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MATT KENSETH
No. 17 DEWALT FORD FUSION
2003 WINSTON CUP CHAMPION
Born: March 10, 1972
Wife: Katie
Son: Ross
Home: Cambridge, Wis.
Resides: Mooresville, N.C.
Kenseth will be heading into 2008 with a change atop the pit box as Reiser steps down as crew chief of the No. 17 team and becomes general manager of Roush Fenway Racing. But, the change is minimal, as the new crew chief of the No. 17 DEWALT team is long-time engineer, Chip Bolin. Bolin, who hails from North, S.C., has been with the No. 17 team since its inception at Roush Fenway Racing in 1999, and has been an integral part of the team’s sustained success. Kenseth enters his ninth full season in the Cup Series with 292 starts (start 300 is scheduled for Phoenix International Raceway in April), 16 wins, 79 top-five finishes, and 142 top-10 finishes.
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PLAY - Matt Kenseth Wiley X Commercial
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The beginning of 2007 had a familiar ring to it as Kenseth won the second race of the year for the fourth time in the past six seasons by dominating the Auto Club 500 at the California Speedway. After a fourth-place finish at Las Vegas in March, Kenseth had cracked the top-five in points, where he would remain until Richmond in September. Kenseth again qualified for NASCAR’s Chase for the NEXTEL Cup, becoming one of only two drivers to have qualified for the 10-race “playoff,” in each of its four years of existence. But once in the Chase, Kenseth endured an uncanny string of bad luck with four straight finishes outside the top 25, which all but eliminated him from contending for the championship. Down but not out, Kenseth and the No. 17 team worked hard to finish the year off right and put together five straight top-five finishes to close out the season; culminating with a win in the season finale, Ford 400, at Homestead-Miami Speedway, their second Cup win of the 2007. The win sent long-time crew chief, Reiser, out on top, as Reiser retired as crew chief of the No. 17 team, moving on to become general manager of Roush Fenway Racing. Kenseth’s strong rally to end the year placed him fourth in the final championship point standings, his sixth consecutive year with a top-10 finish. Kenseth’s 13 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes were the second most respectively for a single season during his career. Despite a disappointing start to the Chase, Kenseth still led more laps, 624, than any other driver during the Chase.
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