Kenseth Sears Point race notes

SONOMA, Calif. (June 24, 2001) -- Matt Kenseth and the AT&T/ DEWALT Ford displayed improvement from last season's Sears Point finish with a 21st place finish in the Dodge Save Mart 350.

The AT&T/ DEWALT special paint scheme debuted during and practice and qualifying on Friday. The No. 17 team qualified 20th for the race and posted the 11th fastest speed in NASCAR's final practice.

Kenseth began the race with a tight condition but managed to work his way up to 17th by lap 28. His lap times were comparable to the leader but misfortune struck on lap 62 when Kenseth suffered damage to his left-front fender after making contact with another competitor. Although the damage was not serious, the handling of the No. 17 Ford deteriorated.

Kenseth steered the No. 17 Ford through many late race incidents and brought the DEWALT Ford home 21st. The team remains 12th in points. The finish is the team's first finish outside of the top-20 in twelve races since Atlanta in March.

While the DEWALT team and the Winston Cup Series have the weekend off, Kenseth will spend his time racing at the Milwaukee Mile in the NASCAR Busch Series in the Visine Chevrolet.

-DWR