Texas: Matt Kenseth preview

KENSETH LOOKING TO GO TWO FOR TWO IN IROC
2004 IROC Champ takes 12-point lead into Round Two

CONCORD, N.C. -- After dominating round one of the 2006 Crown Royal IROC Series at Daytona in February, Matt Kenseth is hoping to do the same at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday. But Kenseth,, the three-time IROC race winner knows that he has his work cut out for him this weekend.

"I'd like to tell you to expect the same thing this Friday, but I'm not sure that's going to be the case," Kenseth explained. "The fact is, at Texas, these IROC cars become a lot tougher to pass than at the other places we run. I'm starting last because of leading the points and it's going to be real tough to get to the front in such a short amount of time. It doesn't help that Mark (Martin) is starting on the pole either."

IROC sets the starting lineup for each event by inverting the point standings. That way the leader always starts last. Last year, Kenseth finished ninth at Texas in IROC. For his career, Kenseth is the all-time lap leader at TMS in NASCAR's top three national series with a combined 571 laps led. Kenseth has also recorded victories at TMS in both the NEXTEL Cup Series and the Busch Series. Though the task may be daunting, the 2003 NEXTEL Cup Champion says he's up to the challenge.

"You have to get as many positions as you can on the restarts or hope somebody in front of you messes up," said Kenseth. "But, I came from the back in Daytona earlier this year and over the years we've had some success at Texas, so -- I don't know, maybe we can run a clean race, catch a couple of breaks, and be in position to challenge for the win at the end. That's about all you can ask for."

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