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Kansas: Matt Kenseth NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview
Team: No. 17 DEWALT Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Chip Bolin
Chassis: RK-582 Raced Talladega in April of this year (started 13th, finished 41st) and Daytona in July (started 19th, finished third).
QUOTES
Kenseth on racing at Talladega Superspeedway: "Talladega is just one of those unknown tracks. You could lead 190 laps, then get wrecked or lose the draft and end up finishing 43rd. Last time we raced there we cut a tire on lap 19 and ended up finishing 41st - not a lot of fun. It’s hard to say what the race will be like this time. Everyone’s made a lot of progress, so really it’s anyone’s race. My hopes for the DEWALT team are to make sure we’re there at the end to get a good finish.
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"We have made a lot of improvements over the last two races. Our cars have been really fast and we’ve been able to lead laps and race up front. But, we’ve also made some mistakes that have cost us a lot. With six races to go in the Chase and being so far behind from New Hampshire, you just can’t afford to have any mistakes. We’ll just take it one week at a time, dig hard each week, and try to get ’em."
Crew chief Chip Bolin on racing at Talladega Superspeedway: "For me, the racing at Talladega isn’t my most favorite. I just hope we can make it to the end without trouble and get a solid top-10 finish. If you have a fast car, you can make your own luck at Daytona, because the faster cars will work their way to the front and be able to stay out of trouble. And that was the case at Daytona in July. We had a good car and were able to run up front and get a really good finish. Talladega, on the other hand is pretty much a case of 43 cars riding around hoping no one will wreck you because the handling of the car is a nonissue. So, basically we’ll unload and hope for the best and wait and see what happens in the race."
FAST FACTS
•Matt Kenseth will make his 18th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend in the AMP Energy 500.
•For the Record… In 17 starts, Kenseth has achieved three top-five and six top-10 finishes.
•All three of Kenseth’s top-five finishes have been achieved in the fall race at Talladega.
•Kenseth has completed 2985 of 3208 (93.0 %) laps attempted at Talladega – he has led a total of 131 laps there – 70 of which have been led over the past three years.
•On the track…The No. 17 DEWALT team will be unloading RK-582 this weekend at Talladega. Kenseth has raced this car twice this year. First at the spring Talladega race. He started that race 13th and finished 41st after the No. 17 suffered a blown tire on lap 19. Kenseth also raced this car at Daytona in July of this year. He started that race 19th and finished third – a career-best for Kenseth at Daytona.
•Rewind… In a rollercoaster of a day filled with highs and lows, Kenseth and company overcame many obstacles en route to a fifth-place finish.
After securing a season-best third-place qualifying effort and turning fast times during the weekend’s practice sessions, it looked as though the DEWALT team would be serious contenders in Sunday’s 267-lap event. However, a mishap in the pits and an incident on the track set the No. 17 team back. In spite of the problems, the determined DEWALT team forged ahead and succeeded in the end.
•The CHASE is on… Three races in the Chase for the Sprint Cup are complete and Kenseth is currently ranked ninth in the point standings with 5383 points - 192 points behind the leader, Jimmie Johnson.
PaddockTalk Perspective
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