BUSCH: Matt Kenseth Daytona fast facts

2005 Matt Kenseth Daytona Nextel Cup Fast Facts
Matt Kenseth and the #17 DEWALT Ford Taurus
Daytona 500/Daytona International Speedway
February 20, 2005

Matt Kenseth's Thoughts on Daytona:

"I spent last weekend driving in the Rolex 24 Hour race and I had a lot of fun, but I'm ready to get back to driving my DEWALT car on ovals again. We had a pretty decent test at Daytona in January and we've made a few more tweaks to the car since that. Robbie (Reiser) and the guys have worked very hard all winter to get this car ready to go. Daytona is unusual this year since we have less time on the track than we typically do for Speedweeks. We have a few days off which will be nice, but we will have to make the most of our practice time."

Crew Chief Robbie Reiser's Thoughts on Daytona:

"I think this team is as ready as we've ever been for Daytona. The car we are taking was actually a bit slower in testing, but it has better front downforce. We'd all like to come out of the gate strong at Daytona, so we've given Matt a car we think is capable of that."

Things to Know:

* For Speedweeks, the team will bring chassis No. 42 to Daytona-- it is a new car

* Kenseth has 10 starts at Daytona with three top-10 finishes.

* Matt Kenseth will also be running in the Busch Series race Saturday in the No. 17 Waste Management Ford Taurus.

2005 Matt Kenseth Daytona Busch Fast Facts
Matt Kenseth and the #17 Waste Management Ford Taurus
Hershey's Kisses 300/Daytona International Speedway
February 19, 2005

Roush Racing driver Matt Kenseth will kick off the 2005 Busch season in the No. 17 Waste Management Ford Taurus on Saturday, February 19th at Daytona.

Kenseth is no stranger to success in the Busch Series. Since 1996, Kenseth has made 162 total starts, with 17 victories and eight career pole positions. He finished runner-up for the championship in 1998 and third in the championship chase in 1999, his last full year on the Busch circuit. In the 2004 season, Matt Kenseth made 16 starts, three wins, eight top-five and 11 top-10 finishes.

Matt Kenseth's Thoughts on Daytona:

"We finished fifth at Daytona in the Busch race last year and I think we'll have a really good shot at winning this time. We tested the car at Talladega a few weeks ago and it ran pretty well. It would be great to qualify well so we can try to stay up front through most of the race. The Busch race usually gets pretty wild and we don't need to get caught up in something because we were in the back."

Crew Chief Cully Barraclough's Thoughts on Daytona:

"I think the Waste Management team is going to be strong at Daytona. We spent two days working on our aero package with this car at Talladega. It's the same car we ran fifth with last year at Daytona, so hopefully it will be a little better. We won't have the new engine package for Daytona so that might hurt us a bit, but we will have it for California the following week. With Matt behind the wheel we feel confident everywhere we race."

Things to Know:

* The No. 17 Waste Management Ford will mark Matt Kenseth's 163rd start in the Busch Series. The chassis number is 43 -- this car ran last year at Daytona and finished fifth.

* The No. 17 Waste Management Ford Taurus is crew chiefed by Charles "Cully" Barraclough. Crew members include front tire changer Greg Ebert, front tire carrier Chris Brook, Jackman Tracy Duncan, rear tire carrier Bobby Sada, rear tire changer Mike Brown, Gasman Benjy Grubbs, Catch can Mike Goodman and spotter Mike Calinoff.

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