NASCAR WCUP: New paint scheme, new chassis for Kenseth at the Brickyard

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

August 1, 2001

Matt Kenseth's thoughts on racing at Indianapolis:

There is usually a big hype about this race. What does racing at the Brickyard mean to you?

"It's a pretty neat place to race because of the history and the amount of people that attend the race. Its cool to see the golf course in the middle too. But, every race means as much as the other to me. Winning at Indy is important to me as winning at Watkins Glen. Just being in the Winston Cup Series is incredible and its important to maintain as much competitiveness as possible. Indy is always packed with people in the garage and on pit road. I would love to win there as well, but I focus on each race just as much as the other."

Since you tested here last week, will that give you an advantage on the rest of the field?

"Not really. The Indy test is a mandatory test so everyone has an advantage. The way it will help out this team is that we were not real good there last year and I think we will be better there this year. The test also helped us for the setup at the Pocono race."

Roush Racing Team Engineer Chip Bolin's thoughts on Indy:

"All of the info we used last week in testing at Indy will go into the setup configuration. Shaking down a brand new car also helped out. We worked so hard to make the car adjust to Matt. There is a lot of technology that goes into test sessions. We focused on certain things like getting the car to where it would gain speed off of the corners and on the down force for the straight-aways. Indy is a 2.5-mile rectangle. There's a ton of things that come into play for the car at a track like Indy."

Crew Chief Robbie Reiser's thoughts on Indy:

"We are taking car 18, a brand new car to Indy. We took that car to the test July 24th and 25th. It was 17th fast for the second day. The first day we had some 'bugs' to shake out of it. I think this car will be pretty competitive."

Mike Calinoff's thoughts on Spotting at Indy:

"This year, NASCAR and IMS have made strides to better accommodate the spotters. In past years, we have used two spotters -- one in turn one and the other in turn three. We will now be perched on the pagoda on the infield. Our only blind spot will be a small portion of the frontstretch, and Robbie (Reiser) will be able to clear Matt from the pit box." Notes of Interest:

New Look....

DEWALT is proud to debut their New Products paint scheme. The paint scheme featuring will run from Indianapolis through Dover. "The launch of the NEW Next Generation XRP line of cordless drills is one of the largest in DEWALT's history," said Tim Speno an Assistant Product Manager at DEWALT. "In addition, tool users are always asking us what is new from DEWALT. Promoting through Winton Cup helps relay the message that DEWALT has a brand new line of cordless drills gets the message out to hundreds of thousands of our target users. Most of the competition in the tool industry does not have the same 'reach' to their target user that DEWALT benefits from being a sponsor of the Winston Cup. A key to launching a product at DEWALT is to reach our user where he or she works, buys, plays, and learns. NASCAR Winton Cup racing is a preferred way our users like to play."

The paint scheme is an integration of the new product line and the designs submitted through the DEWALT 2002 Paint Scheme contest. The winners were Robert Williams Lutherville, MD and Brian Grossman of Cincinnati, OH.

Text provided by Amy Walsh

Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos and art, visit The Racing Photo Museum and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.