Matt Kenseth
Michigan International Speedway
Two-mile D-shaped oval located in Brooklyn, Mich.
NNCS: GFS Marketplace 400
FAST FACTS
Matt Kenseth's average finish of 8.4 at Michigan is second best among the 23 tracks that he has raced at in his NEXTEL Cup career, trailing only Las Vegas (8.1).
Kenseth's average Michigan finish of 8.4 is best all-time among drivers with five or more starts at the track.
The June, rain-shortened event at Michigan snapped a string of six consecutive top-10 finishes for Kenseth at the track.
Chassis No. RK-323 has led in five out of six races it has run in 2006 for a combined 313 laps.
Since entering the series full time in 2000, no one has completed more laps on two-mile ovals (Michigan & Fontana) than Kenseth who has completed 4,849.
At this point last season, Kenseth who ended up in the Chase, was in 16th, 165 points out of 10th in the Championship Chase. This season his teammate, Greg Biffle is in the 13th position, 180 points out of 10th.
Matt Kenseth - NNCS ADVANCE
Team: No. 17 DEWALT Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Robbie Reiser
Chassis: RK-323 Last ran Chicago; led 112 laps, finished 22nd
Ran Michigan in June; finished 13th
Also in '06: won Fontana, 2nd at Las Vegas & Texas
RK-280 Tested at Charlotte, last ran Michigan, Jun. '05; finished 4th
Kenseth on racing at Michigan International Speedway:
"Michigan was kind of like our light at the end of the tunnel last weekend at The Glen. For me, it's going from one extreme to the other. We've never had a lot of success at road courses so obviously they can be frustrating, but Michigan is the total opposite. We seem to always run good at Michigan, so it's definitely more fun for me to race. I joked with the guys during the race last weekend that all would be forgiven as long as we had a car capable of winning this weekend. We're bringing our favorite car so hopefully we can get up front and be a factor like we have been in the past at Michigan."
Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at Michigan International Speedway:
"This will be the first time we've raced car 323 since Chicago and it got tore up pretty good at the end of that race. But, we've pieced it back together and it's spent a lot of time on the dyno since then. We feel like it's going to be as good as it ever was and I sure hope that's the case, because it was probably one of our best pieces. It won this year at California Speedway and has a couple of second-place finishes. We have a stretch of tracks coming up where we can run good at and build a lot of momentum for the Chase, and that all starts this weekend."
