PREVIEW: DOVER

Matt Kenseth will travel to Dover, Delaware this weekend for the second of the final ten races to determine the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Champion. He enters this weekend seated in the fifth position in the championship standings, after a strong third-place finish in Loudon. So how does it look for Kenseth and the No. 17 DEWALT Ford Taurus team this weekend at the Dover International Speedway? Historically, Dover has been a decent track for Kenseth, who has posted seven top-ten finishes in 13 starts at the 1.0-mile oval. Over a seven-year span, his average finish is 14th. In looking back over the last few years, Kenseth posted top-ten finishes in both events in 2003, finishing seventh and ninth, respectively. The year 2004 was a different story, however.

The first race at Dover in 2004 was held on June 6th, the MBNA “Salute to Heroes” 400. Kenseth took the green flag from the 38th position – his first provisional start in the 2004 season. Between savvy pit strategy and the right adjustments made throughout the day, Kenseth raced his way into the top-five for the final laps of the event. The green flag dropped on lap 380 of the 400-lap event following a caution period, with Kenseth running fourth. The end looked promising for Kenseth as the first and second-place cars were on old tires, while the third-place contender and Kenseth, in fourth, were on four fresh tires. One lap into the restart the engine of the No. 41 entry seemed to expire, however, putting oil down on the track. No yellow flag was thrown for a lap and then leader Kasey Kahne slid in Turn One and slammed into the Turn Two wall. A few car lengths back Kenseth followed suit, hitting the wall and ending what looked to be a certain top-five finish. Kenseth ended up finishing in the 22nd position.

The strange and unfortunate events at Dover continued for Kenseth when he returned for the fall race on September 26th, 2004. After strong showings in the practice sessions, qualifying eighth, running in the top-five and leading the event for 58 laps, the trouble began. Radioing to his crew that he felt he had a tire going down, Kenseth elected to come down pit road to take care of the problem. But, as Kenseth came off the banking in Turn Three on lap 119 heading for pit road, he lost control of the racecar and crashed into the water barrels protecting the entrance to pit road. Kenseth ended the day with a 32nd-place finish.

Fortunately, Kenseth’s luck at Dover turned around in the spring of 2005, for the MBNA RacePoints 400. Rolling off 23rd after qualifying was rained out and the field was set by points, Kenseth used about 100 laps to race his way into the top-ten and there he would stay for the remainder of the event. He eventually took the checkered flag in the seventh-spot for his second top-ten finish of the 2005 season.

For his return to the Dover International Speedway this weekend, Kenseth and the DEWALT team will be bringing car number 39. This chassis has seen a lot of laps this year, running in the All-Star Challenge, Dover in June, Chicagoland, Pocono in July, Michigan in August and Fontana earlier this month. Most memorable were this car’s performances at Chicagoland and Michigan, where Kenseth finished second and third, respectively. The No. 17 team certainly has momentum going into the weekend, having posted finishes of seventh or better in the last five races, including one win.

Looking ahead to this weekend in Dover, Matt Kenseth offers, “I’ve always said that Dover is one of my favorite tracks. It’s particularly special to me because I got my first Cup Series start there back in 1998, subbing for Bill Elliott. We had a good run there in June, and I think we’ll be in good shape for this weekend. We kept our positive momentum going at Loudon by finishing in the top-five and the DEWALT crew is on top of their game right now, gaining us positions off of pit road almost every stop.”

Matt Kenseth will be competing in the Dover 200 Busch Series event on Saturday in the No. 17 Waste Management Ford Taurus, and in the MBNA NASCAR RacePoints 400 driving the No. 17 DEWALT Ford Taurus on Sunday.