NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series: Aaron’s 499, Talladega Superspeedway, 4/28/04
Matt Kenseth
Team: No. 17 DEWALT Ford Taurus
Owner: Jack Roush/Mark Martin
Crew Chief: Robbie Reiser
Chassis: #20 (ran at both Talladega events in 2003)
Matt Kenseth on racing at Talladega Superspeedway:
“I think our restrictor plate program has come a long way since even last year and we kind of showed that at Daytona during Speedweeks earlier this year. Our strategy has always been to get a car that just handles in the draft—something that’s very stable so we can be comfortable all day. We’ve met that goal in all of our recent restrictor plate races and this car should perform for us this weekend too. The only other factor is to just stay out of trouble and avoid a big pileup, but we usually have very little control over that.”
Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at Talladega Superspeedway:
“I’m pretty satisfied with our plate car. It’s not going to be a threat for the pole position or anything, but it should draft well enough for us to come out of here with a decent finish—barring any unforeseen trouble on the racetrack.”
Fast Facts
Matt Kenseth finished eighth at Martinsville Speedway last weekend. He is one of three drivers that have six top-10 finishes in eight 2004 starts.
Kenseth falls to third in the NASCAR NEXTEL standings, just 12 points out of first place (1155-1167).
Kenseth has spent 43 straight weeks inside the “NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Top 10”, the longest active streak.
Kenseth has three top-10 finishes at Talladega and has led at least one lap in all eight of his Talladega starts.
