Matt Kenseth
Lowe's Motor Speedway
1.5-mile oval, located in Concord, N.C.
NNCS: NEXTEL All-Star Challenge
FAST FACTS
Matt Kenseth has competed in the All-Star race every year starting with his sophomore season in the NEXTEL Cup Series.
Kenseth has scored four career victories at Lowe’s Motor Speedway; 2000 Coca-Cola 600, 2004 All-Star Race, and two Busch Series wins.
In the past five All-Star events, Kenseth has completed all but one lap (429 of 430).
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.
Chassis number RK-317, that Kenseth will pilot in Saturday night’s event has three top-five finishes in its last three outings, all in 2005 (Homestead – third, Texas – third, Kansas – fifth).
Matt Kenseth - NEXTEL All-Star Challenge
Team: No. 17 DEWALT Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Robbie Reiser
Chassis: RK-317 Last ran Homestead, Nov. ‘05; finished 3rd
Won pole at Kansas, Oct. ’05; finished 5th
RK-280 Tested at Charlotte, last ran Michigan, Jun. ’06; finished 4th
Kenseth on racing in the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge:
“The All-Star race is a lot of fun. It’s pretty cool to go out there and really have nothing to lose. You don’t have to worry about the points or anything like that. It’s pretty much, go all out and try to win the thing and don’t worry about salvaging a second-place or a top five or something like that. One of my favorite moments in NASCAR was a couple of years ago when we won this race. I had a great a time battling Ryan (Newman) over the final laps and we ended up on top. It was a great night for all of the guys on the team and we had a blast celebrating on the stage afterwards.”
Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing in the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge:
“The All-Star week as a whole is just a different animal. The Pit Crew Championship is on Wednesday night, and our guys are really looking forward to that. They do a great job all year and it’s nice that they have the spotlight for at least one night to showcase their talent. Then, Saturday night is really a spot for our team to showcase our talent as a group. We’ve been running really well lately and it would be nice to go get that winner’s purse on Saturday night, which is really what this week is all about; it’s that all or nothing approach that the teams take this weekend that make it special.”
