MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
How do you feel about this year’s All-Star race based on your previous success in the event?
“There’s only about 20 cars in it so a top-10 is really not anything to brag about. We all like coming to Charlotte, it’s a fun couple of weeks to be able to part of the All-Star race and then of course get ready for the 600. It’s a fun couple weeks and looking forward to getting on the track.”
How challenging is this race as a driver?
“That’s a great question, the race typically before has been pretty straightforward, it’s not a lot different than other races necessarily. Qualifying has a twist to it – getting on pit road is always very challenging and getting to your pit stall faster than everybody else and doing all that. That’s always a big challenge in qualifying so as a driver, qualifying is probably the most challenging. The race is just trying to get your car right, trying to get the lead and then trying to get good restarts and try to figure out how to keep that lead.”
Do you feel some of the aero changes for the All-Star race are an effort by NASCAR to bring Joe Gibbs Racing back to the rest of the field?
“I don’t think it really has anything to do with that. I think they’re always trying to find a way to make the racing – they tried a lot of different things last year with three different aero packages and it seemed like most people have been in favor of less downforce and I think the racing has been good this year. I think there’s been some really good finishes so I think they’re just trying to keep going down that path of reducing downforce and hopefully keep making the racing better.”
What would it mean to get on the cover of the NASCAR Heat Evolution video game?
“I have a couple different thoughts about that. If we’re lucky enough to win, obviously you want to win because its a million bucks and it’s cool that you’re on the cover. I’m a big Madden fan, I’ve always played Madden Football and everyone talked about the Madden jinx with the guy being on the cover having a terrible year next year and things didn’t go that well for him so if we don’t win and we’re not on the cover, I’m just going to say that it’s because I didn’t want the cover jinx so I have it covered either way. Get it, covered. Sorry, too much coffee.”
How much is the field impacted by NASCAR making strict calls on restarts?
“I think it probably affects the front row more than anything. Once you get in trouble for things, it’s certainly decreases everyone’s willingness to try it and hope to get away from it whether its kicking your side in on pit road like we’ve seen a couple weeks ago and you see that penalty and the rest of the teams see that and they’re not going to do that anymore. I don’t think you should ever make rules that you can’t police and they have that rule on the restart and they’ve got a lot of flak for not policing them so now they’re policing them. I’m okay with that and yeah, they’ve been calling them really, really close, but I restarted second at least two or three times last weekend and I knew that I could not start before the leader and I knew I could not beat him out of the box and that’s the way it should be. The leader used to have a big advantage before two-wide restarts where he would start up alongside a lapped car, it was single file behind him and all that stuff. Now the advantage is almost not there and whatever advantage he does get and is allowed by the rules, he certainly should be allowed to keep that. I’m happy they’re policing it, even though it’s really tight, I’m glad they’re policing it tight because the leader earned the right to restart the race and in my opinion the leader should have a clear lane and be able to take off when he wants in that zone and not worry about defending from somebody jumping and not doing it right and not getting the call and losing that lead I’m glad they’re calling them like that.”
Did you make Carl Edwards pay for his Citizen watch?
“I made him pay for his watch that he bought, but it’s not the Matt Kenseth edition. Citizen watch has been a great sponsor of mine for about a decade and they allow me to buy watches at cost so I passed that cost on, but yeah I made him buy it, why should I pay for his watch?”
How do you prepare for the 600 next weekend?
“A lot of it really depends on the weather. If it’s a really hot day when the race starts then obviously you lose a lot more fluids and you have to be prepared for that, but really I just try to start hydrating early and try to eat right and try to get enough sleep and just really focus on those things. The cars are pretty comfortable. They do a nice job of getting our seats to fit real good and you’re just in there a really long time. If it’s hot out then you certainly need to pay a lot of attention and I’ve done a lot of work with Gatorade in the past on hydration and a little bit on nutrition so really just try to keep up with that.”
Have there been gains in getting downforce back based on what NASCAR initially took away?
“At least for me, it’s hard for me to tell. I think the teams are always making everything better. If they make a rule to take away 60 horsepower, a few years from now you’re going to have a chunk of that back. There’s always research and development out there. The aero gains, that’s tough to make much for gains because the rules are so tight. There’s maybe a little bit here or there, but not a lot. You’re always I think making your cars better and getting your engines better within the rules that you’re given. When they first make a rule change, that’s always by far the biggest jump – when they put the tapered spacer in the engine, that took out whatever that jump was. That’s the biggest chunk and you know you’re going to get some of that back just with testing and learning and developing new pieces.”
How do you feel about the format change for this year’s All-Star race?
“First of all, I want to win, but right after that what is the most exciting for the fans and for the people tuning in and the people in the grandstands watching it to put on a good show – I don’t know what that is. The racer in me wants the fastest car to win and you want to figure out how to make your car the fastest and sit on the pole and go up and lead every lap, that’s what the racer in you wants, that’s driving. Obviously, fans and the fan in me wants to see close finishes and exciting races like last week, it was great to go back and rewatch it, but to be part of it, I would have much rather had my car driving better and had a 20 car length lead and just hold it for the last 40 laps, I would have like that a lot better, but that’s not what the fans like. It’s a little dangerous at times to ask drivers what they want as far as rules packages or formats and things like that because we all want what’s best for us.”
What do you expect the strategy to be for the All-Star race?
“It’s a different tire and aero package from what we had last year. In a recent past, it’s been pretty hard to pass here and 15 laps isn’t a lot of laps on your tires. I don’t know, I’m curious to see as much as everyone else I think. We might be a little optimistic with the number of laps and how big the invert is. Maybe we could have done the pit stop a little bit earlier so you had more laps on your tires for the guys that stay out and have maybe a few less cars to invert. We’ll see, I think it’s going to be interesting in that second segment to see what people do. If everybody is going to be racing for the win or if everybody is trying to race for 12th, I think it’s going to be interesting to watch that and see how that works. I don’t know, it’s certainly going to mix things up.”
How do you expect the second segment to go?
“I don’t know how it’s going to go and believe it or not I’ve listened to people talk a lot about strategy, but Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) have touched on it a little, but not a lot. I could be totally wrong, I’ll have to sit and watch it, but I think everybody is going to race for 12th in the second segment and I think that’s going to be very interesting. I might be 100 percent wrong on that, that’s what it feels like today and especially after watching the last few races. It’s still really important to be out front and I don’t know that 15 laps after a 10 minute break to cool down on your tires is enough to be a huge deficit to four new ones. It might be, I hope it is because it will mix the field up a lot more. I don’t think anyone will be sure until we see it.”
Does it take some stress off of you with last week’s win at Dover?
“Yes and no, it always feels good to win races. I will say that at least for me, the longer you’re around, the older you get, the more races you’ve run, all that stuff, I think you enjoy and appreciate the wins even more. I think it feels like everyone I appreciate even more than the one previous. Certainly the way our year’s been and the way we ended last year and everything, it felt really, really good to get that win for sure. As far as what we do from here on out, it hasn’t really changed my outlook or my goals or how we prepare or anything like that. I think you still go each and every week, bring your best stuff and put your best foot forward and do the best job you can do and go out and compete.”
Were you surprised how much people talked about the clean racing between you and Kyle Larson at Dover?
“I know a few people have talked about it and I don’t really totally understand why. I’ve been in this series for a long time and I watched a lot of races in this series before I started racing and the amount of races where somebody just drives up behind somebody and clobbers them in a race is few and far between. I think most people race with a lot more respect than that. I think Kyle (Larson) raced me exactly how he knew I would race him. I think he raced as hard as he possibly could. We had a little bit of contact in (turn) two even and at a track that fast that’s not very forgiving, I thought we both raced as hard as we could for the win without wrecking each other or either of us and that’s what I always thought racing was about. I thought it was exciting and I sure heard from a lot of people that thought the racing was exciting and one of the more exciting races that they’ve seen in a long time and in my opinion, I think that’s what the sport is all about.”
Did Dover change your opinion Kyle Larson?
“I already had a very high opinion of Kyle Larson. I think that watching him and Chase (Elliott) go at it too, after I went back and watched, it was really exciting to watch. Obviously, that’s the future of the sport. There’s some good people coming in there and I think as a driver and the race fan part of me and as somebody that cares a lot about the sport that has done a lot for me, that makes me feel good that you see people in the pipeline that are going to be there and be really competitive and put on good shows like that for years to come. I have a high opinion of both those guys and Ryan Blaney is awesome as well, another second generation racer. It didn’t change my opinion of him, just tons and tons and tons of talent and I think he’s a quick learner and you’ve seen him mature a lot these last few years and he’s going to be one of those guys that once he busts through here, he’s going to win some races for sure.”
