Toyota Racing Daytona 500 Post-Qualifying Recaps

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs RacingQualified: 3rd

Did the qualifying work out as you expected?
“That worked out exactly as I thought it would. I was trying to back up to zero time, I wanted to be the last one to cross the line so I had points on the race track that I knew I needed to be at and I tried to back up to the 24 (Jeff Gordon) and 48 (Jimmie Johnson) to where they would miss it, but with the draft it picked up the speed and I allowed them to cross the line before it went zero.”

What did you think of the group qualifying for the Daytona 500?
“There’s going to be a lot of unfavorable talk about it for sure. It can get dangerous when different cars are on different agendas and speeds. We’re either going to have to get better and smarter or it will have to change to make it a little bit safer. Other than that, we all knew for months that this was going to be the case. You tried to do the best you could.”

How strong are the Joe Gibbs Racing Camrys for the 150s and the Daytona 500?
“I thought they were very strong. I was in the position that I wanted to be in, just couldn’t allow those guys to get behind me. That really hurt me. Really want to get the front row for Toyota, but we’ll have to wait another year.”

Read More

Matt Kenseth Wins Crash Filled Sprint Unlimited

Matt Kenseth wasn’t surprised by how fast his car was at Daytona International Speedway Saturday night.

He also wasn’t surprised that the season-opening Sprint Unlimited turned into a wreckfest.

“It’s what happens every year,” said Kenseth, a two-time Daytona 500 winner who held off Martin Truex Jr. to win the 75-lap exhibition.

Read More

JGR's Appeal to be Heard May 8th

The National Stock Car Racing panel will hear on May 8 the Joe Gibbs Racing appeal of penalties on Matt Kenseth's Sprint Cup team.

Crew chief Jason Ratcliff, who was suspended for six weeks after Kenseth's winning car failed secondary post-race inspection following the April 21 Kansas race, will remain with the team at least through this weekend's race at Talladega Superspeedway.

Read More

Toyota Takes Blame for Kenseth's Engine Violation

The illegal connecting rod in Matt Kenseth’s race-winning engine that led to harsh penalties for Kenseth and Joe Gibbs Racing Wednesday came from a vendor and slipped through the quality control process, a Toyota Racing Development official said.

Kenseth was docked 50 points and crew chief Jason Ratcliff was fined $200,000 and suspended for seven races because a connecting rod in the team’s engine was too light. Team owner Joe Gibbs also had his NASCAR license suspended and the team was docked 50 owner points.

Read More

NASCAR Penalizes Matt Kenseth 50 Driver Points

In one of the largest penalties in history, NASCAR stripped Matt Kenseth of everything but the trophy from his victory at Kansas after his engine failed a postrace inspection.

Nascar said Wednesday that one of the eight connecting rods in the engine of the No. 20 Toyota did not meet the minimum weight requirement. Although it was potentially a quality control issue by the engine provider Toyota Racing Development — and one that gave no advantage to Kenseth in Sunday’s race — Nascar levied a severe penalty against a Sprint Cup team for the second week in a row.

Read More

Matt Kenseth's Winning Car Fails Postrace Inspection

NASCAR is weighing possible penalties for Matt Kenseth after the engine from his winning car in Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway failed a secondary postrace inspection, sources told ESPN.com.

Kenseth's car passed an initial postrace inspection, but the engine was brought back to NASCAR's Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C., for further evaluation -- as it always is with the winning car -- where it failed.

Read More

Earnhardt Jr, Harvick, Patrick Among Drivers Taking Part in Food City Race Night at BMS

The ever-popular Food City Race Night, one of NASCAR’s largest and most successful fan events, features some of racing’s biggest stars at the free festivities Friday, March 15 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Drivers expected to take part in Food City Race Night include Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Danica Patrick, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer, Austin and Ty Dillon, Kasey Kahne, Trevor Bayne, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Justin Allgaier, Brian Vickers and Brian Scott, to name a few.

Earnhardt Jr., Harvick, Hamlin and Kahne all are scheduled to sign autographs while Austin, Ty and Mike Dillon, along with Bowyer and Vickers, are among personalities scheduled to put their competitive natures to the test with a variety of games held on stage.

Read More

Sprint Cup: Matt Kenseth Daytona 500 Preview

MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Have you had less drafting time in practice?
“I think the schedules have been about the same to give us an opportunity to draft. For me, I’ve got less, but most of that was self-induced. When we were down here testing, we were still doing single car runs when they wiped out the field and there was nobody left to draft and of course on whatever day it was — I guess would have been Friday, right — I caused that wreck eight minutes in, so that’s all the laps I got in. So, I didn’t get to draft more because we were busy fixing my car, so for me it’s been less. But like I said, that was mostly self-induced. I think the schedule is about the same as it’s been in years past.”

Will you have a better feel for drafting before Sunday?
“I think after today it certainly will be. I think there’s three hours today maybe of practice — something like that — I think that’s more than enough honestly unless something is a lot different today than what it was on Saturday because of weather conditions or something like that. I don’t think you’ll see 45 cars out there for three hours. I think everybody will get a pretty good feel for what they’ve got, make sure their car handles and probably get them ready to race tomorrow.”

Read More

Home Depot's Husky to be Primary Sponsor on the No. 20 in 2013

The Home Depot announces it will utilize the home improvement store’s proprietary tool brand, Husky, as the primary sponsor for the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota in each of its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races during the 2013 season.

Through this partnership The Home Depot looks to reward its customers through Husky Days of Giving, a Facebook contest offering the chance to win great Husky products daily as well as a grand prize to be awarded at the end of the promotion.

Husky will be the primary sponsor on JGR’s No. 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series entry in 20 races during the 2013 season and The Home Depot will remain the associate sponsor when Dollar General serves as the car’s primary sponsor.


/// PR

Read More

Matt Kenseth to Celebrate Daytona 500 Victory with Champion's Breakfast

Roush Fenway Racing's two-time DAYTONA 500 Champion, No. 17 Matt Kenseth, is set to return to the site of his historic win this week for a rescheduled fan event celebrating the team's victory.

The win in the 54th "Great American Race" also earned a milestone victory for Roush Fenway Racing as the organization earned its 300th NASCAR win in the process. Originally scheduled as the Champion's Breakfast for the morning of February 27, 2012, the event had to be rescheduled after rain showers forced the DAYTONA 500 to be run Monday night on February 28th.

The event is open to fans and includes a fan forum question and answer event with Kenseth, team owner Jack Roush, and crew chief of the No. 17 Best Buy team, Jimmy Fennig. Doors open at 10:45 a.m. and fans will have the opportunity to have their picture taken with the winning No. 17 Best Buy Ford Fusion which is on display at the facility for the next year.

Lunch will also be available for those in attendance, and guests will have the opportunity to get a tour of Daytona International Speedway. Tickets for the original Champion's Breakfast event for February 27, 2012 will be honored for the Champion's Lunch on April 11th. Tickets are also available for $40 by calling 1-800-PITSHOP or online at daytonainternationalspeedway.com.

/// PR

Read More

Kobalt Tools 400: Matt Kenseth Race Preview

Matt Kenseth – NSCS ADVANCE
Team: No. 17 Zest Ford Fusion
Crew Chief:  Jimmy Fennig
Chassis: Primary: RK-741 (Last run at Homestead)

Kenseth on racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:
“I’m looking forward to racing at Las Vegas this weekend because Roush Fenway has a successful history at 1.5-mile tracks.  Last year we earned the pole which was just a testament to the fact that Jimmy (Fennig) and the guys have been doing such a great job setting up our cars each and every week. Las Vegas is a bumpier race track so we will spend time making sure that our balance and shock packages are exactly where we need them to be.  Handling is a priority at Las Vegas because if we can get our car into the corners faster, we can run down the straightaway faster.”

Crew chief Jimmy Fennig on racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:
“Las Vegas has been a good track for this team and organization, so I’m looking forward to racing there this weekend.  It’s a racetrack I enjoy every year because I always look forward to having a fast race car there, and Matt (Kenseth) has had a lot of successful races at Las Vegas as well.  We’re bringing a car that was a multiple race-winning car last year for us, so we’re hoping to have similar results out of it starting this weekend for our Zest team.”

FAST FACTS:
•        Kenseth is rated fourth among active drivers for the best average finish at LVMS with a 11.7 average
•        Kenseth’s 450 laps led are the second most in track history at LVMS
•        Kenseth has an average starting position of 17.7 and an average finishing position of 11.7 at Las Vegas
•        In 12 starts, Kenseth has achieved one pole, two wins, five top-five and six top-10 finishes at Las Vegas in the Sprint Cup series
•        Kenseth has completed 2,826 of 3,106 (91.0 percent) laps at Las Vegas and led for a total of 450 laps
•        This weekend at Las Vegas, Kenseth will pilot the No. 17 Zest Ford Fusion
•        Entering this weekend, Kenseth is currently fourth in the NSCS driver point standings

Read More

Roush Yates FR9 Claims Second-Consecutive Daytona 500 Victory

Powers Kenseth to his second Datyona 500 win

Mooresville, NC (February 28, 2012) Matt Kenseth took full advantage of the horsepower in his Roush Yates FR9 engine to take the checkered flag early Tuesday morning in the first ever nighttime running of the famed Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Kenseth’s win granted Roush Fenway Racing its 300th all-time victory during the kick-off of the organization’s 25th anniversary of racing.

The Roush Yates Ford FR9 engines looked strong throughout Speedweeks leading up to the Daytona 500, which included Kenseth winning Thursday’s second 150-mile qualifying event. His Ford teammates, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle, swept the front row for the Daytona 500 during last week’s qualifying session so it came as no surprise that Kenseth’s No. 17 Best Buy Ford Fusion was going to be a contender.

In all, 13 teams had Roush Yates Ford FR9 power under the hood when the green flag eventually waved to start the rain-delayed 54th running of “The Great American Race.”

“I have to give a lot of credit to Doug Yates and the guys at the engine shop,” said Kenseth in Victory Lane. “We had great horsepower. I could get a pretty good start on the bottom and either Denny or Dale Jr. could push me for awhile and then they just couldn’t stay attached and I would get away from them just in time to get in front of Greg and the two of us together could make some unbelievable speed. I have to thank Greg (Biffle). We worked together really good all day long. He had a really fast car all day as well.”

In what can be argued as one of the most bizarre Daytona 500′s, Dave Blaney was leading when a problem with Juan Pablo Montoya’s car sent him spinning under caution into a safety truck. The truck was holding 200 gallons of jet kerosene and burst into flames upon impact. The inferno took over ten minutes to extinguish and NASCAR red-flagged the race for over two hours with only 40 laps remaining.

“This is a special night,” said team co-owner Jack Roush. “It feels great. It is very fitting that Matt won the 300th victory that we have had since we started in 1988 and (crew chief) Jimmy Fennig has been with us for most of the time and Matt has been here most of the time as well. It is great to celebrate our 300th win here with the 54th Daytona 500. This is Matt’s second 500 win and that makes it special as well.”

“It has been a long but rewarding week for Roush Yates Engines,” said Doug Yates, CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “To sit on the front row, win in the qualifying races, and win the 54th running of the Daytona 500 is everything we worked for during the off season and more. I’m proud of my guys at the shop and I’m excited to give Jack his 300th all-time win in the series. This is a great way to start off the season and I can’t wait to get to Phoenix.”

Commemorative t-shirts celebrating Matt Kenseth’s win with his FR9 engine are on sale now at http://www.roushyatesparts.com/Roush-Yates-Daytona-500-Champion-Shirt-17-p/ryp-d50017.htm.
Roush Yates engines also excelled in the dirt world this week with Josh Richards, Dennis Erb Jr., and Scott Bloomquist finding Victory Lane at Bubba Raceway Park, East Bay Raceway Park, and Volusia Speedway Park. To find out more about all of Roush Yates engine packages and the drivers behind the wheel, visit www.roushyates.com.

Source: Roush Yates Engines, Press Release

Read More