Matt Kenseth Advance
Nextel Cup Series --- New Hampshire International Speedway
Matt Kenseth
One-mile New Hampshire International Speedway Loudon, N.H.
Race Schedule
Sunday, Jul. 1
NNCS: LENOX Industrial Tools 300 - 2:00 PM Eastern - TNT/MRN
Saturday, Jun. 30
NBS: Camping World 200 - 2:30 PM Eastern - ESPN2/MRN
FAST FACTS
Matt Kenseth has an average finish of 10.8 at New Hampshire International Speedway; tops among active NASCAR NEXTEL Cup drivers with three or more starts at the track, and the fifth best track for Kenseth’s career.
Kenseth’s nine top-10 finishes at NHIS is best among all drivers since 2000, Kenseth’s rookie season.
Kenseth has completed all but four laps in 14 races at NHIS; 4,084 of 4,088. The third best mark of any driver that has competed in those same 14 events (Mark Martin – 4,086 and Jeff Gordon – 4,085).
The No. 17 Ford Fusion will carry the Carhartt colors this weekend for the third time in 2007. The Carhartt scheme will run once more at Charlotte in October.
Kenseth will race in the NASCAR Busch Series at NHIS this weekend for the first time since July, 2005. For his career, Kenseth has raced six times in the NBS at NHIS, chalking up four consecutive top-10 finishes and winning this race in July of 2004.
Kenseth won Tuesday night’s First Supply All-Star Challenge at Madison International Speedway in Madison, Wis. Kenseth, along with Tony Stewart and Todd Kluever raced in the 100-lap, super late model feature among the regions finest.
Matt Kenseth – NNCS Advance
Team: No. 17 Carhartt/DEWALT Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Robbie Reiser
Chassis: RK-451 Last outing: Richmond, May ’07 - finished 10th
Also: Phoenix, Apr. ’07 – finished fifth; Bristol, Mar. ’07 – finished 11th
RK-458 Backup at Martinsville and Richmond; yet to race
Kenseth on racing at New Hampshire International Speedway:
“Well, the last couple of weeks have been pretty rough for us. At Michigan, I thought we had at least a top-five car, but we got caught up in a wreck. Then last week… well, last week is behind us. It was frustrating to say the least, to spin out twice then run out of gas right before the last lap; Sonoma is always tough for us and it seemed like if it could go wrong, it did last Sunday.
“But, this week is a new week and we’re going to a track that’s been pretty good to us over the years. We really haven’t had too many cars capable of winning at Loudon, but we’ve usually been good enough to run in the top 10 to top 15. This weekend, it’s going to be important for us to get some of the momentum back that we’ve lost in the past couple of weeks.”
Crew Chief Robbie Reiser on racing at New Hampshire International Speedway:
“We’re bringing a car that’s performed pretty good so far, but not as good as we’d like it. But, we’ve done some testing since the last time this car has run, plus we’ve had, really about two months of data collecting, whether from testing or actual racing that we feel will help the car.
“After the past two weeks, we need to get out there and hopefully run an uneventful race. It’s funny how this sport works. We had a wreck at Daytona on the last lap, but other than that, we ran the next 13 races, 14 if you count the All-Star race without getting into any trouble on the track. Now, in the past two weeks, we’ve definitely gotten our fill. Hopefully, we’re finished with all of that and can get back to doing what this team does best, and that’s running in the top 10 and competing for wins. New Hampshire is as good of a place as any to get back on track.”
