It all came down to Saturday night - Matt Kenseth sitting in the ninth spot in the championship standings and determined to bring home the finish to stay there - and that is exactly what he did. In the final race of the NASCAR Nextel Cup "regular season," Kenseth delivered a second-place finish to secure his spot in the top ten championship contenders.
Kenseth qualified in a respectable 13th position and quickly moved into the top ten when the green flag flew over the field. Kenseth radioed to his crew that the car was "good in [turns] one and two, a little tight off [turns] three and four - it needs to be a little freer." When the first caution flag of the evening slowed the field on lap 31, Kenseth brought the No. 17 DEWALT Ford down pit road for service and adjustments. The crew made air pressure and wedge adjustments, in addition to giving Kenseth four fresh tires and fuel. He restarted the race on lap 37 in the tenth position.
By the next caution period brought out on lap 88, Kenseth had made his way into the fifth spot. Needing a little more grip, the crew made another air pressure adjustment when Kenseth brought the No. 17 down pit road for service, and gained him one spot off of pit road, putting him into the fourth position for the restart. That adjustment turned out to be the wrong one as Kenseth radioed to his crew about five laps later, "that killed it - it's so loose I can't step on the gas!" Kenseth was able to stay in the top ten with the loose racecar until his next pit stop on lap 142. Again telling his crew that the car was "just too loose," the DEWALT crew went back on their previous air pressure adjustment and gave Kenseth four new tires and fuel.
Still running in the top ten, Kenseth advised his crew about thirty laps later that the No. 17 was "a totally different car - tight." He came down pit road again for service and adjustments during the fifth caution period of the night and the DEWALT crew executed a fast stop - 12.7 seconds - and gained Kenseth two positions off of pit road. He restarted in the sixth spot on lap 199. When the sixth caution slowed the field just thirteen laps later, Kenseth radioed his crew with good news, "this is about the best we've been so far." Running in the fifth position at the time, Kenseth would remain in the top five for the remaining 180 laps.
Running fourth, Kenseth brought the No. 17 down pit road for its' final stop of the evening on lap 312. The crew made no adjustments but gave Kenseth four fresh tires and fuel. The DEWALT team completed the stop in just 12.3 seconds and gained Kenseth two spots off of pit road. Restarting second, Kenseth was able to grab the lead for a few laps and earn those five valuable bonus points for leading. Unable to catch his teammate and ultimate race winner, Kurt Busch, Kenseth took the checkered flag in the second spot and secured his inclusion in the top ten in the point standings.
"We accomplished exactly what we came here to do tonight," said Kenseth after the race. "I can't say enough about this DEWALT team. Not long ago, everyone had pretty much written us off as championship contenders, but these guys never gave up or lost focus and continued to work hard on our cars and our pit stops. We were awesome on pit road tonight. This team has a lot of momentum right now and I'm looking forward to getting this Chase started."
The No. 17 DEWALT Ford Taurus will be back in competition next weekend in Dover for the first of ten races to determine the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Champion.
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