WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (Aug. 10, 2009) – Matt Kenseth picked up 28 positions to finish 14th in Monday's rain-delayed 400-mile road course event at Watkins Glen International. Kenseth, who started the race 42nd patiently moved through the field en route to his third consecutive top 15-finish.

"We got here on Friday and we were three seconds off the pace and it was really bad," said Kenseth. "We figured out how to get a top-15 out of it, so overall I'm pretty happy with that. We always want to do better, but with how we have been running, I'm pretty happy with that. We finished 14th, which is about what we were to be honest. That was a good finish for us. We just need to make our team stronger. We've got to keep working on it and getting our cars better."

Kenseth started the race 42nd after the team struggled in Friday's qualifying session. Powering his No. 17 DEWALT Ford Fusion through the field, Kenseth picked up five positions in the race's first five laps. He had moved all the way to 33rd position by the time the team pitted under caution for the first time of the race on lap 19. Quick work in the pits picked up six places and Kenseth returned to the field in 27th place when the field returned to green on lap 20.

Kenseth had continued his forward movement and was running 19th after a multi-car accident that brought out the race's second caution on lap 23. The team opted to stay out, and Kenseth restarted in 13th position when the field returned to green.

He broke inside the top 10 for the first time on lap 35. With the team attempting a two-stop strategy for the race and conserving fuel, Kenseth dropped back to 13th position before pitting for the second and final time on lap 56. The No. 17 DEWALT Ford would return to the field in 20th position, moving back inside the top 15 on lap 66 and holding on for the 14th-place finish while conserving enough fuel to make it to the checkered flag.

With only four races remaining before the Chase cutoff mark, Kenseth leaves Watkins Glen 12th in the Sprint Cup point standings; 58 point ahead of 13th-place Kyle Busch and 31 points behind 11th.

Kenseth and the Sprint Cup Series return to action next week at Michigan International Speedway, where Kenseth has two wins, nine top-five and 13 top-10 finishes.