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Matt Kenseth has an average running position of 7.2 in the last six races at Dover.

Data shows Dover perfect track for Kenseth rebound

By Official Release
May 30, 2008
03:56 PM EDT

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In 2006, Matt Kenseth sat comfortably in second place in the Sprint Cup Series standings after 12 races. Last season, he was third at this juncture.

But this season, the 2003 series champion is 16th, and in danger of missing the Chase for the Sprint Cup for the first time in his career (only Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson have made each of the four Chases). Currently, Kenseth is 190 points outside the Chase cut-off of 12th place.

The statistics show his race-by-race driver ratings have taken a huge dip, which is telling because the driver rating encompasses a number of key statistics like finish, laps led, fastest laps run and average running position.

Below are Kenseth's driver ratings through 12 races in 2006, 2007 and 2008:

Matt Kenseth

Driver Rating through first 12 races (2006-2008)

Track	2006	2007	2008

Daytona	87.9	93.5	81.8
Auto Club	123.0	141.5	105.3
Las Vegas	135.8	83.7	117.5
Atlanta	99.7	112.3	85.0
Bristol	130.2	87.3	94.5
Martinsville	88.3	72.5	53.9
Texas	104.5	114.1	114.7
Phoenix	107.4	107.9	34.8
Talladega	102.4	74.6	47.5
Richmond	79.4	80.8	47.8
Darlington	119.1	94.7	89.7
Lowe's	100.5	120.2	91.3
Average	106.5	98.6	80.3

Not only has Kenseth's average driver rating dropped by more than 18 points from last season to this one, but his single race ratings have also dropped. He has had three driver ratings more than 100 points this season, compared to eight in 2006 and five in 2007 in the same 12-race span.

But all is not lost for Kenseth. This Sunday, he'll have a chance to improve his performance at one of his best tracks. In his six previous Dover races, Kenseth has scored a driver rating less than 100 just once. Below is his race-by-race log at Dover:

Matt Kenseth

Loop Data at Dover (2005-2007)

Date	Finish	Avg. Running Position	Fastest Laps Run	Laps in Top 15	Driver Rating

6/05	7	9.0	18	90.3%	100.1
9/05	35	14.3	11	68.6%	84.6
6/06	1	4.2	45	99.8%	132.5
9/06	10	3.2	55	98.0%	132.1
6/07	5	7.9	0	99.0%	101.7
9/07	35	4.7	93	90.8%	120.5
Average	15.5	7.2	222	91.0%	111.9

In the last six races, Kenseth has finished inside the top 10 four times. The two races he didn't: the fall of 2005 when an accident ended his day after 367 laps; and last fall's race when engine failure ended his race after 374 laps. He led a race-high 192 laps that day.