Matt Kenseth – NSCS ADVANCE
Team: No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Jimmy Fennig
Chassis: Primary: RK-751 (last run at New Hampshire)
Kenseth on racing at Phoenix International Raceway:
“Phoenix is going to be very different this weekend than the track we’ve been used to running in the past. Basically, we’ll look over our notes from the test and start from there to work on our set-ups throughout practices. The new layout of the track is very unique, so it’s going to be interesting for the fans to watch and for us to drive. This weekend is kind of an unknown for everyone. We got to test there but the track was so slick and there was only one lane, but I know that they’ve been working to widen the groove out, so I’m looking forward to seeing how different it is this weekend.”
Crew chief Jimmy Fennig on racing at Phoenix International Raceway:
“Since they’ve repaved and reconfigured the track since the spring race, we really don’t know how exactly our cars are going to handle at Phoenix this weekend. We were able to test earlier in the season after they completed the changes, but there are a lot of unknowns about track conditions and if anything from our past notes will even be able to transfer to this new surface. We’ll make sure that we focus on handling and race trim during practices this weekend in order to give Matt the best car we can for Sunday’s race.”
FAST FACTS:
• Kenseth has an average starting position of 21.4 and an average finishing position of 17.2 at Phoenix
• In 18 starts, Kenseth has achieved one win, five top-five and eight top-10 finishes at Phoenix in the Sprint Cup series
• Kenseth has completed 5,197 of 5,686 (91.4 percent) laps at Phoenix and led for a total of 162 laps
• This weekend at Phoenix, Kenseth will pilot the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion
• Entering this weekend, Kenseth is currently fourth in the NSCS driver point standings
• Kenseth is scheduled to sign autographs, on behalf of Kellogg’s, at the Basha’s Supermarket located at 5115 Dysart Road, Litchfield Park, AZ on Friday, November 11th at 6:30pm
• Matt Kenseth will head to Luke Air Force Base on Thursday, November 10 to host a special care package-stuffing event leading up to Veteran’s Day. The event will officially launch The Crown Royal Heroes Project—an on-going commitment from the whisky brand to recognize, honor and give back to America’s finest—and will be the first in a series of celebrations to recognize local everyday heroes, as well as give back to their communities.