Catchfence

No. 17 Crown Royal Ford (Matt Kenseth) - Photo Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR

Team: No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Drew Blickensderfer
Chassis: Primary: RK-678 Backup: RK-658

Kenseth on racing at Daytona International Speedway:

“In order to be successful at Daytona, you really need to have a good combination of speed and drafting, along with a car that handles well overall. It was really exciting to win the Daytona 500 last year because every driver dreams of being able to win this race in their career. We were able to race last weekend in the Shootout and I feel that racing the weekend before the Daytona 500 really gives us a chance to see what we have in terms of our cars before we get into this week’s practices and races.”

Crew chief Drew Blickensderfer on racing at Daytona International Speedway:

“Last year we had a bit of an off season for this No. 17 team so the way we’re approaching this year’s Daytona 500 is to try and start the season with as many points as possible. It will be neat to be given back our winning car from last year’s Daytona 500 on Sunday afternoon since it has been on display at the Daytona 500 Experience all year. I’m not looking at this year’s race trying to defend our win; I look at this year’s Daytona 500 as a chance for us to get a good jump on the points lead right from the start.”

FAST FACTS:

• Matt Kenseth, the defending Champion of the 2009 Daytona 500, returns to Daytona International Speedway to open his 2010 Sprint Cup Series season with the first points race of the year

• Kenseth has led laps in his last four consecutive Daytona 500 races

• Kenseth has an average starting position of 22.8 and an average finishing position of 17.9 at Daytona

• Kenseth has achieved one win, three top-5’s, and nine top-10’s at Daytona

• Kenseth has completed 3,190 of 3,471 (91.9 percent) laps at Daytona and led for a total of 69 laps

• This weekend at Daytona, Kenseth will pilot the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion

- Roush Fenway Racing, Press Release