Showing posts with label Matt Kenseth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matt Kenseth. Show all posts

March 7, 2010

Ku Busch wins a wild one at Atlanta

Kurt Busch survived to attempts at a green-white-checkered finish and scooted away from Matt Kenseth and Juan Montoya to win the Kobalt Tools 500.

Our View Busch had one of two dominant cars along with Kasey Kahne (who finished fourth).

This race featured action at the end and retaliation between Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski for an early-race incident that shuffled the finishing order—but fans' hearts got to pumping.

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February 10, 2010

Kenseth fastest in 150s Practice 1

Matt Kenseth posted the fastest single lap of practice in the first session for the Gatorade 150 qualifiers with a speed of 194.254 mph.

Our View That speed was set early in the session in one of the fastest drafts of the day. He's not exactly known as the Pied Piper of Daytona, however, so look for him to tuck into the draft on Thursday.

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November 15, 2009

Inspection cleared at Phoenix

According to @dustinlong: #NASCAR ... Post-race inspection done and all clear. Engines to R&D shop: 48, 31, 17 ... Cars to R&D shop: 48, 5 and 17

October 30, 2009

Top-10 Avg. Running Position: Talladega #NASCAR

Average Running Position
Sum of driver position on each lap - divided by the laps run in the race.
Number of Races: 9
AMP Energy 500 Pre-Race
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
Talladega Superspeedway

RankDriverAverage FinishAverage Place
1Joey Logano9.012.9
2Tony Stewart14.013.3
3Denny Hamlin18.913.6
4Juan Montoya18.613.6
5Kurt Busch11.214.7
6Dale Earnhardt Jr.21.815.2
7Matt Kenseth16.415.6
8Brian Vickers16.815.8
9David Ragan14.016.0
10Elliott Sadler20.216.1

October 19, 2009

Inspection cleared part two

According to @bobpockrass: NASCAR engines of Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth from last weekend have all passed inspection with no issues.

October 17, 2009

Lowe's Pit stall selections

Jayski has posted the pit stall selections for the NASCAR Banking 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway and, as expected pole sitter Jimmie Johnson has the last box exiting pit road.

Our View Mark Martin, Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth are the other drivers with an opening in front of them. Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon and Mike Bliss in the No. 71 this week have openings behind them.

As well as he qualified and as strong as he ran in the Nationwide race, Bliss should try to run the distance. If he "starts and parks," however, Bobby Labonte inherits an opening as he is immediately ahead.

Complete List

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Official tweets from the track

October 2, 2009

Kansas using Auto Club tires

Goodyear has brought the same tire to Kansas Speedway they used at Auto Club Speedway earlier this year.

Our View That might favor drivers who were fast there: Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon were the class of the field in the Auto Club 500. The California track is slightly longer at two miles in length, but it bears a lot of similarities in shape to the 1.5-miler in Kansas.

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August 22, 2009

Bristol pit stalls

Jayski has published the pit stall selections for the Bristol race.

Our View There are really only four good stalls at either end of the front and back pits. Pole sitter Mark Martin took the final pit stall before turn one, Greg Biffle has the final stall before turn three while Matt Kenseth and Scott Speed have the first stalls entering the pits. However, Clint Bowyer also is in a nice position; he is in pit stall four with the start and park Dave Blaney immediately ahead of him.

For a complete list of the stalls, visit Jayski.com.

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July 25, 2009

N'Wide: Edwards wins over Busch, Kenseth

Carl Edwards. Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth all had to go to the back of the pack to start when other drivers qualified their cars. It didn't matter; they finished first, second and third.

Our View So much for track position meaning everything on this track.

Complete Results

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July 23, 2009

Kenseth loses Dewalt

DeWalt Tools has announced that it will no longer be the primary sponsor for Matt Kenseth after this season, according to multiple sources.

Our View This is certainly bad news for Kenseth's "brand recognition," but with the organization required to reduce by one team next year and the various primary associates such as USG and Carhartt, it could be worse.

July 1, 2009

Kenseth 2nd, Stewart 5th at Madison

With a few days off, Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart traveled to Madison, Wis. And took on the local stock car drivers. Kenseth led until lap 90, but ultimately fell to Chris Wimmer. Stewart finished fifth.

Our View: With so few short tracks on the NASCAR circuit, it's nice to see these guys keep their skills sharp.

Complete story and results

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June 11, 2009

The House of Roush

Few owners have dominated a track like Jack Roush has done at Michigan International Speedway. This week, he could tie the legendary Wood Bros. with the most wins on this track at 10 and his drivers have at least one victory per season since 2002.

That makes selecting a roster this week very easy.

Michigan is one track where fantasy owners can literally load their roster with a single organization and then sit back in the easy chair and reap the rewards, because Roushketeers have been perfect on this track several times in the last half-decade. When they've missed, it's often by a very slim margin.

Last fall, Roush placed all five of his drivers in the top 10 and all but a single driver was in the top five. Led by Carl Edwards in first, David Ragan finished third, Greg Biffle was fourth and Matt Kenseth was fifth. By comparison, Jamie McMurray had a disappointing day in 10th, but he was happy to have that result in light of the generally miserable year he faced up till then.

In the spring race, all but Biffle finished in the top 10 as well, which gave Roush an average finish during the year of 7.1. That also means four of the five drivers swept the top 10 on this two-mile track last year—including the dark horses Ragan and McMurray.

As impressive as that was, however, it was not their best outing in recent years. In the two Cup races of 2005, Roush earned one victory, six top-fives and eight top-10s en route to an average finish of 6.2. This was no anomaly, since three of the five Roushketeers (Edwards, Kenseth and Biffle) were in the midst of top-10 streaks ranging from four to six consecutive races.
With Edwards riding a current four-race top-10 streak and Kenseth carrying three Michigan top-fives into the weekend, you could very well see the same thing this week.

Roush Racing, last five years

RaceDriverCarFinish




2008.2Carl Edwards991
2007.1Carl Edwards991
2006.2Matt Kenseth171
2005.1Greg Biffle 161
2004.2Greg Biffle 161




2006.1Carl Edwards992
2004.2Mark Martin 62
2008.2David Ragan63
2008.1Matt Kenseth173
2005.2Matt Kenseth173
2005.1Mark Martin 63
2008.2Greg Biffle164
2007.2Matt Kenseth174
2006.1Greg Biffle164
2005.2Carl Edwards994
2005.1Matt Kenseth 174
2008.2Matt Kenseth175
2006.2Mark Martin65
2005.1Carl Edwards 995




2005.2Greg Biffle166
2004.2Kurt Busch 976
2008.1Carl Edwards997
2007.2Carl Edwards997
2006.2Greg Biffle167
2005.2Kurt Busch977
2004.1Matt Kenseth 177
2008.1David Ragan68
2007.1Jamie McMurray268
2004.2Matt Kenseth 178
2008.2Jamie McMurray2610
2008.1Jamie McMurray2610
2004.2Carl Edwards 9910




2004.1Kurt Busch 9711
2005.1Kurt Busch 9712
2006.1Matt Kenseth1713
2004.1Jeff Burton 9913




2006.2Jamie McMurray2617
2005.2Mark Martin617
2007.2David Ragan618
2007.2Greg Biffle1619
2008.1Greg Biffle1620
2007.1David Ragan621
2006.2Carl Edwards9922
2006.1Jamie McMurray2623
2004.1Greg Biffle 1623
2006.1Mark Martin627
2007.2Jamie McMurray2630
2004.1Mark Martin 634
2007.1Greg Biffle1638
2007.1Matt Kenseth1742
2006.2Todd Kluever0643


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June 10, 2009

Roush one short of record at Michigan

Roush-Fenway Racing is one win away from tying the Wood Bros. for the most victories at Michigan International Speedway, according to a Tweet from @NASCARSays, the official NASCAR PR account. The current record stands at 10 victories.

Our View: This track has been completely dominated by Roush in recent years and their drivers have at least one win per season since 2002. Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle all have to be considered favorites to either win or finish in the top 10.

June 8, 2009

Two-mile tracks, top-10 laps

Despite the somewhat derisive description "cookie-cutter" tracks for the similarly-configured, 1.5-mile courses, no two tracks on the circuit are closer in terms of layout than Michigan International Speedway and Auto Club Speedway—but you won't hear too many people complaining about the competition this week. That is because the two-milers offer some of the best side-by-side racing on the schedule.

On these tracks, the conventional wisdom says to load up on Roush-Fenway drivers and they have the numbers to back that up. During the last five years at Michigan and Auto Club combined, the three top drivers for the Cat in the Hat dominate the top five among laps spent inside the top 10, but they are not without opposition.

Jimmie Johnson has actually spent the most time among the leaders on this track type during the last five years. With 1,273 laps among the top 10 at Michigan and another 1,970 in California, he has been spent 73 percent of his time at the head of the field. Unfortunately, bad luck and misfortune has caused him to finish outside the top 15 eight times in the last 24 races on these two tracks and nearly all of those disappointments came at Michigan.

Carl Edwards has spent considerably less time in the top 10, but he's made the most of his opportunities. With 1,260 top-10 laps at Michigan and 1,725 at California, he's competed with the leaders for 69 percent of his possible laps and all but two of his 19 races in that span have ended in top-10 finishes.

Matt Kenseth has actually spent more time among the top 10 during the last five years than Edwards, but that is because he has five more races to his credit. In 24 starts on the two-mile tracks since the beginning of 2003, Kenseth has spent 67 percent of his laps battling for a top-10 finish and he's sealed the deal 83 percent of the time with 20 top-10 finishes in 24 starts.

Another Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon and another Roushketeer Greg Biffle are locked in a virtual tie for fourth and fifth on the grid. Gordon has 2,534 laps in the top 10 out of a possible 4,440 during the last five years; Biffle has 2,509, which equates to 57 percent of the time. However, Biffle may be the better value this week because his top-10 laps at Michigan (1,267) are superior to Gordon's (1,081).

Top-10 laps on two-mile tracks
DriverMichiganCaliforniaTotal%





Jimmie Johnson 1,2731,9703,24373%
Matt Kenseth 1,2601,7252,98567%
Carl Edwards 1,2611,4752,73669%
Jeff Gordon 1,0811,4532,53457%
Greg Biffle 1,2671,2422,50957%
Kyle Busch8441,5322,37659%
Kurt Busch 1,0401,2202,26051%
Tony Stewart 9861,2042,19049%
Kasey Kahne 6041,4522,05646%
Mark Martin 6301,2341,86447%
Brian Vickers 8118651,67638%
Dale Earnhardt Jr9205381,45833%
Kevin Harvick 3818691,25028%
Denny Hamlin4887481,23643%
Jeff Burton 2898831,17226%
Jamie McMurray 3687701,13826%
Ryan Newman 5006211,12125%
Elliott Sadler 6403901,03023%
Joe Nemechek 44236780918%
Clint Bowyer23550774226%
Martin Truex Jr25646972525%
Casey Mears 48523572016%
Michael Waltrip 40615255813%
Sterling Marlin 25422147517%
Bobby Labonte 2551373929%
David Ragan19515935417%
David Reutimann3427030415%
Robby Gordon 991302295%
Reed Sorenson131671987%
Juan Montoya21791819%
A J Allmendinger2315718013%
Dave Blaney 105721774%
Paul Menard2827552%
Bill Elliott1730472%
Sam Hornish Jr370373%
David Gilliland035351%
Tony Raines192211%
David Stremme510151%
John Andretti 111121%
Mike Skinner3030%
Joey Logano
000%
Marcos Ambrose0000%
Scott Speed
000%

June 5, 2009

Pocono staring lineup, with avg. start / finish

"Obviously everybody is disappointed we didn’t get on the race track today but it worked out good for myself and Jeff (Gordon)," Tony Stewart said after qualification for the Pocono 500 was rained out and set by owner points. "It’s nice to be able to get a front-row starting spot because of rain but it’s not what the fans came to see."

Stewart and Gordon weren't the only benefactors. Several drivers, such as Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle bettered their average staring position by approximately 10 spots to roll off the grid inside the top 10.

Starting grid, with average start/finish

StartDriverAvg. FinAvg. StartAttempts
1Tony Stewart13.0012.3020
2Jeff Gordon10.2811.3832
3Jimmie Johnson9.797.3614
4Kurt Busch15.6913.9416
5Ryan Newman13.9310.1414
6Kyle Busch22.0015.888
7Denny Hamlin6.176.676
8Matt Kenseth14.1719.6118
9Greg Biffle18.3319.1712
10Jeff Burton16.5318.5330
11Carl Edwards14.2526.008
12Mark Martin10.668.6444
13David Reutimann32.0029.504
14Kasey Kahne16.607.8010
15Juan Montoya28.5020.254
16Clint Bowyer20.8323.506
17Brian Vickers14.508.7010
18Dale Earnhardt Jr16.2815.0018
19Martin Truex Jr15.1715.006
20Marcos Ambrose


21Casey Mears20.9221.0812
22Jamie McMurray21.3317.6712
23Joey Logano


24Kevin Harvick15.3119.3116
25Reed Sorenson30.3325.506
26Sam Hornish Jr34.0033.502
27Elliott Sadler20.7024.1520
28Bobby Labonte17.6916.2232
29David Stremme25.7534.254
30A J Allmendinger23.3322.333
31David Ragan22.0029.504
32Michael Waltrip21.5821.3845
33Paul Menard30.2523.754
34Robby Gordon27.7330.5315
35John Andretti28.2019.5020
36Sterling Marlin17.3917.5744
37Scott Speed


38David Gilliland30.7523.504
39Joe Nemechek24.6414.7128
40Patrick Carpentier32.0024.001
41Dave Blaney22.6124.7218
42Regan Smith26.5020.002
43Dexter Bean


May 31, 2009

Dover Cup Results

A slow pit stop for four tires late in the race appeared to be the unmaking of the No. 48 team. Jimmie Johnson restarted the Autism Speaks 400 ninth on lap 368 and with only a few laps laps he needed to pass a lot of cars. He slipped past David Stremme when that driver crashed and then had to sweat out four more laps under caution—watching precious time slip away.

Once the green waved again on lap 375, he steadily climbed toward the lead and passed Tony Stewart on the high side with only three laps remaining.

Finishing second, Stewart took the point lead from Jeff Gordon, who had a miserable day and fell two laps off the pace to finish 26th.

At the beginning of the week, we said Roush-Fenway would be strong. Greg Biffle finished third with Matt Kenseth on his back bumper. Biffle and Carl Edwards got to banging in the middle stages of the race, but the No. 99 was able to hold onto a top-10 finish in seventh. Jamie McMurray also finished on the lead lap in 14th.

Joey Logano kept his streak of top-15s alive at three with a 15th. That was also his fifth straight top-20.

Results, with career avg. finish

FinishStartDriverLapsLaps LedStatusAvg Fin
18Jimmie Johnson400298Running10.40
231Tony Stewart4006Running11.67
35Greg Biffle40041Running10.64
414Matt Kenseth4007Running13.62
519Kurt Busch400
Running20.50
62Kasey Kahne400
Running24.09
713Carl Edwards40012Running7.60
811Ryan Newman400
Running10.33
917Casey Mears400
Running20.38
1028Mark Martin4001Running12.70
1125Clint Bowyer400
Running14.29
1222Dale Earnhardt Jr400
Running17.05
1312Sam Hornish Jr400
Running24.33
1418Jamie McMurray400
Running16.00
1521Joey Logano400
Running15.00
1632Jeff Burton400
Running16.32
1735Kevin Harvick400
Running18.35
181David Reutimann40025Running20.00
194Reed Sorenson4004Running23.14
2020Marcos Ambrose400
Running26.00
2115Martin Truex Jr399
Running12.71
2233Regan Smith399
Running26.67
236Kyle Busch399
Running15.33
2426David Ragan399
Running23.00
259Brian Vickers399
Running21.55
2642Jeff Gordon398
Running12.36
2710Elliott Sadler3982Running21.38
2827Bobby Labonte397
Running16.76
297A J Allmendinger396
Running31.60
303Juan Montoya3953Running24.40
3130David Stremme370
Accident33.00
3236Paul Menard363
Running24.00
3340Robby Gordon282
Accident23.88
3441John Andretti253
Accident25.64
3529Michael Waltrip250
Engine21.43
3616Denny Hamlin232
Accident25.57
3723Scott Speed118
Engine37.00
3838Joe Nemechek67
Drive Shaft25.00
3939Dave Blaney66
Transmission25.44
4037Mike Bliss56
Electrical33.20
4134Mike Skinner51
Engine22.25
4243Tony Raines42
Accident31.79
4324David Gilliland381Power Steering26.33
44
Brad Keselowski0
DNQ
45
Max Papis0
DNQ
46
Derrike Cope0
DNQ25.04
47
David Starr0
DNQ

May 29, 2009

N'Wide: Dover's last five races

If you're wondering why Roush-Fenway Racing has been so strong on Sundays lately, it's because they've been warming up on Saturday. Matt Kenseth didn't run either race last year, but his position atop the last five races average grid is significant nonetheless because it highlights the strength of the organization. Look a little further down the list and you will find Carl Edwards, who despite a 26th in fall 2006, still has a better than 10th-place average finish on the strength of one victory, a runner-up finish and four consecutive results of sixth or better. Cross reference that with his five consecutive top-fives in Cup, and you have found your favorite this week.

Clint Bowyer also swept the top-10 in Nationwide competition last year, and will be one of the strongest Cup "Claim Jumpers" in the field.

Mike Bliss was in the right place at the right time last week to win the rain-shortened Carquest Auto Parts 300, but he's been hovering around the head of the pack on a weekly basis. And he's likely to do so again with a second last fall and three top-10s in his last four starts at Dover. If he does not take top honors among the Nationwide regulars, chances are good that Brad Keselowski will. He's finished seventh or better in his last three starts on the concrete high banks in Delaware.

Results, last five years

DriverAvg Finish2008.22008.12007.22007.12006.2
Matt Kenseth 3.33

352
Casey Mears 4.00


4
Clint Bowyer6.67109

1
David Stremme7.00113


Carl Edwards 8.00526126
Mike Bliss 8.2521849
Denny Hamlin10.00611240
Joey Logano10.00146


Greg Biffle 10.00
59188
Michael Waltrip 10.00



10
Brad Keselowski10.2537724
Kasey Kahne 11.00
10
12
Bobby Labonte11.00

11

David Reutimann11.501741015
Scott Wimmer11.8041229311
Kyle Busch12.00128

7
Scott Riggs12.00



12
Reed Sorenson12.67

5276
Bobby Hamilton Jr12.7515141210
Todd Kluever13.00



13
Kevin Harvick 13.752817
73
Jason Keller 14.001916813
Juan Montoya14.00


14
Dario Franchitti15.00
15


Ken Schrader15.00



15
Sterling Marlin15.00

15

Jason Leffler 16.0072730115
Josh Wise16.001319


Martin Truex Jr16.00

2
30
Martin Truex Jr16.00

2
30
Chase Miller16.00

16

Ward Burton17.00


17
J J Yeley17.00


259
Mike Wallace 17.60128133322
Jamie McMurray 18.008
40204
Marcos Ambrose18.001630206
Dave Blaney 18.33

231616
Steve Wallace18.801811222221
Jeff Burton19.00


19
John Andretti19.00



19
Patrick Carpentier20.0020



Stacy Compton 20.00



20
Kevin Hamlin21.0021



Kenny Wallace 21.002920

14
A J Allmendinger21.00

21

Tony Raines 21.50

358
Casey Atwood 21.50

14
29
Regan Smith 21.50


2617
Kelly Bires22.00341319

Landon Cassill22.67252518

Brandon Whitt23.0023



Sam Hornish Jr23.00
23


D J Kennington23.00


23
David Ragan24.00929323218
Tim McCreadie24.00

24

Stanton Barrett 24.25272117
32
Ashton Lewis 25.00



25
Eric McClure26.0024262628
Auggie Vidovich27.00



27
Kyle Krisiloff27.50

3421
Richard Johns28.00

28

Tim Sauter 28.00



28
David Gilliland29.00


29
Derrike Cope 29.673224

33
Morgan Shepherd 30.0022223838
John Wes Townley30.0030



Kevin Conway30.00


30
Danny Efland31.0026
36

Scott Lagasse Jr31.0031



Jay Sauter31.00



31
Travis Kvapil31.00


31
Robby Gordon 31.00

31

Robert Richardson31.50

2736
Bryan Clauson32.003331


Johnny Sauter 32.0040


24
Stephen Leicht32.67

413423
Brett Rowe33.00
33


Carl Long33.00

33

Donnie Neuenberger 35.004334253934
Shane Hall 35.00



35
Larry Gunselman36.0036



Shane Huffman36.50


3736
Brad Coleman37.00
3242

Paul Menard37.00



37
Marc Mitchell37.00

37

Kertus Davis 38.003736

41
Kevin Lepage 38.003935
40
J C Stout38.00
38


Jon Wood 38.00



38
Johnny Chapman38.503839


Burney Lamar38.673542

39
Brent Sherman39.00

4335
Brad Teague 39.50
37
42
Kenny Hendrick 40.504140


Terry Cook41.00
41


Mike Harmon 41.00
4339

Jerick Johnson41.00


41
Justin Hobgood42.0042



Sean Caisse42.00



42
Chris Wimmer43.00



43
Randy MacDonald 43.00


43
Dominick Casola44.00
44


May 28, 2009

Monster Slayers

Event Day Games Preview: Drivers have been in survival mode lately. From the track Too Tough to Tame, to NASCAR's version of Noah's Ark last week in Charlotte, to the Monster Mile, it just keeps getting rougher.

Dover is one of the toughest tracks on the circuit. Concrete high-banked courses require drivers to pull heavy G-loads in the corners, and this track is nearly as much turn as it is straightaway. The groove at exit is narrow, since all of that momentum pushes a car from the bottom of the course to the outside wall and track blocking, "Big One" crashes are nearly as prevalent at Dover as on one of the restrictor-plate superspeedways.

It’s a rhythm track, however, and once a driver learns the secrets to conquering the Monster, they can often string together some incredibly long streaks. Carl Edwards enters the weekend with five consecutive results of third or better, and this could very well be the week he snaps out of his early-season funk.

Roush-Fenway teammates Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth are two other drivers who swept the top-five last year and in the fall, three of the Cat in the Hat's men finished first, second and third. If you think you see a pattern emerging, jump on it.

Expect Hendrick Motorsports to be in their mirrors. Last fall, Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson finished fourth and fifth on the Roushketeers' bumpers and Jeff Gordon came home just a couple of spots further back in seventh.

Join us at http://www.eventdaygames.com/ this week to play along with our unique fantasy game.

May 27, 2009

Kenseth's strong at Dover

It took a while for Matt Kenseth to get a hang of this track, according to a team press release, but once he did, the No. 17 has been one of the best cars on the track.

Our View: According to the team, Kenseth did not lead a single lap in his first nine starts at Dover, but he's been up front in seven of his last 11 attempts. He's turned that into five top-10s in his last six races.

May 26, 2009

Mediocre performance plagues Roush-Fenway

In 2009, Roush-Fenway Racing has been plagued by mediocrity, according to SceneDaily.com, with no wins in the last 10 races and two drivers (Jamie McMurray and David Ragan) outside the top 20 in points.

Our View: Dover could be a cure for that ill, however. The other three Roushketeers, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards each swept the top-five on this concrete track last year and they could be extremely good values.