Dover: Matt Kenseth preview

Kenseth, No. 17 DEWALT Team Ready for Monster Mile After a strong 10th-place finish in last weekend's rain-abbreviated Coca-Cola 600, Kenseth and the No. 17 DEWALT team shift their focus to Dover International Speedway and a date with NASCAR's ...

Kenseth, No. 17 DEWALT Team Ready for Monster Mile

After a strong 10th-place finish in last weekend's rain-abbreviated Coca-Cola 600, Kenseth and the No. 17 DEWALT team shift their focus to Dover International Speedway and a date with NASCAR's Monster Mile.

JPLAYING FAVORITES

Kenseth lists Dover International Speedway as his favorite track on the NASCAR circuit, and why not? In 20 starts at the one-mile oval, he has 12 top-10 and seven top-five finishes, with a pair of poles and a win in the spring of 2000. In addition, Kenseth has two wins and nine top-five finishes in 17 Nationwide Series starts at Dover.

FIRST START

Kenseth made his first career Sprint Cup start at Dover on Sept. 20, 1998, filling in for Bill Elliot and earning an impressive sixth-place finish. He went back a year later and in only his fourth Cup start, finished earned his first career top-five with a fourth-place run in only his second start at the Monster.

LAST YEAR

Despite an impressive record at Dover, last year marked the first time in nine seasons of full-time racing that Kenseth earned two top-five finishes in the same season at Dover. It marked the third time that he finished top-10 in both events at DIS. Kenseth finished fourth in the spring race and second in the fall, where he led 136 of 400 laps.

FOLLOW THE LEADER

Kenseth did not lead a single lap in his first nine starts at Dover, but he has led in seven of 11 since then, including 626 laps in the last six races there. In fact he has led over 130 laps in three of the last five races at "The Monster Mile."

ON THE POLE

Two of Kenseth's four career Sprint Cup poles have come at Dover (spring of '02 and fall of '03).

IN THE POINTS

With his 10th-place finish in the 600, Kenseth moved up to ninth place in the Sprint Cup point standings, 262 points behind first. Kenseth is one of only four drivers to appear in the top-12 after each of the first 12 races in '09 and he is one of only three drivers to lead the points this season.

MATT KENSETH:

"Dover is probably my favorite track that we race. The track is so fast and challenging. It's unique because of the way you drive up out of the turns. The turns set a bit lower than the straightaways and you can feel it when you're driving out there.

"I got my first Cup start there, so you always remember that. We've won in the Cup car, led a lot of laps and we've won a couple of times in the Nationwide Series there as well. We've had a lot of good times at Dover and I'm looking forward to going there with the DEWALT team again this weekend."

FAST FACTS

* Kenseth has led 626 laps in the last six races at Dover, including 136 last fall.

* Kenseth has one win, two poles, seven top fives and 12 top 10's in 20 Cup starts at Dover.

* Kenseth made his first Sprint Cup start at Dover on Sept. 20, 1998, finishing sixth.

* Kenseth earned the first of his 91 top-five Cup finishes in his second start at Dover in 1999.

* Kenseth finished top five in both races at Dover last season (4th and 2nd).

* Kenseth moved up one spot to ninth in the point standings with his 10th-place finish at Lowe's.