NASCAR Cup

Sears Point: Matt Kenseth preview

Kenseth, No. 17 Ready for Right Turn at Sonoma Kenseth and the No. 17 DEWALT team head west to Sonoma for the first of two road course races on the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule. After two consecutive solid efforts with disappointing finishes, the ...

Published: Oct 2, 2009, 4:47 PM

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Kenseth, No. 17 Ready for Right Turn at Sonoma

Kenseth and the No. 17 DEWALT team head west to Sonoma for the first of two road course races on the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule. After two consecutive solid efforts with disappointing finishes, the team will look to rebound at the 1.99-mile road course, where Kenseth posted his best career finish, with and eighth-place finish last season.

AT SONOMA

This will be Kenseth's 10th start at the 1.99-mile road course, where he made his debut in 2000, finishing 32nd. Last season he posted his first career top 10 at Infineon Raceway with an eighth-place finish. With the finish, Kenseth has now posted a top-10 finish at every track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit.

ROAD COURSES

Last season Kenseth statistically posted his best season of Cup road racing, averaging 10th in his two road course starts at Sonoma (8th) and Watkins Glen (12th). Overall, Kenseth has 18 road course starts in the NASCAR Cup series, with a total of four top-10 finishes and one lap led. He has never finished top five in a NASCAR Cup road race, but his eighth-place finish last season at Sonoma, was not only his first top 10 at the track, but tied his best career road-course finish.

NEVER LED

Infineon Raceway is the only track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule that Kenseth has yet to lead at least one lap.

IN THE POINTS

Kenseth fell to 11th in the Sprint Cup point standings, after finishing 20th last week at Michigan. He currently trails first place by 341, but fifth place by only 86 points.

MATT KENSETH...

"The key to the road courses and at Sonoma is track position. We actually had our best run ever last year at Sonoma and one of our best overall years on the road courses, so we are looking forward to building on that this year. For a long time I really dreaded the road courses, but it seems like the more you do it, the more comfortable you become doing it. I think with the experience, I've gotten a much better feel for that type of racing.

"The last two races have been tough, because we've ran better than we've finished. We lost out on fuel mileage at Pocono and had to pit late under green at Michigan, so hopefully we can get back on track this weekend and build on the effort we had at Sonoma last year."

Fast Facts

* This will be Kenseth's 10th Sprint Cup race at Infineon Raceway, where he scored his first top-10 finish last season.

* Kenseth had his best year of road course racing last season, averaging 10th in the two road races.

* Infineon Raceway is the only track on the NASCAR Cup circuit where Kenseth has yet to lead a lap.

* Kenseth's eighth-place run last season at Sonoma, ties for his best road course finish in 18 Cup starts.

* Kenseth is currently 11th in the Sprint Cup point standings, but only 86 points behind fifth.

-credit: rfr

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