Matt Kenseth
Phoenix International Raceway
One-mile oval located in Avondale, Ariz.
NNCS: Checkers Auto Parts 500
FAST FACTS
Matt Kenseth's average finish of 20.8 at Phoenix International Raceway ranks ninth among the 10 tracks in the Chase.
Kenseth will run the USG Sheetrock paint scheme for the third and final time in 2006.
PIR is one of four tracks in the Chase where Kenseth has scored victories during his Cup career. The other three are: Dover, Charlotte and Texas.
Kenseth's "Chase stats" at Phoenix:
Start Finish Laps Led Earnings Rank
2005 16 32 310/312 0 $109,161 7th
2004 16 36 280/312 4 $101,903 9th
In his last visit to each of the remaining two tracks, Kenseth has scored finishes of: third at Phoenix in April, and third at Homestead last November
Despite notching a win in 2002 at PIR, Kenseth's average finish there is just 20.8; third only to Homestead (25.5) and Sonoma (22.0) as statistically his worst track.
Kenseth will be racing the No. 17 Pennzoil Ford Fusion in the NASCAR Busch Series on Saturday. For his career, Kenseth has notched five top-ten finishes in seven starts in the Busch Series at Phoenix.
Matt Kenseth - NNCS Advance
Team: No. 17 USG Sheetrock/DEWALT Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Robbie Reiser
Chassis: RK-353 Last ran Loudon in Sep., finished 10th
Also ran Loudon in July; finished 14th
Also ran Phoenix in Apr.; finished 3rd
RK-150 Tested earlier in '06 at Vegas
Kenseth on racing at Phoenix International Raceway:
"I enjoy racing a Phoenix. We've had some ups and downs there but it's a good track and we've had our share of success. It's one of the tracks we've won at and that will give us a little bit of confidence going in. Hopefully this weekend will add to that confidence. We can definitely use some momentum. It's getting down to crunch time and that means no more mistakes. A mistake at this point could cost us big time. We have to stay focused on our team and our performance and let everything else fall where it may. All we can do is our best and we'll just see how it turns out."
Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at Phoenix International Raceway:
"We're bringing the same car we ran at Phoenix earlier this year. We have to get our cars running better and give ourselves a chance on Sunday. We can't keep pulling out top-15 finishes from cars that can barely run in the top 25. We're very fortunate to finish where we did in Texas. We didn't run anywhere near as good as we finished, but I have to credit the guys on the team. They never quit and we found a way to get a respectable finish. We feel pretty good about the car we're bringing this weekend. We can't afford anything less than our best in these next two races if we're going to have a chance to win it all."
