NASCAR Cup

Phoenix II: Matt Kenseth preview

Destination Phoenix for Kenseth, No. 17 Team After another strong outing and a top-five finish last weekend at Texas, Kenseth and the No. 17 USG/DEWALT Team head out west to Phoenix. With only two races remaining in the 2009 season the team will ...

Edited: Nov 13, 2009, 1:39 AM

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Destination Phoenix for Kenseth, No. 17 Team

After another strong outing and a top-five finish last weekend at Texas, Kenseth and the No. 17 USG/DEWALT Team head out west to Phoenix. With only two races remaining in the 2009 season the team will look to close out strong at PIR and Homestead.

KENSETH AT PHOENIX

This will be Kenseth's 15th start at Phoenix International Raceway, where he has five top-five finishes, six top 10's and a victory in 2002. In addition, he has one win in the Nationwide Series at PIR, from the pole in 2006, when he started up front and led 125 of 203 laps.

DUROCK CEMENT BOARD NEXT GEN LOGO ONBOARD NO. 17 USG CAR AT PHOENIX

The No. 17 Ford Fusion will carry the blue and red colors of USG Sheetrock for the third and final time this weekend at Phoenix. This week's car will be The No. 17 USG SHEETROCK Ford Fusion promoting the DUROCK cement board Next Gen logo.

LEADING THE PACK

Ninety-three of Kenseth's 154 laps led at Phoenix came in the fall race of 2007, where he finished third. In fact, 148 of the 154 laps came in two of the 13 starts (55 in his 2002 win there.)

KENSETH, BLICKENSDERFER LOOK TO CLOSE DEAL

While this is only their second Sprint Cup effort together, Kenseth and first year crew chief Drew Blickensderfer have quite a history together at Phoenix, where they finished second together in both Nationwide races in 2007. In fact, Kenseth lead in both events and had the lead in each race with under 50 laps to go.

DOUBLE DUTY

In addition to his duties in the No. 17 DEWALT Ford, Kenseth will command the No. 16 Citi Financial Ford Fusion in Saturday's Nationwide race. It will be his 11th start in the Nationwide Series at Phoenix, where he won from the pole in the fall of 2006. He has four top five and eight top-10 finishes in NW competition at PIR.

QUOTING MATT...

"I enjoy the track at Phoenix. It can be challenging, but we have had success there over the years. We had a tough year there last year, so we'll have our work cut out for us making sure that we get the car competitive.

"It seems like we have been making gains the last few weeks. We've got to keep it rolling. This week at Phoenix will be a good test for us. We have been off at the flat tracks, so Phoenix will be a big test for us this weekend and we are hoping to close the season out strong."

-credit: rfr

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