Matt Kenseth is showing the speed of bona fide Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship contender.
The No. 20 Toyota driver notched his second win in the last three races after visiting Victory Lane at Michigan International Speedway. On Kenseth’s way to the win – he led 146 of 200 laps – the most led on a track longer than a mile since Jimmie Johnson paced the field for 255 go-arounds at Texas on November 3, 2013. Kenseth’s three victories are the third-most in the Sprint Cup Series. He has nine bonus points for the Challenger Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup (one for each win) and ranks third on the Chase Grid. Continue reading →
Kyle Busch, driver of the #54 Monster Energy Toyota, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR XFINITY Series Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 21, 2015 Photo – Ranier Ehrhardt/Getty images
Kyle Busch, driver of the #54 Monster Energy Toyota, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 21, 2015 Photo – Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Kyle Busch, driver of the #54 Monster Energy Toyota, celebrates with the checkered flag after winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 21, 2015 Photo – Jeff Curry/Getty Images
Daniel Suarez, driver of the #18 Juniper Toyota, celebrates winning a segment of the Dash 4 Cash at the NASCAR XFINITY Series Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 21, 2015 Photo – Matt Sullivan/Getty Images
Daniel Suarez, driver of the #18 Juniper Toyota, celebrates winning a segment of the Dash 4 Cash at the NASCAR XFINITY Series Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 21, 2015 Photo – Tom Pennington/Getty Images
When Chris Buescher’s Ford faltered on a green-white-checkered restart on Friday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch took full advantage, as is his custom.
In a Food City 300 that went to two laps of overtime at the .533-mile short track, Busch finished 0.427 seconds ahead of Kyle Larson, as Buescher faded to 11th after his car failed to pick up fuel off turn two of the next-to-last lap.
The victory was Busch’s third of the season in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, his eighth at Bristol and the 73rd of his career, extending his own series record. Continue reading →
Dash 4 Cash Round 3: Smith’s Million Dollar Chance
The third round of the NASCAR XFINITY Series Dash 4 Cash program rolls into Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City 300 on August 21. Regan Smith, Daniel Suarez, Elliott Sadler and Ryan Blaney will compete for a $100,000 cash bonus this weekend. Smith, the winner of the first two rounds of the 2015 Dash 4 Cash program, can still win an extra $600,000 bonus at the end of the season. Smith will need to win this third round at Bristol for $100,000 and then win the Darlington race outright to claim another $100,000, which will then award him an extra $600,000 – bringing his total cash bonus winnings to $1 million dollars. Continue reading →
Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 Dollar General Toyota, and Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Freight Toyota, lead the field at the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 16, 2015 Photo – Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 Dollar General Toyota, and Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Freight Toyota, lead the field during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 16, 2015 Photo – Chris Trotman/Getty Images
Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 Dollar General Toyota, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 16, 2015 Photo – Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 Dollar General Toyota, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 16, 2015 Photo – Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 Dollar General Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 16, 2015 Photo – Nick Latham/Getty Images
From Matt Kenseth’s point of view, the competition package NASCAR used at Michigan International Speedway could well have had a big, bright bow on it.
The Coors Light Polesitter for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, Kenseth quickly exhibited his mastery of the high-drag aerodynamic package, leading 146 of 200 laps in winning for the third time this season, the third time at Michigan and the 34th time in his career.
The 2003 premier series champion had to survive a restart with 13 laps left, after Jimmie Johnson spun off turn four to cause the eighth and last caution of the race. With a push from Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin, Kenseth cleared Kevin Harvick after the lap 187 restart and went on to win by 1.722 seconds. Continue reading →
