Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion, met with members of the media outside his hauler in the garage at Homestead-Miami Speedway Friday afternoon to discuss the final race of the season and more.
Matt Kenseth, No. 17 Crown Royal Ford – BETWEEN CARL AND TONY, DO YOU HAVE ANY PREDICTIONS? “Not really, they have both been running great here the last few weeks. I think the 99 and Carl have really stepped up their game after they lost their cushion in the points lead to Tony. The last two weeks they have been really competitive. Carl won the race here last year and it is one of his best tracks. I think it will be fun to watch. Tony has won races and is charging hard but this is one of Carl’s best places and he is definitely capable of winning here.”
WHEN IT COMES TO HELPING YOUR TEAMMATE OUT HOW FAR ARE YOU WILLING TO GO TO DO THAT? “We do all our helping with teammates during the week at the shop, today after practice, maybe after qualifying tomorrow comparing notes and things about what the track did and our set up. When you race on Sunday it is one against 42.”
HOW DISAPPOINTED ARE YOU THAT ALL THE ATTENTION IS ON THEM AND THAT IT ISN’T ON YOU? “I don’t really care about the attention but I am really disappointed that we are not in the hunt for the championship anymore. I really feel like I let my team down a lot this year. These guys gave me cars that are capable of being up there with those two and contending for the championship. I took them out of that with some dumb mistakes I have made. I feel bad about that but you can’t do anything about yesterday so you move on. Hopefully we go out and race for a win this weekend and try again next year.”
WHAT WILL YOU DO IN THE OFF SEASON? “Man, I don’t know. We aren’t even out of here yet. I look at Vegas in a couple weeks almost like another race weekend. You go out there and do all your dress-up stuff. Just the normal stuff, Daytona test and all that. Take some time to wind down and get ready for the next one.”
LOOKING FORWARD TO SOME TIME OFF? “I actually am right now, yeah. We are going to try to do some fun things this winter with the kids and I am looking forward to getting back and seeing some of my friends that I don’t get a chance to see during the season.”
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