KANSAS CITY, Kansas (Oct. 4, 2009) - Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 DEWALT Team looked poised for their second consecutive top-five finish, before seeing a strong run end early after experiencing a mechanical parts failure early in Sunday's Price Chopper 400 at Kansas Speedway. Kenseth, who finished third last week at Dover was strong, starting the race 23rd and driving all the way to fifth position, before leaving the race after only 136 laps of the 400-lap event; settling for a disappointing 39th-place finish.

"It's disappointing," said Kenseth after climbing out of his No. 17 Ford Fusion. "We had a good run going and we had a really competitive car that was capable of running up front out there today. The guys on the DEWALT team did a good job all weekend. We didn't qualify all that well, but the car was a lot better yesterday in practice and then fast in the race today. The car would get better as the run went on and we were on your way to a good run today."

Kenseth qualified 23rd on Friday, but was top three in both of Saturday's practice sessions. He was fast from the green flag, picking up seven positions in the first two laps of the race. He broke into the top 15 on lap seven and moved inside the top 10 after passing two cars on lap 43.

He moved his No. 17 DEWALT Ford inside the top five on lap 120 and pitted for four tires and fuel just moments later on lap 125. The race's fourth caution was issued just as Kenseth was leaving pit road, dropping him back to 21st when green flag racing resumed on lap 130.

However, just a few seconds later Kenseth radioed the team that he was experiencing mechanical issues with the car. He came down pit road on lap 136, before retiring behind the wall moments later. The exact cause of the mechanical issue has not yet been determined.

The team returns to action next weekend at California Speedway, where Kenseth won in the spring and boats three Sprint Cup victories. He has posted eight straight top 10's at California dating back to 2005 and has finished top five in five of the last eight.

Green flag for next week's race is set for 3:31 p.m. (EDT). The race will be televised live from Southern California on ABC with the prerace show set for 2:20 p.m.