|
|
| Busch Grand National Series |
|
|
In-Car Radios | Silly Season | Forum | Photo Gallery | Newsletter | In the Pits
Autolite Platinum 250 - Matt Kenseth Notes Matt Kenseth / Visine Racing Pre-Race Notes Richmond International Raceway ANOTHER POLE FOR KENSETH?: Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Visine Chevrolet, will be in search of his ninth career NASCAR Busch Series Bud Pole Award Thursday at Richmond International Raceway (RIR) in Virginia. Kenseth grabbed his eighth career pole four months ago at RIR. He has also started from the pole position this season at Las Vegas and Texas. TOP FIVE RECORD: In eight Busch Series events at RIR, Kenseth has posted five top-five finishes. He finished second in the Hardee's 250 in 2000 and third in that same event in 1999 and 1998. After starting from the pole position at RIR earlier this season, Kenseth claimed fourth. His other fourth-place mark at RIR came in the Autolite Platinum 250 in 1998. POINTS STANDINGS: Reiser Enterprises holds the 12th spot in the owners' points standings with 2,841 points through 25 NASCAR Busch Series events. In 2001, Matt Kenseth has tallied eight top-five finishes and one win, resulting in 2,136 points in 16 races. In eight races, Clay Rogers has accumulated 545 points for the Visine Racing team. Because road-course specialist Boris Said finished fourth in the Visine Chevrolet at Watkins Glen, Reiser Enterprises gained an additional 160 points. MATT KENSETH's Comments on RICHMOND: "We're bringing the same car that we sat on the pole with at Richmond in May. Qualifying at Richmond is a crap shoot. You've got to put everything together to turn the perfect lap. It would be nice to start near the front because track position is so important there. Our last time at Richmond, we had to battle from the rear of the field early after having trouble just a few laps into the race. Hopefully, we'll avoid the problems this time and get some quick pit stops to make it to victory lane for the first time at Richmond." Crew Chief Russ Strupp's Comments on RICHMOND: "Track position is huge at Richmond. In the spring, the carburetor linkage hung up after we started from the pole. We spent the whole race trying to make up ground once we fixed the problem. Matt had a fast car, but ran out of time to catch (Jimmy) Spencer. I think we have a good shot at winning Friday night. That's what we're here to do - win races. We're bringing the same car, 'Chassis No. 11,' that started from the pole in May with basically the same setup." Last year's AUTOLITE/FRAM 250 (Sept. 8, 2000): After starting eighth, the first caution flag fell only 28 laps into the 250-lap event. Kenseth told his crew the Visine Chevrolet was much too tight off the corners. However, he remained on the track and later came in for service on lap 84. Kenseth took over sixth on lap 101. His second and final pit stop came on lap 165. It included a track bar adjustment along with fresh tires and fuel for the Visine Chevrolet. Back on the track, Kenseth was forced to cycle through several cars that elected not to pit. Kenseth paced his way into the top 10 to finish where he started - eighth. Last Race: Matt Kenseth racked up his eighth top-10 finish in a row at the "Track Too Tough To Tame" Saturday afternoon. Thanks to a seventh-place finish in the NASCAR Busch Series South Carolina 200 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, S.C., the driver of the No. 17 Visine Chevrolet kept his top-10 streak at the 1.366-mile track alive. After rain showers delayed the start of the race, Kenseth eventually rolled off in ninth to take the green flag. The Visine Racing team chose to pit under green-flag conditions on lap 126. A caution just six laps later ruined its strategy. Kenseth fell back to the 14th position and one lap down. When the race was restarted on lap 138, Kenseth sat in 12th with just nine laps to go. On lap 140, he caught a break when the fourth caution of the race came out. Kenseth got back on the lead lap. He then pitted on lap 142 for four fresh tires to make a late run at the top 10. On lap 144, Kenseth made the final restart from the 13th position. In a four-lap shootout, he darted by several cars to finish seventh, ending with a two-wide battle with Jimmy Spencer on the last lap that came down to the checkered flag. Sponsor Notes: Partners on the Visine Chevrolet for the Autolite/FRAM 250 are BenGay and Cortizone, products produced by Pfizer Consumer Health Care.
In-Car Radios | Silly Season | Forum | Photo Gallery | Newsletter | In the Pits
©Copyright 2001 Race 2 Win |