Brooklyn, MI (August 17, 2012) – NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series returned to two-mile Michigan International Speedway for the second race at the repaved track this season. Kenseth entered the weekend third in the point standings and looks to earn a solid finish Sunday afternoon at a track that is one of Roush Fenway Racing’s most successful on the circuit. Kenseth earned the fourth starting position for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 during Friday’s qualifying session.
Sprint Cup Series teams had one 90-minute practice session at Michigan on Friday afternoon. Kenseth was happy with his No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford’s handling during race trim set-ups, but once the team switched over to qualifying trim at the end of practice, he reported that the handling was too loose. Kenseth finished the practice 21st on the speed charts for the day.
Qualifying for the series started at 4:10pm EST and Kenseth was the 25th car to make his qualifying run. The No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford ran a fast lap time of 36.330 seconds (198.183 mph) and earned the fourth starting position for Sunday.
“I did the first lap and thought it was good, but I thought maybe I could do a little better the second lap,” said Kenseth following his qualifying effort. “I should have done it a little different though I guess. The car is really good and we drew a cloud, which was good. Hopefully the sun will come back out. I don’t know how fast the rest of these guys will go, but that was a good lap. My Fifth Third Ford drove really well, but I think if I did it again I could maybe run a half-tenth faster. All the fast guys are behind us still though.”
The Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway will be televised on Sunday, August 19th at 1:00p.m. EST on ESPN with radio coverage presented by Motor Racing Network (MRN).
