Matt Kenseth
2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Fla.
Race Schedule
Saturday, Jul. 7
NNCS: Pepsi 400 - 7:30 PM Eastern - TNT/MRN
FAST FACTS
Matt Kenseth has led at least one lap in the last seven restrictor plate races for a total of 105 laps; the fourth most of any driver during that span.
Kenseth has three top fives and five top-10 finishes in the past eight restrictor-plate races.
Daytona Blues – The past three Daytona 500s have been nothing but heartbreak for Kenseth. In 2005, Kenseth had a mechanical failure cut his day short on lap 34, sending him home in 42nd. In 2006, Kenseth had led the most laps and was running in second when he was sent spinning on the superstretch on lap 108. This year, Kenseth was running in the third position coming to the checkered flag when he was sent spinning off of turn four. In the two previous seasons, Kenseth has rebounded with a top-10 finish in the July race.
Matt Kenseth will fly the R+L Carriers colors this weekend for the second of four times in 2007. In the previous showing, Kenseth drove the R+L Carriers Ford Fusion to a 12th-place finish at Charlotte in the 600. The paint scheme will run two more times in 2007, Fontana in September and Martinsville in October.
Kenseth has three top-10 finishes in the past four Pepsi 400s.
Kenseth returns to Daytona ranked third in the championship point standings. The last four seasons he has entered this weekend ranked first in 2003 (Championship year), third in 2004, 20th in 2005, and second in 2006.
Matt Kenseth
Team: No. 17 R+L Carriers/DEWALT Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Robbie Reiser
Chassis: RK-327 Last outing: Daytona, Feb. ’07 – Finished 27th after last lap spin
Also: Daytona, Jul. ’06 – Finished fifth; Daytona, Feb. ’06 – Finished 15th
RK-418 Never raced. Tested at Daytona, Jan. ’07
Kenseth on racing at Daytona International Speedway:
“Daytona has been very frustrating over the past couple of years, for us anyway. We’ve had a car good enough to win two or three races, but it seems like something always happens to take us out of contention. We thought we were in good shape with about 15 to go in the 500 this year, but things got shuffled around and we ended up restarting eighth or ninth for the green-white-checkered finish. Then it looks like we’re going to finish third, maybe even second and we get taken out coming out of (turn) four on the final lap… so go figure.
“Restrictor-plate racing, for me, is maddening. You have to make the right decisions, but a lot of it is luck. You have to depend on other cars to help you get to the front. If I have a good car and I’m riding second or third on the last lap and I pull out of line, I might win it, but I might finish sixth or 10th or worse. You’re really at the mercy of the cars behind you, and for whatever reason, I haven’t been able to make it work at the end and win one of these things. No one would like to change that more than me this weekend.”
Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at Daytona International Speedway:
“We’re taking what’s basically been our ‘Daytona car’ for the past two years. It hasn’t ran anywhere other than Daytona, because it’s been pretty good down there. Unfortunately, like our old ‘Bristol car,’ it’s going to be obsolete after this weekend, as we’ll be running COTs at plate races from now on.
“This car seems to handle really well at Daytona, which, unlike Talladega, handling comes into play at Daytona. Matt seems to like this car and thankfully it didn’t have much damage from the last lap wreck in the 500.
“The biggest thing for us this weekend is to make sure we take care of everything on our end to help Matt on the track. There are so many things out of your control when it comes to plate racing, so you better hit the marks on everything you can control, or you can really dig yourself a hole. It’s our job in the pits to make the right calls and to make sure we have flawless pit stops all night to get Matt track position, keep him up in front of the draft, and hopefully in contention to win by the end of the race.”
