Message #2193

[Darnell99Fan]

Kenseth Falls Short of Repeating Texas Win and Finishes Fifth
Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 iLevel Ford Fusion Racing Team
Texas Motor Speedway/November 3, 2007


FORT WORTH, Texas (November 3, 2007) –Looking at practice times on Friday it appeared as if Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 iLevel team were struggling, but crew chief Drew Blickensderfer was not worried. He knew the car was good in race trim and it was a proven chassis since it is the same car that won in the spring race.  Kenseth qualified 25th, but wasted no time making his move towards the front.  Unfortunately a repeat win was not in the teams’ future due to handling issues.  Kenseth struggled to relay to the team if the car was tight or loose.  The team made some air pressure and wedge adjustments and got the No. 17 iLevel Ford Fusion handling well enough to earn a fifth-place finish.

Kenseth and his team didn’t post the times they would have liked during Friday’s practice sessions, but were not worried because they knew the car would handle well in race trim.  Kenseth qualified the No. 17 iLevel Ford Fusion 25th, but wasted little time moving forward through the field.  Kenseth jumped from 25th to 17th on the first lap and was up to 15th by the time the first caution came out just three laps into the 200-lap race.  The car was real tight back in traffic so Kenseth’s plan was to continue towards the front. 

The next caution came out on lap 20, but the handling problems had begun and Kenseth only had moved up into 13th.  “I have no idea what to adjust,” said Kenseth.  “I can’t tell if it’s loose or if it’s tight.”  Blickensderfer made the call to bring Kenseth in under caution for adjustments.  Kenseth pitted for fuel, an air pressure adjustment, a wedge adjustment and just took two tires in an attempt to gain track position.  The plan worked and Kenseth restarted in the second position. 

From there Kenseth held his ground fluctuating around in the top 10, but still struggled with a car that was loose and tight.  The more laps Kenseth ran the more he determined his car was on the loose side.  His next opportunity to pit came under caution on lap 89.  This time around he came in for fuel, four tires and an air pressure adjustment.  He came out sitting 10th for the green-flag restart on lap 94. 

Kenseth quickly realized something was wrong with his car.  He was very loose and thought he had a wheel out of balance.  The crew was on alert knowing Kenseth could have to make an emergency pit stop at any time.  Kenseth could barely hang on, he wasn’t sure if the wheel was breaking or if a wheel was loose.  He held on until the caution came out on lap 127 and then decided to come down pit road to have the tire fixed.  His crew gave him four tires, fuel and a left-rear wedge adjustment.  They completed the adjustments and Kenseth gained one position on pit road, setting him up ninth for the remaining 68 laps.

Kenseth continued to gain track position despite battling a loose-handling race car.  The last 60 laps of the 200-lap race went green flag which spread the field out.  Kenseth did the best he could to make up the most track position possible and ultimately finished fifth.

“We just struggled with the handling of our car this weekend,” said Kenseth.  “Usually our Busch car handles really well and we struggle with the set-up on the Cup car, but this weekend it was the other way around.  I would have liked to been up there contending for the win, but fifth is pretty good considering how much our handling was off.”   


About Roush Fenway Racing

Roush Fenway Racing is NASCAR’s largest team operating 13 motorsports teams, five in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup with drivers Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan; five in the Busch Series with Kenseth, Biffle, Edwards, McMurray, Ragan, Todd Kluever, Michel Jourdain Jr. and Danny O’Quinn Jr.; and three in the Craftsman Truck Series with Edwards, Peter Shepherd, Travis Kvapil, Erik Darnell and T.J. Bell; and one in the ARCA/REMAX Series with Colin Braun and Darnell.

~RFR