Matt Kenseth opened this year’s Nextel Cup season fending off questions about why NASCAR suspended his crew chief for breaking the rules during qualifying for the Daytona 500.
Kenseth also was docked 50 championship points, and the 2003 Cup champion then saw a strong Daytona finish vanish on the last lap in a multicar crash.
But Kenseth put Daytona firmly behind him Sunday by keeping his Ford Fusion ahead of five Chevrolets and winning the Auto Club 500 for the second consecutive year at California Speedway.
The win, the 15th of Kenseth’s career, completed a weekend sweep in Fontana for the Wisconsin driver and what is now Roush Fenway Racing. Kenseth also won the Stater Bros. 300 Busch Series race Saturday night.
“It’s pretty awesome to do a double here,” said Kenseth, who held off Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson after a restart with only four laps left in the 250-lap race.
“The car was really good all day,” said Kenseth, who also led the most laps with 133.
Jeff Burton was fourth and Mark Martin fifth.
It appeared Kenseth’s biggest threat would be Daytona 500 winner Kevin Harvick, who was closing fast on Kenseth in the final laps until an accident involving David Reutimann and Bobby Labonte set up the last restart.
Just as the field was preparing to take the green flag, Harvick suffered a flat left front tire, forcing him to pit. He finished 17th.
“It has been one of those weeks,” Harvick said. “A flat tire [Saturday] in the Busch race and a flat tire today.”
But Gordon, who started on the pole, said he wasn’t sure Harvick or anyone else could have caught Kenseth.
“We really never had anything at the end for Matt,” said Gordon, the only three-time Cup race winner at California Speedway.
Harvick edged Martin a week earlier to win the Daytona 500, but their finishes Sunday gave Martin the early lead in this year’s championship battle. Martin has 335 points, followed by Burton at 330 and Gordon at 309. The last time Martin, 48, led the series points was in mid-2002.
Kenseth arrived in Fontana without his crew chief, Robbie Reiser, after Reiser and four other crew chiefs were suspended by NASCAR for cheating violations during qualifying for the Daytona 500.
Roush Fenway is appealing but named Chip Bolin to be Kenseth’s interim crew chief.
“Chip did a wonderful job,” Kenseth said.
With about 100 laps remaining, it appeared Tony Stewart’s Chevrolet might be the strongest car, and the Joe Gibbs Racing driver led 28 laps.
But Stewart made a costly mistake–he sped through pit road and was penalized–which forced him to the rear of the field. He rallied to finish eighth.
Johnson, the reigning series champion, finished 39th last week at Daytona because of a crash, which ended his streak of 105 consecutive weeks in the top 10. But he bounced back with his third-place finish, led 31 laps and is 15th in points.
———-
Los Angeles Times
