Race 2 Win: Sprint Cup Series Race Notes

Sprint Cup Series

Subway Fresh Fit 500 - Matt Kenseth Notes

Matt Kenseth
Texas Motor Speedway
1.5-mile speedway located in Fort Worth, Texas
NSCS: Sunday, April 6, 2008

FAST FACTS

Matt Kenseth will make his 300th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway. Since his Cup Series debut in 1998, Kenseth has achieved three poles, 16 wins, 80 top-five and 146 top-10 finishes.

This weekend’s race at Phoenix will mark Kenseth’s 12th at the one-mile Arizona track. In his previous starts, he has achieved one win, five top-five and six top-10 finishes.

Kenseth’s average start at PIR is 19.4, his average finish is 17.0.

Kenseth has completed 2991 of 3435 (or 87.1%) of total laps attempted at Phoenix. He has led a total of 154 laps there.

Back in Black… For the first time in 2008, Kenseth’s No. 17 Ford Fusion will be painted black with the DEWALT NANO Technology paint scheme. Kenseth will sport these colors at all of the night races this season.

The No. 17 crew will be unloading car RK-557 this weekend at Phoenix, a brand new car.

Rewind, Texas… Kenseth and crew spent 334 of 339 laps in the top 15, posted 28 of the race’s fastest laps and led 68 laps. Despite the impressive stats, handling problems and a late-race gamble that didn’t pay off left Kenseth with a solid, but disappointing, ninth-place finish in the Samsung 500.

Matt Kenseth – NSCS ADVANCE
No. 17 DEWALT NANO Technology Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Chip Bolin
Chassis: RK-557 A brand new car

QUOTES Kenseth on racing at Phoenix International Raceway:
“I’ve always enjoyed racing at Phoenix and we’ve had some success there in the past. We weren’t too bad there last year and I think we should be able to compete this weekend.

“I was pretty disappointed after Texas, but, looking back on it, it was a pretty good finish for us. We ran really well all day, even though our car didn’t handle all that well. Chip and the guys did a great job working on the car all day and our pit stops kept us out front. We were probably a fifth-place car but didn’t get tires at the end and that hurt us a lot on that last restart. It was a 50-50 call and it didn’t pay off for us. We didn’t get the finish we were hoping for, but we led some laps, got the bonus points and ended up with a top 10, so I’m pleased with our improvements.”

Crew Chief Chip Bolin on racing at Phoenix International Raceway:
“We’re taking a brand new car to Phoenix this weekend. Since all of the new cars are practically identical, bringing a new car to race is very common. The trick to racing well will be working out the balancing act between being free enough to roll through the center of one and two, and not being too loose in three and four. If we can accomplish that, we should be very competitive. Matt typically races well at Phoenix and I’m expecting a great finish for our DEWALT NANO team.”