Kenseth Tops in 600 Qualifying

Kenseth In Front for Coca-Cola 600 Start Sunday

(CONCORD, NC – MAY 21, 2015 – RIS) Matt Kenseth sped around Charlotte Motor Speedway's mile and a half 'quad-oval' track in 27.799 sec at 194.252 mph to take pole position for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600, the longest race on the NASCAR Sprint Cup calendar. Second to Kenseth's Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is Joey Logano, aat 28.003 sec/192.836 mph. The rest of the top five include Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and Denny Hamlin, giving the Gibbs stable two of the top five spots Sunday. Top Chevy qualifier was Kevin Harvick in the No. 4 Chevy, at 28.232/191.272.

"The DeWalt guys did a great job on our Camry today," Kenseth said. "They made some great adjustments and they worked hard on it the last couple weeks to get it ready to come here. I feel like we're gaining on it. I thought we had good speed today. Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) had a plan and they all executed it well.

"That was a good lap for us – all three laps were pretty good," he added. "The second run we missed the balance a little and Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) did a good job adjusting it for that last lap. We thought we knew what the track did last time we were here and missed it a little bit. We made the right adjustments and had it good enough there for the pole."

"You like to have speed in your cars – if you have cars driving good and they're slow then you're probably not going to win with them. Your goal is to always have a lot of speed and get them driving good. Today we had speed, the car reacted pretty good to change and hopefully we'll get it driving good on Saturday for good race trim balance for Sunday."

Looking forward to the race on Sunday, he added that: "I guess you can look at that two different ways – it's the longest race on the circuit so you have the most time to get to the front. I think starting in front is important. The track typically always goes through changes here, especially if the sun is out from the beginning of the race to the end of the race. You want to have good track position, good pit selection and all those things. If you do get a little off and you're chasing the setup a little with the track changing, you have a little bit of buffer being toward the front hopefully. Track position is always important, you always want to start as far forward as you can. We'll get to work Saturday and try to get a good race balance."

Third-place Carl Edwards commented " that's a good day and we have some fast race cars. I'm really excited about racing. Now we've got no pressure and we can just have a little bit of fun. We can work on the balance and get ready for the race. We have a good pit stall and this is just good."

Kyle Busch, still coming back from the injuries he received in the season-opening XFINITY race at Daytona, qualified in 17th place: "I would have thought we were better than that. Just a tick off on speed and balance was off the first segment and then the second segment, the first run it was way too tight. We adjusted on it and I felt like we made a really good change. The car drove good, it just didn't pick up any speed. Kind of just stayed the same."

"We were just too tight," said Kevin Harvick after qualifying eighth. "The Budweiser/Jimmy John's Chevrolet team worked really hard all day and that gives us a decent starting position for Sunday.  It's a long race and we will have to keep up with our adjustments to stay up front all race long."

Kasey Kahne suffered a flat tire in qualifying: "Yeah, we just had a flat left-rear (tire).  It happened on my run.  I was loose and about spun out in (Turn) 3 and was kind of wondering what the deal was.  I knew we were really fast in practice.  I came in and when I got to the stall it only had like five pounds in it, which is very low.  You can't change them unless you advance to the next round, but it was flat for I don't know when it happened, but it was flat a long time.  We start 33rd on Sunday.  We have a long way to go, but I know we will have a fast Liftmaster Chevrolet.  It was great today, this afternoon it was really strong.  It would have been strong tonight."

Starting Line Up by Row, 56th Annual COCA-COLA 600

Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed
1) Matt Kenseth, No. 20 DeWalt Toyota, 27.799 sec, 194.252 mph
2) Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 28.003, 192.836
3) Carl Edwards, No. 19 Subway Toyota, 28.018, 192.733
4) Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ortho Ford, 28.092, 192.226
5) Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota, 28.124, 192.007
6) Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Miller Lite Ford, 28.142, 191.884
7) David Ragan, No. 55 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota, 28.180, 191.625
8) Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John's Chevrolet, 28.232, 191.272
9) Kyle Larson, No. 42 Target Chevrolet, 28.233, 191.266
10) Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet, 28.373, 190.322
11) Austin Dillon, No. 3 Cheerios Chevrolet, 28.446, 189.833
12) Tony Stewart, No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, 29.124, 185.414
13) Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Patriotic Chevrolet, 28.165, 191.727
14) Kurt Busch, No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet, 28.167, 191.714
15) Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet, 28.171, 191.686
16) Ryan Blaney(i), No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, 28.174, 191.666
17) Kyle Busch, No. 18 Skittles Toyota, 28.209, 191.428
18) Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet, 28.220, 191.354
19) Ryan Newman, No. 31 Quicken Loans Chevrolet, 28.250, 191.150
20) Danica Patrick, No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet, 28.279, 190.954
21) Aric Almirola, No. 43 United States Air Force Ford, 28.298, 190.826
22) Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Cessna/McDonald's Chevrolet, 28.332, 190.597
23) Paul Menard, No. 27 Serta/Menards Chevrolet, 28.424, 189.980
24) Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Chry5hrEnrgy/SpclOprtnsWarriorFndtn Toyota, 29.394, 183.711
25) Michael McDowell, No. 95 Thrivent Financial Ford, 28.301, 190.806
26) Sam Hornish Jr., No. 9 Twisted Tea Ford, 28.305, 190.779
27) Trevor Bayne, No. 6 AdvoCare Ford, 28.332, 190.597
28) Chase Elliott(i), No. 25 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 28.365, 190.375
29) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 28.394, 190.181
30) AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Scott Products Chevrolet, 28.429, 189.947
31) Alex Bowman, No. 7 Culer Chevrolet, 28.439, 189.880
32) Landon Cassill(i), No. 40 Snap Fitness Chevrolet, 28.444, 189.847
33) Kasey Kahne, No. 5 LiftMaster Chevrolet, 28.470, 189.673
34) Casey Mears, No. 13 GEICO Military Chevrolet, 28.528, 189.288
35) Justin Allgaier, No. 51 Brandt Chevrolet, 28.538, 189.221
36) Michael Annett, No. 46 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet, 28.564, 189.049
37) Cole Whitt, No. 35 Speed Stick Ford, Owner Points,
38) Josh Wise, No. 98 RoyalTeakCollection.com Ford, Owner Points,
39) David Gilliland, No. 38 Love's Travel Stops Ford, Owner Points,
40) Brett Moffitt #, No. 34 CSX/Play It Safe Ford, Owner Points,
41) JJ Yeley(i), No. 23 Hope for the Warriors Toyota, Owner Points,
42) Matt DiBenedetto #, No. 83 Dustless Blasting Toyota, Owner Points,
43) Alex Kennedy #, No. 33 HonorandRemember.org Chevrolet, Owner Points,

Did Not Qualify: No. 26 Jeb Burton #; No. 32 Mike Bliss(i);No. 39 Travis Kvapil(i); No. 30 Jeff Green(i);No. 62 Brendan Gaughan(i).
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Time Trial Results: 56th Annual COCA-COLA 600

Track Qualifying Record: Kyle Busch  10/11/14; 27.357 sec, 197.39 mph

Qualifying Round: 3

Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed, Lap #, # Laps, -Fastest, -Next
1) Matt Kenseth, No. 20 DeWalt Toyota, 27.799, 194.252, 1, 1, 0.000, 0.000
2) Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 28.003, 192.836, 1, 1, 0.204, 0.204
3) Carl Edwards, No. 19 Subway Toyota, 28.018, 192.733, 1, 1, 0.219, 0.015
4) Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ortho Ford, 28.092, 192.226, 1, 1, 0.293, 0.074
5) Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota, 28.124, 192.007, 1, 1, 0.325, 0.032
6) Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Miller Lite Ford, 28.142, 191.884, 1, 1, 0.343, 0.018
7) David Ragan, No. 55 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota, 28.180, 191.625, 1, 1, 0.381, 0.038
8) Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John's Chevrolet, 28.232, 191.272, 1, 1, 0.433, 0.052
9) Kyle Larson, No. 42 Target Chevrolet, 28.233, 191.266, 1, 1, 0.434, 0.001
10) Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet, 28.373, 190.322, 1, 1, 0.574, 0.140
11) Austin Dillon, No. 3 Cheerios Chevrolet, 28.446, 189.833, 1, 1, 0.647, 0.073
12) Tony Stewart, No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, 29.124, 185.414, 1, 1, 1.325, 0.678

Qualifying Round: 2
Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed, Lap #, # Laps, -Fastest, -Next
1) Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John's Chevrolet, 27.861, 193.819, 1, 1, 0.000, 0.000
2) Matt Kenseth, No. 20 DeWalt Toyota, 27.869, 193.764, 1, 1, 0.008, 0.008
3) Tony Stewart, No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, 27.932, 193.327, 1, 1, 0.071, 0.063
4) Carl Edwards, No. 19 Subway Toyota, 27.954, 193.175, 1, 1, 0.093, 0.022
5) David Ragan, No. 55 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota, 27.975, 193.029, 1, 1, 0.114, 0.021
6) Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet, 28.063, 192.424, 3, 3, 0.202, 0.088
7) Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota, 28.070, 192.376, 1, 1, 0.209, 0.007
8) Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 28.074, 192.349, 1, 1, 0.213, 0.004
9) Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ortho Ford, 28.080, 192.308, 1, 1, 0.219, 0.006
10) Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Miller Lite Ford, 28.088, 192.253, 1, 1, 0.227, 0.008
11) Austin Dillon, No. 3 Cheerios Chevrolet, 28.104, 192.143, 3, 3, 0.243, 0.016
12) Kyle Larson, No. 42 Target Chevrolet, 28.117, 192.055, 1, 1, 0.256, 0.013
13) Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Patriotic Chevrolet, 28.165, 191.727, 1, 1, 0.304, 0.048
14) Kurt Busch, No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet, 28.167, 191.714, 1, 3, 0.306, 0.002
15) Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet, 28.171, 191.686, 3, 3, 0.310, 0.004
16) Ryan Blaney(i), No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, 28.174, 191.666, 1, 3, 0.313, 0.003
17) Kyle Busch, No. 18 Skittles Toyota, 28.209, 191.428, 3, 3, 0.348, 0.035
18) Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet, 28.220, 191.354, 1, 3, 0.359, 0.011
19) Ryan Newman, No. 31 Quicken Loans Chevrolet, 28.250, 191.150, 1, 3, 0.389, 0.030
20) Danica Patrick, No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet, 28.279, 190.954, 3, 3, 0.418, 0.029
21) Aric Almirola, No. 43 United States Air Force Ford, 28.298, 190.826, 1, 1, 0.437, 0.019
22) Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Cessna/McDonald's Chevrolet, 28.332, 190.597, 1, 3, 0.471, 0.034
23) Paul Menard, No. 27 Serta/Menards Chevrolet, 28.424, 189.980, 1, 1, 0.563, 0.092
24) Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Cherry5hrEnrgy/SpclOprtnsWarriorFndtn Toyota, 29.394, 183.711, 1, 1, 1.533, 0.970

Qualifying Round: 1
Pos, , Driver, Car, Time, Speed, Lap #, # Laps, -Fastest, -Next
1) , Matt Kenseth, No. 20 DeWalt Toyota, 27.913, 193.458, 1, 1, 0.000, 0.000
2) , Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John's Chevrolet, 27.962, 193.119, 1, 1, 0.049, 0.049
3) , David Ragan, No. 55 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota, 27.993, 192.905, 1, 1, 0.080, 0.031
4) , Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet, 27.994, 192.898, 1, 1, 0.081, 0.001
5) , Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Miller Lite Ford, 28.000, 192.857, 1, 1, 0.087, 0.006
6) , Tony Stewart, No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, 28.045, 192.548, 1, 1, 0.132, 0.045
7) , Kyle Busch, No. 18 Skittles Toyota, 28.076, 192.335, 1, 1, 0.163, 0.031
8) , Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Cessna/McDonald's Chevrolet, 28.116, 192.061, 1, 1, 0.203, 0.040
9) , Carl Edwards, No. 19 Subway Toyota, 28.116, 192.061, 1, 1, 0.203, 0.000
10) , Kurt Busch, No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet, 28.131, 191.959, 1, 1, 0.218, 0.015
11) , Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ortho Ford, 28.131, 191.959, 1, 1, 0.218, 0.000
12) , Kyle Larson, No. 42 Target Chevrolet, 28.157, 191.782, 1, 1, 0.244, 0.026
13) , Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota, 28.175, 191.659, 1, 1, 0.262, 0.018
14) , Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet, 28.178, 191.639, 1, 1, 0.265, 0.003
15) , Ryan Blaney(i), No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, 28.183, 191.605, 1, 1, 0.270, 0.005
16) , Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet, 28.205, 191.455, 1, 1, 0.292, 0.022
17) , Ryan Newman, No. 31 Quicken Loans Chevrolet, 28.207, 191.442, 1, 1, 0.294, 0.002
18) , Austin Dillon, No. 3 Cheerios Chevrolet, 28.240, 191.218, 1, 1, 0.327, 0.033
19) , Danica Patrick, No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet, 28.249, 191.157, 1, 1, 0.336, 0.009
20) , Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Patriotic Chevrolet, 28.257, 191.103, 1, 1, 0.344, 0.008
21) , Paul Menard, No. 27 Serta/Menards Chevrolet, 28.269, 191.022, 3, 3, 0.356, 0.012
22) , Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 28.281, 190.941, 1, 1, 0.368, 0.012
23) , Aric Almirola, No. 43 United States Air Force Ford, 28.290, 190.880, 3, 3, 0.377, 0.009
24) , Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Cherry5hrEnrgy/SpclOprtnsWarriorFndtn Toyota, 28.293, 190.860, 1, 1, 0.380, 0.003
25) , Michael McDowell, No. 95 Thrivent Financial Ford, 28.301, 190.806, 1, 2, 0.388, 0.008
26) , Sam Hornish Jr., No. 9 Twisted Tea Ford, 28.305, 190.779, 1, 4, 0.392, 0.004
27) , Trevor Bayne, No. 6 AdvoCare Ford, 28.332, 190.597, 1, 3, 0.419, 0.027
28) , Chase Elliott(i), No. 25 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 28.365, 190.375, 3, 3, 0.452, 0.033
29) , Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 28.394, 190.181, 2, 4, 0.481, 0.029
30) , AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Scott Products Chevrolet, 28.429, 189.947, 3, 3, 0.516, 0.035
31) , Alex Bowman, No. 7 Culer Chevrolet, 28.439, 189.880, 1, 3, 0.526, 0.010
32) , Landon Cassill(i), No. 40 Snap Fitness Chevrolet, 28.444, 189.847, 1, 3, 0.531, 0.005
33) , Kasey Kahne, No. 5 LiftMaster Chevrolet, 28.470, 189.673, 1, 1, 0.557, 0.026
34) , Casey Mears, No. 13 GEICO Military Chevrolet, 28.528, 189.288, 1, 3, 0.615, 0.058
35) , Justin Allgaier, No. 51 Brandt Chevrolet, 28.538, 189.221, 1, 3, 0.625, 0.010
36) , Michael Annett, No. 46 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet, 28.564, 189.049, 1, 3, 0.651, 0.026
37) OP, Cole Whitt, No. 35 Speed Stick Ford, 28.590, 188.877, 1, 4, 0.677, 0.026
38) OP, Josh Wise, No. 98 RoyalTeakCollection.com Ford, 28.651, 188.475, 1, 1, 0.738, 0.061
39) OP, David Gilliland, No. 38 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 28.724, 187.996, 3, 3, 0.811, 0.073
40) OP, Brett Moffitt #, No. 34 CSX/Play It Safe Ford, 29.060, 185.822, 1, 3, 1.147, 0.336
41) OP, JJ Yeley(i), No. 23 Hope for the Warriors Toyota, 29.078, 185.707, 3, 3, 1.165, 0.018
42) OP, Matt DiBenedetto #, No. 83 Dustless Blasting Toyota, 29.184, 185.033, 1, 2, 1.271, 0.106
43) OP, Alex Kennedy #, No. 33 HonorandRemember.org Chevrolet, 29.746, 181.537, 1, 1, 1.833, 0.562
44) , Jeb Burton #, No. 26 Maxim Fantasy Sports/Estes Toyota, 28.679, 188.291, 1, 6, 0.766, -1.067
45) , Mike Bliss(i), No. 32 Rimrock-Devlin Ford, 28.894, 186.890, 1, 1, 0.981, 0.215
46) , Travis Kvapil(i), 39 Chevrolet, 28.984, 186.310, 3, 3, 1.071, 0.090
47) , Jeff Green(i), 30 Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet, 29.337, 184.068, 1, 3, 1.424, 0.353
48) , Brendan Gaughan(i), 62 Chevrolet, 29.807, 181.165, 1, 1, 1.894, 0.470

'High Heel Dash' Benefits Motor Racing Outreach

Between the two 25-lap segments of the night's Legends All-Star Race, Motor Racing Outreach held the first 'High Heel Dash' featuring ladies of NASCAR. Wendy Venturini, analyst on Fox Sports and Performance Racing Network won the 50-yard dash in a time of 7.355 seconds, beating out Jessica Ives, wife of crew chief Greg Ives.

All of Venturini's winnings from the event will go to MRO. As of midnight Wednesday, more than $23,000 has been donated. Several drivers' wives also donated shoes to be auctioned off to raise additional funds.

Venturini is the wife of Jarred Egert, director of track operations for Joe Gibbs racing: "I decided to get healthy back in December," said Venturini, who admitted to training for the exhibition run. "What a wonderful way to raise some money. My winnings are going to Motor Racing Outreach to help support all that they do." Venturini's supporters were holding a sign that simply stated "Give 'em Heel, Wendy."

Third place went to Jessica Nichols, wife Dave Nichols, the tire specialist for Team Penske and Joey Logano.

"It's a cool thing to be able to see them compete," said Greg Ives, who observed the race from behind pit wall. "And being in a competitive environment like we are, and as you can see, all of these ladies are competitive. Everyone wanted to win.  But we all had a lot of fun watching it. It went to a really good cause."

"You know, I decided to get healthy back in December for my 4-year-old son," stated Venturini. "So this was about him and becoming a healthy mom. I trained at Burn Boot Camp in Concord. All my boot camp girls are here in support for me. What a wonderful way to raise some money. My winnings are going to Motor Racing Outreach as my charity to help support all that they do."

Second Place – Jessica Ives – "This is great. We were close. This was a lot of fun, and we raised a lot of money for MRO. I trained in these heels so I could run. This is awesome."

Third Place – Jessica  Nichols commented: "we had a lot of fun. I tried to catch Wendy. We had a blast and it went to a good cause."

The runners high heels are all available to bid on at go2mro.com/highheeldash/.

The entry list included:
Andrea Shahan: wife of Andy Shahan, rear tire changer for Wood Brothers Racing
Erin Warchol: wife of Scott Warchol of Stewart-Haas Racing
Rachelle Elledge Sanders: wife of Jesse Sanders of Joe Gibbs Racing
Jessica Nichols: wife of Dave Nichols, Penske Tire Specialist for Joey Logano
Erica Mayo: wife of David Mayo, tire changer for Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Brittany Logano: wife of driver Joey Logano
Kristin Harvey: girlfriend of Bobby Labonte
Dawn Roniger Church: wife of Shane Church of Stewart Haas Racing
Tina Bullins: wife of Jeremy Bullins, crew chief for Ryan Blaney
Wendy Venturini: wife of Jarred Egert, Director of Track Operations for Joe Gibbs Racing
Amy Terry: wife of MotoRacing Outreach Chaplain Nick Terry
Kelli Smith: girlfriend of Scott Eldridge of Team Penske
Alex Russell: wife of Billy Race, business manager for Greg Biffle
Jessica Ives: wife of Greg Ives, crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Ingrid Vandebosch, wife of Jeff Gordon, and their children Ella and Leo, will serve as honorary starters for tonight's High Heel Dash.

Charlotte Regular Carson Ferguson Grabs Legends All-Star

"This is definitely one of the biggest races of my life that I won," Ferguson said in Victory Lane after the 50-lap, two-segment race. "I knew I had to save my stuff out there in the first 25 laps. I think I hit a piece of debris out there during one of the cautions and messed up the steering a little bit. After the break we were able to battle back slowly but surely. It was a good race."

Jordan Black, whose cars was consistently fast through practice and qualifying, claimed second in the 50-lap event. "Honestly, I think this is such a big stage and we’re going after so much right here,” he said. “You have the Pros and the Young Lions and Masters all mixed together in this division. Some people don’t realize how big of a driving jump that is. It is completely different driving-wise. All 27 cars wanted it bad."

-XXX-