit road and
great adjustments, and we just struggled all day. Even though we
finished fifth, it was really hard work from my guys. They made good
adjustments and got it better at the end. We had some really good
green-flag transitions on our pit stops on pit road and we gained a
bunch of spots during those green-flag stops. Track position is real
important. If we would’ve been 15th or 16th on the last re-start, we
probably would’ve finished somewhere back in there. They got me the
track position and that helped get a decent finish out of the day.
“I haven’t really thought about the points race at all to tell
you the truth,” Kenseth continued. “I’m more than a little
frustrated with the way we ran here. This is probably one of our
best tracks. Like I said, we ran good enough to win in the spring,
and Carl and all of those guys used the stuff we had in the spring
and then went out and beat us with it. We did a little bit different
stuff because we just couldn’t get the handle on it all weekend. We
got here and right off the truck we weren’t right, and just could
never hit it, so even though we finished fifth, that’s a bright
spot, but disappointed with how we performed.”
NEXT UP:
Sharpie 500 •
Bristol Motor Speedway • Saturday, August 23
Michigan
post-race quotes
August 17, 2008
MATT KENSETH — No. 17 DeWALT Ford Fusion (finished 5th)
“It was a struggle, to say the least. We were way off. We were
really good here in the spring and probably had a car fast enough to
win the race, but we were just really off today. All my teammates
ran good. We got better at the end, these guys did a great job on
pit road and great adjustments, we just struggled all day.”
BUT YOU FINISHED FIFTH…
“Really, hard work from my guys. They made good adjustments and
got it better at the end. We had some really good green-flag
transitions on our pit stops on pit road and we gained a bunch of
spots during those green-flag stops. Track position is real
important. If we would’ve been 15th or 16th on the last re-start, we
probably would’ve finished somewhere back in there. They got me the
track position and that helped get a decent finish out of the day.”
ON THE POINTS RACE.
“I haven’t really thought about it at all, to tell you the
truth. I’m more than a little frustrated with the way we ran there.
This is probably one of our best tracks. Like I said, we ran good
enough to win in the spring, and Carl and all of those guys used the
stuff we had in the spring and then went out and beat us with it. We
did a little bit different stuff because we just couldn’t get the
handle on it all weekend. We got here and right off the truck we
weren’t right, and just could never hit it, so even though we
finished fifth, that’s a bright spot, but disappointed with how we
performed.”
~ Ford Racing
Michigan
Ford Friday interview
August 15, 2008
MATT KENSETH talked with the media after practice today at
Michigan.
WAS IT SLICK OUT THERE FOR YOU IN PRACTICE?
“You kind of threw me off with that one. We were actually just
sitting in the front of the lounge looking at the time sheets and
the track is about seven-tenths of a second faster than it was in
the spring. I thought the track was all right. Like I said, we were
just looking over our times figuring out where we were and the track
is about seven-tenths of a second faster today than it was the last
time we were here on a Friday getting ready to qualify, so it looks
pretty quick out there to me.”
CAN YOU LEARN ANYTHING FROM THE LAST TRIP HERE?
“I hope there’s something that can carryover. It wasn’t that
long ago, so we hope we can. We ran really well here in the spring.
I think we had a car that could have won without that fuel mileage
deal that went on there at the end. We were real competitive, but we
seem to be a little bit off compared to what we were here a couple
of months ago. We’re trying some new stuff trying to get better, but
we seem to be just a tick off.”
DOES THE ROUSH SUCCESS HERE GIVE YOU MORE CONFIDENCE?
“Not really just because of the Roush stuff, but in general at
the 17 we’ve always run pretty competitively here. I can’t think of
many times we didn’t run very good here, so it’s one of our better
tracks. Obviously, with where we are in points and not having a win
yet this year, and all that stuff, it always makes you feel better
coming to one of your better tracks.”
HOW OLD DO FUEL MILEAGE RACES GET FOR YOU?
“The fuel mileage thing and track position thing is really
aggravating and gets old for everybody except for the winner. The
winner likes it, but other than that it’s kind of frustrating. It
would be more fun to have the fastest group of cars racing for the
win at the end. That’s kind of what you always hope for and you hope
to have the fastest car.”
DO YOU FIND THINGS CARRYOVER FROM MICHIGAN TO FONTANA?
“Yeah, they’re pretty similar. They’re a little bit different,
but I remember Kurt winning both races at Fontana and then coming
here and winning. Usually if you run good at one, you’ll run decent
or good at the other. Hopefully, we get running good this weekend
and carry some of that momentum to California.”
IT WAS 114 DEGREES LAST YEAR IN FONTANA. HAD YOU EVER RACED IN
CONDITIONS LIKE THAT?
“Yeah, the last time I can remember it being that hot was out
there when the Nationwide Series had a stand-alone race in May or
July, I don’t remember when it was, but it was the second or third
Nationwide race I ever went to out there and it was way over 100
degrees and was pretty unbearable.”
DO YOU FEEL YOU’RE IN CHASE MODE ALREADY COMPARED TO SOME OTHER
GUYS WHO ARE ALREADY LOCKED IN?
“No, from Daytona all the way to here you’re in chase mode
because if you don’t make the chase, you can’t win a championship.
We’ve been working toward the goal of first getting in the chase
since Daytona, really. We wish we were in a better spot than where
we were, but, on the other hand, it could be worse as well. We’ll
just keep working at it. We’ve been doing our best every week, we
just have to keep doing that and hope the finishes will come.”
WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE INSIDE THE CHASE OR MAYBE SOMEWHERE LIKE
13TH WHERE YOU CAN BE MORE AGGRESSIVE?
“You’d rather be in than out no matter what time of the year it
was. You want to be the highest you can possibly be in the points.
Certainly, we’d like to be in better shape than what we are right
now. We’d like to have some wins and we’d like to be securely in
that top 12.”
ARE YOU ON THE DEFENSIVE NOW?
“No. The only time that would ever happen is like Jimmie last
year at Homestead, whatever his points lead was and he finished
something like 16th after he won four out of the five races before
that. If something comes like that and it’s for the championship or
you’re in that 12th spot and you’ve got 100-point lead at Richmond,
you might be a little bit more careful, but, other than that, you’re
gonna race the same all the time. You give it your all. You give it
your very best and just do the best you can every week and you hope
the finishes will come along with it.”
DO YOU THINK ABOUT POINTS LIKE AT WATKINS GLEN DURING THE RACE?
“No. I don’t think about anything in the race car, except for
finishing and doing the very best we can do that day, and trying to
figure out what we need to do strategy-wise and getting the car
around the track, pit stop-wise — all that stuff — to get the very
best finish we can for that particular day. You look at it during
the week or on the way home. Usually on the way home Sunday night
you look at it and see where everybody is stacked up and where
everybody finished and where you are, but, other than that, you
can’t really do anything about it. The only thing you control is
your car in that particular race and if you do your best job with
that, there’s not much else you can do.”
~ Ford Racing
Michigan
Sprint Cup Preview
August 13, 2008
Michigan International Speedway
• Brooklyn, Mich.
3M Performance 400 •
Sunday, August 17 • 1 pm/e ESPN Sprint Cup Chassis — #17 DeWALT Ford Fusion
• RK-473:
Last outing, June ’08, finished 3rd. Also in 2008: Bristol,
All-Star, Coke 600, and Dover. Three top-five and five top-10
finishes in five starts this year
Matt Kenseth’s Cup performance summary at
Michigan:
| Date | S | F | Laps | Led | Reason |
| 06/15/08 |
16 |
3 |
203/203 |
41 |
Running |
| 08/21/07 |
21 |
4 |
203/203 |
31 |
Running |
| 06/17/07 |
26 |
42 |
78/200 |
0 |
Accident |
| 08/20/06 |
3 |
1 |
200/200 |
87 |
Running |
| 06/18/06 |
20 |
13 |
129/129 |
0 |
Running |
| 08/21/05 |
13 |
3 |
200/200 |
9 |
Running |
| 06/19/05 |
21 |
4 |
200/200 |
0 |
Running |
| 08/22/04 |
5 |
8 |
200/200 |
0 |
Running |
| 06/20/04 |
18 |
7 |
200/200 |
1 |
Running |
| 08/17/03 |
33 |
9 |
200/200 |
0 |
Running |
| 06/15/03 |
21 |
4 |
200/200 |
0 |
Running |
| 08/18/02 |
21 |
11 |
200/200 |
17 |
Running |
| 06/16/02 |
20 |
1 |
200/200 |
26 |
Running |
| 08/19/01 |
33 |
4 |
162/162 |
0 |
Running |
| 06/10/01 |
31 |
15 |
200/200 |
10 |
Running |
| 08/20/00 |
28 |
8 |
200/200 |
0 |
Running |
| 06/11/00 |
23 |
17 |
193/194 |
0 |
Running |
| 08/22/99 |
25 |
14 |
200/200 |
0 |
Running |
Matt Kenseth Cup totals at
Michigan:
| | Races | Wins | Top 5s | Top 10s | Laps Led | Poles | |
Cumulative |
18 |
2 |
8 |
12 |
222 |
0 |
Matt Kenseth on racing at
Michigan:
“Michigan is a track that we’ve been
pretty strong at in the past. We usually have good cars there
and this weekend we’re bringing what I think is a good car.
RK-473 is a car that I’ve raced several times this year and it
just seems to get the job done. I don’t think I’ve finished
outside the top 10 in it all year. Hopefully we’ll hit on the
right setup and get the car handling good — if we can do that,
we should have a good weekend.
“Michigan and the next several races are some of my favorites
for sure. Michigan, Bristol, Fontana and Richmond are some of my
favorite tracks and I always look forward to this stretch of
races. Everyone is going Chase-crazy these days and are really
focusing on points and standings. For me, I just go out every
week and try to get the best finish I can. If I do that the rest
takes care of itself. And really, it doesn’t matter where you
are in points until after Richmond.”
Sprint Cup Crew Chief Chip Bolin on racing at
Michigan: “We’re
bringing the same car that we raced there in the June race.
There’s something about that car that really compliments Matt’s
driving style and as the old saying goes, if it ain’t broke,
don’t fix it. These next four races are extremely important for
us to build momentum heading into the Chase. We need to just be
consistent over the next several weeks so that we’ll have a shot
in the final 10 races.
“The guys at the shop have done a great job building these
cars and our pit crew has been second to none; so I’m happy with
the job our guys are doing. We just have to get our cars to
perform better, and that falls on me, our engineer and our
driver. We’ve got to figure it out and get it back to where
we’re competing for top fives and wins.”
Michigan Fast Facts n
Matt Kenseth will make his 19th NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series start at Michigan International Speedway in this
weekend’s 3M Performance 400.
n
In his 18 previous starts, Kenseth as accrued two wins, eight
top-five and 12 top-10 finishes. He has led a total of 222 laps
at MIS and completed 3368 of 3491 (96.5%) of laps attempted.
n
Kenseth’s driver rating of 107.2 at Michigan ranks him third
among Chase contenders at the two-mile track. He was narrowly
beaten by Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards.
n
Chase for the Sprint Cup… In and out of the top 12 over the past
seven weeks, Kenseth looks to stay in over the next four races.
According to NASCAR’s statistics, he has a series-best Driver
Rating of 103.5 at the four remaining tracks before the Chase,
as well as a win at all four.
n
Kenseth is currently 12th in point standings with 2,628 points.
He is 61 points out of 10th place and 22 points ahead of 13th
place.
n
The No. 17 DEWALT team will be unloading chassis RK-473 this
weekend. Kenseth has raced this car five times thus far in 2008
and has accumulated five top-10 and three top-five finishes.
Watkins
Glen recap
August 10, 2008
No. 17
DeWALT FORD FUSION RECAP:
SOLID RUN AT WATKINS GLEN
MOVES KENSETH BACK INTO CHASE CONTENTION
|
Race Summary
Start: 13th
Mid-race: 18th
9 to go: 12th
Finish: 12th
High: 11th
Low: 41st
Fastest Laps: 0
Laps in top 15: 31
Laps: 90/90
Led: 0
Status: Running
Points: 127
Earnings: $120,241
Points Summary
Races: 22 of 36
Race Total: 127
Season Total: 2628
Ranked: 12th (+1),
-61 from 10th place |
R ain canceled
qualifying at Watkins Glen International and owners’ point standings
set the field for Sunday’s Centurion Boats at the Glen. Matt
Kenseth, in the No. 17 DEWALT Ford Fusion rolled off 13th and
settled in for the 90 laps of road course racing.
After starting 13th, Kenseth fell back to 18th place by lap 11
reporting that the DEWALT Ford was “lacking rear grip”. Since fuel
strategy typically plays a significant role in road course races,
crew chief Chip Bolin called Kenseth to pit road for the first time
on lap 20 — several laps before a full fuel run. During the pit
stop, the No. 17 team bolted on four fresh tires and filled the
DEWALT Ford with fuel. Wedge and spring rubber adjustments were also
made to the No. 17 and Kenseth rejoined the race in 41st position.
By lap 30, all of the cars had pitted and Kenseth was again in 18th
place.
Kenseth maintained an 18th place position through lap 47 when the
caution fell and allowed Kenseth to pit once again for four tires
and fuel. When green flag racing resumed on lap 24, Kenseth was
scored in 24th place as not all competitors opted to pit. Despite
the loss of track position, Bolin’s strategy would prove positive.
Since Kenseth had pitted for tires on lap 47, he would be good to
the end of the race with just a quick stop for fuel. Whereas the
competitors that opted not to pit under caution would be forced to
make more lengthy green flag stops for tires and fuel.
On lap 56, Kenseth in 21st place pitted for four seconds of fuel
and quickly exited pit road. By lap 61 he had worked his way up to
14th and was making gains on the competition.
A multi car melee in Turn 11 stopped the race on Lap 82 in what
had been a relatively tame race to that point. After the red flag
period of more than 43 minutes, the race restarted on lap 86 and
Kenseth was scored in 11th place. Kyle Busch led Tony Stewart to the
green flag. Busch held off Stewart and the rest of the field to
capture his eighth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory of the season.
Marcos Ambrose, Juan Pablo Montoya and Martin Truex, Jr. followed
the Busch and Stewart to the checkers to complete the top five.
Kenseth crossed the finish line in 12th place.
The 12th-place finish for Kenseth and the No. 17 team moved them
from 13th back to 12th in overall point standings — just 61 points
out of 10th and back into Chase contention.
“It doesn’t matter where you are in the points until after
Richmond, really,” said Kenseth. “We didn’t really run that great.
We had a real average car, and we had a real above average strategy
and pit crew, so those guys got me the good finish, really. We’re
heading into a stretch of tracks that I really enjoy racing at, so
hopefully we’ll be able to make up some ground there.”
NEXT UP:
3M Performance 400 •
Michigan International Speedway • Sunday, August 17
Watkins Glen
Nationwide recap
August 9, 2008
No. 17
CitiFinancial FORD FUSION RECAP:
THIRD PLACE FINISH FOR KENSETH AT WATKINS GLEN
Matt
Kenseth is not usually thought of as a road course specialist, but
after Saturday’s Nationwide Series race at Watkins Glen
International he is one step closer. Kenseth finished third in the
No. 17 CitiFinancial Ford Fusion, his highest career finish at the
track.
It looked like Montreal all over again on Friday as bad weather
set in and the teams were given rain tires for practice. The teams
were able to avoid a repeat when the track dried off enough to give
the Nationwide Series cars a full practice session. Kenseth was
happy with the No. 17 CitiFinancial Ford Fusion during that practice
and the team made minimal changes to the car. Kenseth qualified 16th
but felt that he would have a top 10 car for the race.
When the race started, Kenseth quickly began his march to the
front. The CitiFinancial Ford Fusion was up to 11th when the caution
fell on lap 11 and crew chief Pierre Kuettel brought his driver down
pit road for the first time. Not needing any adjustments, the team
gave Kenseth four tires and fuel and sent him back on the track.
Shortly after the restart, Kenseth broke into the top 10 for the
first time. He was running ninth when the caution fell on lap 21 and
he told Kuettel the car had gotten “terrible tight” and was “plowing
everywhere.” Needing a few more laps to make it into a fuel window,
Kuettel kept Kenseth out under the caution period. He restarted
ninth on lap 26.
The CitiFinancial Ford Fusion was 11th when the next caution flew
on lap 40. Close to being able to make it to the end of the race on
fuel, Kuettel brought Kenseth down pit road for four tires and a
slight air pressure adjustment. Kenseth said he was “still tight”
but “better on the long runs.” He restarted 17th just past the
halfway point in the event.
The new tires and air pressure adjustment agreed with Kenseth and
he quickly worked his way back to the front of the field. He was
back up to eighth on lap 49 when he told the crew he was “still a
little tight but a lot better.” With pit strategy working in their
favor, Kenseth was up to third on lap 53. Multiple late race
cautions allowed Kenseth to save enough fuel to make it to the end
of the race without stopping again. The CitiFinancial Ford Fusion
looked poised for a fifth place finish when the first and second
place cars ran out of fuel on the closing laps, allowing Kenseth to
tick up two spots to third.
“It was a good day for us,” said Kenseth. “That was the best
we’ve run on a road course for sure. I wasn’t as fast as the top few
cars but I could hold my own with the other guys. P.K. and all the
guys did a great job this weekend. Other than one run in the middle
of the race, the CitiFinancial Ford Fusion was pretty good all day.
It was a lot of fun.”
NEXT UP:
Kansas 300 •
Kansas Speedway • September 27
Watkins
Glen Nationwide & Cup Preview
August 6, 2008
Watkins Glen International
• Watkins Glen, N.Y.
Zippo 200 • Saturday, August 9 •
2:30 pm/e ABC
Centurion Boats at The Glen •
Sunday, August 10 • 1 pm/e ESPN Sprint Cup Chassis — #17 DeWALT Ford Fusion
• RK-597 (Raced
Infineon in June of this year, started 33rd, finished eighth) Nationwide Series (NNS) Chassis — #17
CitiFinancial Ford Fusion
• RK-510 (Finished 6th at Watkins
Glen in 2007)
Matt Kenseth’s Cup performance summary at
Watkins Glen:
| Date | S | F | Laps | Led | Reason |
| 08/12/08 |
3* |
12 |
90/90 |
0 |
Running |
| 08/13/06 |
30 |
21 |
90/90 |
0 |
Running |
| 08/14/05 |
15 |
18 |
92/92 |
0 |
Running |
| 08/15/04 |
5 |
9 |
90/90 |
0 |
Running |
| 08/10/03 |
7 |
8 |
90/90 |
0 |
Running |
| 08/11/02 |
8 |
33 |
89/90 |
0 |
Running |
| 08/12/01 |
38 |
23 |
90/90 |
1 |
Running |
| 08/13/00 |
12 |
10 |
90/90 |
0 |
Running |
|
* denotes started by points |
Matt Kenseth Cup totals at Watkins Glen:
| | Races | Wins | Top 5s | Top 10s | Laps Led | Poles | |
Cumulative |
8 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
Matt Kenseth’s NNS performance summary at
Watkins Glen:
| Date | S | F | Laps | Status |
| 08/11/07 |
16 |
6 |
82/82 |
Running |
| 06/27/99 |
5 |
16 |
82/82 |
Running |
|
06/28/98 |
31 |
17 |
82/82 |
Running |
| 06/29/97 |
18 |
36 |
51/82 |
Clutch |
Matt Kenseth NNS totals at
Watkins Glen:
| | Races | Wins | Top 5s | Top 10s | Poles |
| Cumulative | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Matt Kenseth on racing at
Watkins Glen:
Cup: “Road courses are not my specialty by
any means, but after our top 10 at Sonoma I feel a lot more
confident heading into Watkins Glen. I like Watkins Glen a lot
better than Sonoma. The Glen is a lot faster and there’s more
room to pass. There are two or three good passing zones at The
Glen where at Sonoma there’s really only one. You also don’t
have the big elevation changes at Watkins Glen like you do at
Sonoma which makes it a little bit easier. If we can qualify
well and work out a good pit strategy, I feel like we should be
able to come out of there with a top 10.
“Despite the last two weeks, I’m still
optimistic. Our car was really fast at Indy and we qualified
really well. We had another fast car last week at Pocono and
were able to run in the top 10 for most of the day. Our stuff
has been fast, so I’m confident we have the equipment to compete
in this stretch leading into the Chase. But as we’ve seen in
several races this year, it isn’t always about the fastest car —
it’s a lot of strategy and luck. Hopefully we’ll have some good
luck over the next several weeks and lock ourselves into the
Chase.”
NNS: “This is
only the second time I’ve raced a Nationwide car at Watkins Glen
since 1999 and since road courses are definitely not my
specialty I’m looking forward to getting the extra seat time.
Obviously the Cup and Nationwide cars are a lot different now,
but anytime you can make laps around a place, you get an
advantage.
“We’re bringing back the same car that I raced
there last year when we finished sixth, so maybe we’ll be able
to at least pull off a top 10. As long as we qualify well and
keep the car on the track I think we’ll be able to manage that.”
Sprint Cup Crew Chief Chip Bolin on racing at
Watkins Glen: “We’re
taking the same car we took to Sonoma and I think the car was
pretty good out there. We finished in the top 10 and for us on a
road course that was a huge accomplishment. Races now are more
about strategy than anything, so hopefully my strategy will work
this weekend. Other than that our goal is to stay on the
racetrack and finish as best we can. We’ve just got to stack up
as many top 10s as we can and hope that we finish in front of
Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer.”
NNS Crew Chief Pierre Kuettel on racing at
Watkins Glen: “I’m
excited to get going again. This team hasn’t raced since Gateway
and I’m not a big fan of watching races on TV so I’m ready to
get back to the track. Matt says that road courses aren’t his
specialty and while that might be true; I think anytime you have
Matt Kenseth in your car you have a shot at winning.
“The guys on this No. 17 CitiFinancial team
have worked really hard and I think we’ve given Matt a pretty
good car. Qualifying is key at a road course. Hopefully we’ll be
able to start up front, keep good track position and stay out of
trouble all day.”
Watkins Glen Fast Facts n
Matt Kenseth will make his ninth NASCAR Sprint
Cup Series start at Watkins Glen International this weekend.
n
Kenseth has three top-10 finishes at the Glen in his previous
starts. He has completed 721 of 722 (99.9%) possible laps in
competition there.
n
Watkins Glen International is one of only two tracks that
Kenseth has yet to record a top-five finish; the other is
Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. Kenseth did however, score a
career best eighth-place finish at Sonoma in June of this year.
n
Kenseth’s average start at Watkins Glen is 14.8, his average
finish is 16.8
n
Kenseth has led only one lap in eight races at Watkins Glen;
second worst among tracks ahead of only Sonoma.
n
When the series stopped at Watkins Glen in 2005, Kenseth, who
ended up in the Chase, was in 15th in the standings, 168 points
out of 10th, (the cutoff at the time for the Chase). Kenseth is
currently 11 points out of 12th — the new Chase cutoff.
n
Matt Kenseth will make his fifth NASCAR Nationwide Series start
at Watkins Glen International this weekend behind the wheel of
the No. 17 CitiFinancial Ford Fusion.
n
In his previous NNS starts, Kenseth has achieved one top-10
finish.
n
This weekend’s start at the Glen will mark Kenseth’s sixth NNS
start of 2008. In just five starts this year, he has one win,
one top-five and two top-10 finishes.
n
Kenseth has led at total of 49 laps in the NNS this year.
Pocono recap
August 3, 2008
No. 17
DeWALT FORD FUSION RECAP:
KENSETH FINISHES 11TH AT POCONO
|
Race Summary
Start: 5th
20 to go: 3rd
Finish: 11th
High: 1st
Low: 30th
Fastest Laps: 1
Laps in top 15: 184
Laps: 200/200
Led: 3
Status: Running
Points: 135*5
Earnings: $120,591
Points Summary
Races: 21 of 36
Race Total: 135
Season Total: 2501
Ranked: 13th (-2),
-11 from 12th place |
Matt Kenseth,
driver of the No. 17 DEWALT Ford Fusion started Sunday’s
Pennsylvania 500 fifth and by midway through the race had picked up
three spots in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings, to
eighth. But when the weather began threatening, pit strategy came
into play and Kenseth's fortunes changed for the worse. A decision
not to pit on lap 128 left Kenseth three laps shy of completing the
race with just one pit stop — Kenseth was forced to pit twice, thus
losing valuable track position. Kenseth finished 11th at Pocono, but
only after a wild shuffle of cars making fuel stops or running out
of gas in the race's final laps moved him up from 17th. Despite the
respectable finish, Kenseth fell from 11th to 13th in point
standings and is currently 11 points out of the 12th place Chase
contention.
Pole winner Jimmie Johnson led the 43-car field to the green flag
at Pocono Raceway Sunday afternoon. Kenseth, in the No. 17 DEWALT
Ford, rolled off fifth and settled in for 500 miles at the 2.5-mile
Pennsylvania track.
The race was stalled twice for cautions within the first seven
laps. However, Kenseth would not see pit road until the NASCAR
mandated competition caution on lap 20. In 10th place, Kenseth
entered the pits for two tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment.
When green flag racing resumed on lap 24 he was scored in second
place.
Over the course of 100 laps and through four pit cycles, Kenseth
maintained a top-six running position. But on lap 126 when caution
was thrown due to rain, pit strategy came into play. Crew chief Chip
Bolin opted not to pit during this period and just five laps later
the race was red flagged for rain. When the race resumed 41 minutes
later and fuel mileage calculations were complete, Kenseth would be
just three laps short of making it to the end of the race with just
one pit stop.
Realizing his fate, Kenseth did his best to maintain a top-five
running position in hopes that a caution would fall so that he could
pit without losing track position, but that never happened. On lap
184, when Kenseth was in fourth place, he pitted for two tires and
fuel. He rejoined the race in 21st position with 15 laps remaining
in the race.
Lap by lap he picked off the competition and worked his way up to
17th place. In the last two laps, when championship leader Kyle
Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Scott Riggs, David Reutimann, and Brian
Vickers ran out of gas, Kenseth picked up five more spots and
finished the race in 11th place.
“We knew when we stayed out there when it rained that we were
about three laps short of making it on one stop and everybody else
was gonna make it on one stop,” Kenseth said. “We needed more rain
or more caution laps, we knew we were gonna be a little short.
That’s just what we chose to do. I thought it was gonna rain one
more time. We didn’t think it was gonna rain out, but I though there
was gonna be another little delay and then we would have been able
to make it. But despite the last two weeks I’m still optimistic. Our
car was really fast at Indy. We qualified really well. We qualified
well here. Our stuff has been fast, so I’m optimistic about it.”
Before an estimated crowd of 105,000, Roush Fenway Racing driver,
Carl Edwards won the Pennsylvania 500, his fourth victory of 2008.
Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, and David Ragan
followed to complete the top five.
The 11th-place finish for Kenseth and the No. 17 team moved them
from 12th to 13th in overall point standings — just 11 points out of
12th place and 46 points out of 10th.
NEXT UP:
Centurion Boats at the Glen •
Watkins Glen International • Sunday, August 10
Pocono
Post-race Quotes
August 3, 2008
MATT KENSETH — No. 17 DeWalt
Ford Fusion (Finished 11th)
HOW WELL CAN YOU KEEP TRACK OF
WHAT’S GOING ON OUT THERE?
“Obviously probably not very well. You kind of know what’s
going on, but it’s really hard to keep track of. We knew when we
stayed out there when it rained that we were about three laps short
of making it on one stop and everybody else was gonna make it on one
stop, so unless we had more rain or more caution laps, we knew we
were gonna be a little short. That’s just what we chose to do. I
thought it was gonna rain one more time. We didn’t think it was
gonna rain out, but I though there was gonna be another little delay
and then we would have been able to make it.”
IT LOOKS LIKE YOU’RE 13TH NOW.
WHEN WILL THAT SINK IN OR DOES IT MATTER NOW?
“Every point matters all year from Daytona to Richmond to get
in so, yeah, it matters but it doesn’t matter today if you’re 13th
or fifth. You’ve got to be in after Richmond so we’ll just keep
digging as hard as we can and, hopefully, we’ll make it.”
DO YOU HAVE OPTIMISM AFTER
TODAY?
“I’ve been optimistic the whole time. Our car was really fast
at Indy. We qualified really well. We qualified well here. Our stuff
has been fast, so I’m optimistic about it, it’s just that this is
how things are now. It’s not racing as we knew it. It’s not the
fastest cars out front, you pit, the tires wear out so everybody’s
got to come in for four tires and the fastest car passes the slowest
cars and gets back in front. It’s just not that kind of racing
anymore. It’s figure out how much gas you’ve got in the tank and
being in clean air. It’s just really different. You’ve got to have a
fast car to win, but it’s almost as much or more about strategy and
being in the front than having the fastest car. If you have one of
the fastest 15 cars and pit the race right and get lucky and all
that stuff, and you’re up front, then you’ve got a shot at it.”
Pocono
Qualifying Quotes
August 1, 2008
MATT KENSETH — No .17 DeWalt Ford Fusion (Qualified 5th):
“I’m really pleased with the time and the result, but I’m not so
pleased with how I did in my lap. I totally missed turn one and we
didn’t have the car driving as good as it did in practice, but I’m
super-pleased with the result.”
Ford
Friday Interview: Pocono
August 1, 2008
MATT KENSETH — No. 17 DeWALT Ford Fusion
HOW WAS PRACTICE?
“Our car is running pretty good. This has usually been a track where
I feel like we really struggle, but we ran pretty well here —
probably the best we ever ran — in the first race, so I guess it’s a
case of so far, so good. Our car seems to have some pretty good
speed and it’s driving alright.”
HOW MUCH OF A HELP IS IT GOING TO A PLACE FOR THE SECOND TIME?
“It helps, especially with this car. We’ve never raced here
before with this car, so all these tracks we see for the first time,
it really helps when you go back the second time because you have
some notes and some things to look back on.”
HOW LONG DID IT TAKE FOR YOU TO LOOK AT YOUR PLACE IN POINTS
AFTER LAST WEEK?
“I still haven’t really looked to be honest with you. You just go
out and do the best you can every week and get as many points as you
can. I don’t really worry about it — you go on. Usually after the
race if you gain, you’ll look at it and see where you’re at, but
somebody said we were 11th, but, other than that, I don’t know.”
DOES YOUR STRATEGY CHANGE NOW AND GET MAYBE MORE CONSERVATIVE?
“No, I don’t think your strategy ever really changes. The only time
it probably would change at all is if you’ve got about 100-point
cushion on making the chase or something like that and you go into
Richmond you might be more careful. Like Jimmie last year at
Homestead, he won all those races in a row and had 60– or 70– or
80–point lead, so he ran 16th or 17th all day just to be careful. So
I think there’s a time where you can do it if it’s the last race,
but, other than that, it’s always so close you can gain or lose so
many points in one race that I don’t think you can really ever
change your strategy. I think you need to go run hard, finish as
high as you can. The higher you finish, the more points you get so
it’s a really pretty simple formula — you just go out and finish as
high as you can every week and run as hard as you can.”
IS IT FRUSTRATING NOT HAVING A CUSHION?
“I honestly won’t think about it until we get to Richmond, if we
still have a possibility of getting in or getting out — if we’re in
that spot. Other than that, I don’t really think about it because,
really, like I say, it’s an easy formula — the higher you finish,
the more points you get. You just go out and try to finish as high
as you can every week. If that’s capable of winning, you hopefully
will be in a position to win the race and if not, you try to get the
best finish out of it you can.”
DO YOU KNOW WHO IS 10TH–13TH IN POINTS?
“No. At this point I really don’t care. There are six or seven
races left, so I don’t really care at this point. You just keep
working at it.”
FRUSTRATING TO COME OFF A RACE LIKE LAST WEEK WHERE IT WAS
CIRCUMSTANCES THAT KIND OF PUT YOU OUT?
“Yeah. It was kind of disappointing for everybody with the way the
race played out. It’s easy for me to say because I was the guy who
had things go bad, but it’s almost like, ‘Man, I wish this race
didn’t pay points,’ or we could do a do-over or do something
different to make everybody happy. I don’t think anybody was happy
with it — the drivers, the fans, the teams, NASCAR, I don’t think
anybody was happy with the result, obviously. I didn’t think it was
anything we could really control there. We were probably running
only 70 percent when we blew that tire, along with everybody else. I
don’t think we could have really done anything different about that.
There were actually two other guys that blew them at the same time I
did, it’s just that mine was more severe and the other guys were
just getting flat. I know Carl’s was all the way flat when he got to
the pits. That was the longest run that they made us run all day and
when they figured out we couldn’t run that far, they backed the runs
up by a couple laps.”
WILL A NEW TEST POLICY HELP PREDICT WHAT COULD HAPPEN WITH TIRES?
“In that situation at Indy, unless there are a lot of cars there, I
don’t think we would have prevented the situation because they did a
tire test there. They had three or four cars there and with a new
testing policy, if you can run and only three teams show up at the
track, you’re kind of probably gonna have the same result. They’d
probably think, ‘Oh well, when everybody gets here, the whole track
will rubber in,’ and that never happens. So unless every team was
there and ran for two days and Goodyear looked and said, ‘Man, it
never got better. We better do something else,’ I don’t think it
would have mattered.”
IS THERE A HANGOVER AFTER A WEEK LIKE LAST WEEK?
“I hope not. I mean, I don’t. You just show up at a different track
and go full speed ahead and just do everything you usually do. You
usually feel bad about it Sunday night and maybe Monday morning when
you go in the shop and see the car and the guys that have to fix it
and do that stuff, but then you get over it pretty quick and move on
to the next track.”
YOU’VE MADE THE CHASE EVERY YEAR. HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO KEEP
THAT STREAK GOING?
“It’s important to make it just because if you don’t make it, you
can’t win a championship and our goal every year is to try and win a
championship. It’s important we make it, but we can’t do better than
our best. We just have to go out and put forth 100 percent effort,
do the best we can and that’s it. I think when you start pushing the
panic button and start doing more than you’re capable of doing or
try to get more out of your car than it’s giving you that day,
that’s when you make more mistakes and things go worse. So you can’t
really change the strategy, you just go out there and do the best
you can.”
DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE FLOWN UNDER THE RADAR THIS YEAR?
“Yes and no. We haven’t really been a contender to win very many
races. There were two or three races we probably had a good enough
car to win and, other than that, we haven’t really run good enough
to do that. We’ve been running better and we’ve been a top-10 car or
a top-5 car once in a while, and there have been a couple of times
we’ve been contenders, but we haven’t been that guy that’s been
knocking on the door every week, so I don’t think we’ve really been
under the radar.”
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