Saturday Kentucky Notebook

Saturday Kentucky Notebook

June 28, 2014

Notebook Items:

-           Kenseth hopes to defend Kentucky win

-           Patrick on point to do well at Kentucky

-           Dollar General expands role with Joe Gibbs Racing

Chris Knight

NASCAR Wire Service

Winless Matt Kenseth Hopes To Defend Kentucky Title

It’s hard to imagine that Joe Gibbs Racing’s Matt Kenseth enters tonight’s Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts winless. At this point last year, the driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry had won three times in his first season with the organization.

In 2013, he became the third different driver to win at the 1.5-mile oval in as many years, scoring his fourth of a career-high seven triumphs en-route to a runner-up spot in the championship standings.

This year, the JGR team led by crew chief Jason Ratcliff have struggled somewhat on tracks that they dominated in 2013. At Kansas Speedway, a track with similar features to Kentucky Speedway, Kenseth was only able to manage a 10th-place performance, the same result earlier in the year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, another intermediate track.

Tonight, the Cambridge, Wisconsin native starts 14th for the second consecutive week, but he knows he’ll need a repeat victory to likely guarantee him a spot in the Chase.

Of course, the 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion may already be a step ahead of his game, if he’s set to defend his title. Despite battling a tight-race in knockout qualifying, Kenseth will start two positions better than his 16th-place starting spot last June.

Danica Patrick Set For A Repeat Performance?

What a difference 12 months makes for Danica Patrick at Kentucky Speedway.

After a slow start to last year, it’s been the complete opposite thus far this weekend for the driver of the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet SS.

But, frankly, some people aren’t surprised. Since Patrick’s impressive outing at Kansas Speedway last month, the traditional intermediate mile-and-a half tracks have been a strong suit for the Tony Gibson-led organization.

As practice unraveled on Friday morning, Patrick’s No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS didn’t hold back. Quickly, Patrick jumped up to second-quickest, before landing eighth fastest overall. The SHR team proved the practice wasn’t a fluke, as she roared to the fourth fastest lap in final practice, leading up to knock-out qualifying.

There, the Roscoe, Illinois native made it to all three rounds of time trials, before landing 10th, the same as her car number for the second time in 2014. It’s also the sixth time this year that she has made it into the final round of knock-out qualifying this season.

A little more than a month ago, Patrick carried herself to the best Cup finish by a female competitor in this modern-era, tonight she has a great opportunity to tie that seventh-place finish or even better it.

Joe Gibbs Racing; Dollar General Announce Expanded Role In 2015

Joe Gibbs Racing cashed in a little savings on Saturday afternoon at Kentucky Speedway, as Rick Dreiling, chairman and CEO of Dollar General announced that company would expand its role with driver Matt Kenseth to 30 races beginning in 2015, up from 27 in 2014 and 17 in 2013.

The news is welcomed for Joe Gibbs and his team, as it was reported this week that The Home Depot would depart from the organization at the end of 2014, ending a 15-year relationship between the two companies.

The Goodlettsville, Tennessee based corporation will partially fill the void left by the Home Depot, increasing their sponsorship dollars for Kenseth and the No. 20 to include all, but six races next season. Dollar General will begin its expanded partnership with the No. 20 for the 2015 Daytona 500.

Team owner Joe Gibbs said that they have a partner in place for those remaining races, but set no timetable for an announcement.

Additionally, J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing also announced a contract extension for Kenseth for a “number of years.”

“I’m incredibly fortunate to drive for Dollar General,” said Kenseth. “They have great enthusiasm for our sport, and as a driver, it’s great to have such a supportive sponsor behind you. I’m looking forward to continuing our partnership for many years to come.”