What looked to be shaping up as a solid finish to top off a good weekend at the Lowe's Motor Speedway ended abruptly for Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 DEWALT team after a hard crash stunned Kenseth and destroyed the No. 17 DEWALT Ford. The No. 17 was running in the top-ten when it was caught up in a crash involving the No. 8 and the No. 15 in the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday night under the lights, ending the night early for Kenseth.
The weekend was full of ups and downs for Kenseth and the No. 17 team. During the first practice session on Thursday, Kenseth posted the 15th quickest lap - not bad but not great. Then Kenseth, not know for stellar qualifying runs, posted the 3rd quickest lap during time trials Thursday night to earn a top-five starting spot for the first time this season. Two additional practice sessions were scheduled for Saturday afternoon. Kenseth posted the 7th quickest lap in the first practice session on Saturday, leaving Kenseth and the No. 17 DEWALT crew feeling pumped about the car's performance and the upcoming race. That feeling would be fleeting however, as Kenseth spun the No. 17 getting off of pit road to start the final practice session on Saturday, backing the No. 17 into the wall and causing substantial cosmetic damage to the rear of the car. The No. 17 crew stayed well into the evening diligently repairing the car, not wanting to go to the back-up Ford and lose their 3rd-place qualifying run and the motor that had performed so well during the weekend. The crew was able to satisfactorily repair the DEWALT Ford and rolled off from the 3rd starting position to begin the longest race of the season.
The crew knew they would be dealing with some adjustments as the race unfolded, as they missed out on the final practice session Saturday. The car started out tight, with Kenseth radioing to his crew that the front tires were not gripping at all. The No. 17 elected to stay out during the first caution which flew early on lap 5. Kenseth's first trip down pit road would be a routine green flag stop on lap 58. The crew made a wedge adjustment and took a rubber out of the right rear in addition to giving Kenseth four tires and fuel. Kenseth, running in the middle of the pack after the green flag stop, drove his way up to the 14th position when the third caution of the evening flew on lap 92. Kenseth again brought the No. 17 down pit road this time receiving a track bar adjustment, four tires and fuel.
These adjustments cured the tight condition of the racecar but resulted in a bit of a loose condition. Kenseth came in for service on lap 114 during the fifth caution period and made an air pressure adjustment in an effort to equalize the car. The crew continued to work on the car as it alternated between loose and tight throughout the course of the night. Kenseth broke into the top-ten again by lap 230 and continued to move up through the field as the race was peppered with spins, crashes and cautions. Kenseth would get caught up in the 15th caution of the night as the No. 8 got into the back of the No. 15, spinning him right into the path of Kenseth. Kenseth had nowhere to go and, after colliding with the No. 15, ended up hard into the outside wall, knocking the wind out of Kenseth and destroying the No. 17 DEWALT Ford that the crew had worked so hard to repair the evening before.
The evening was a historic one, breaking the all-time record for cautions in a single NASCAR race with an unbelievable 21 cautions. When it was all said and done, Kenseth ended up with a 37th-place finish.
"I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Kenseth, after being released uninjured from the Infield Care Center. "The No. 8 just ran over the No. 15 car in the straightaway. I took a hard hit but I'm okay."
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