About a month and a half after winning the 54th annual Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, #17-Matt Kenseth was finally able to reunite with his winning car and celebrate his historic victory with race fans during the Champion’s Luncheon at Daytona International Speedway on Wednesday afternoon. ‘It’s pretty cool to see (the car) sitting there with all the confetti on it, just like it was sitting in Victory Lane, and seeing the fans lined up out there,’ said Kenseth, who was joined by his owner Jack Roush and crew chief Jimmy Fennig. ‘It’s unusual to celebrate today, but it was kind of an unusual race so I might as well just keep that going.’ For the first time in history, rain postponed the start of this year’s Daytona 500 as well as the traditional day-after Champion’s Breakfast. The ‘Great American Race’ was rescheduled for Monday night, Feb. 27 and a great crowd returned to witness Kenseth hold off Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Greg Biffle to capture his second career Daytona 500 triumph. During the Champion’s Luncheon, Kenseth, Roush and Fennig took part in a fan forum, signed autographs and participated in media interviews. Kenseth also joined Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III in unveiling the logo for the 2013 Daytona 500 scheduled for February 24, 2013. ‘It’s always good when you see the fans enthused and show up to these events especially a couple months later and on a Wednesday around lunch time,’ Kenseth said. ‘It’s pretty neat.’ The confetti-covered #17 Best Buy Ford will remain on display at Gatorade Victory Lane inside the Daytona International Speedway Tours and Ticket Office and will be returned to the team prior to the 2013 Daytona 500.(DIS)(4-12-2012)
