Matt Kenseth – NSCS ADVANCE
Team: No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Jimmy Fennig
Chassis: Primary: RK-751 (last raced at Pocono in June)
Kenseth on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway : “The August race at Bristol is always fun because racing there under the lights is pretty cool. It’s the middle of summer, it’s hot out, and they usually have a great crowd on hand for the race. The fans at Bristol are always excited and they know that there’s going to be a lot of action during the races that weekend. That is one of the weekends that not only the fans look forward to, but I think the drivers and teams look forward to it as well. These cars are a lot more stable and harder to get spun out than our old style of cars and that changed the dynamic a little bit at Bristol. The new track is more forgiving and drives like a ¾ or mile track instead of a half-mile because it is so wide. I think this new combination of car and track produces better racing as far as side-by-side racing and racing alongside people more than the old format.”
Crew chief Jimmy Fennig on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway: “We had a pretty good run earlier this season at Bristol finishing within the top five, but racing at Bristol is fast-paced and things can happen pretty fast in a chain reaction there. Looking ahead to this weekend you want to qualify well since track position is so important at short tracks, and we’ll also make sure that our Crown Royal Ford has good balance throughout the track. We always want to perform the best we can every week, so I’m looking ahead to a great finish for our No. 17 team as we continue to build upon our season.”
FAST FACTS:
• In 23 Cup starts at Bristol, Kenseth has completed 11,225 of 11,513 laps (97.5 percent) and led for 742
• Kenseth has an average starting position of 17.4 and an average finishing position of 12.2 at BMS • Kenseth has achieved two wins, nine top-five and fifteen top-10 finishes at Bristol in the Cup series
• Kenseth has finished within the top ten in nine of his last 12 starts at Bristol
• This weekend at Bristol , Kenseth will pilot the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion
• Entering the weekend at Bristol, Kenseth is currently 5th in the NSCS driver point standings
