The driver of the No. 3 vehicle said Kenseth took him to school a couple of times when they were battling out front. Austin Dillon, who qualified fourth, had an engine issue toward the end of practice.
Advertisement
DOWN TO THE WIRE: Jeff Gordon has had decidedly mixed results so far in his farewell season. While Kenseth and the rest of the top drivers have their spots in “The Chase” locked up, there are still a small list of things to keep an eye on in the final three races.
Matt Kenseth won at Michigan on Sunday.
Matt Kenseth won the race. The last time NASCAR was in Michigan, there were some very lengthy rain delays that eventually led to the race being called since it was over halfway done.
Although Kenseth stopped shy of saying he or his team are championship favorites, he did acknowledge the incredible roll the team has been on.
Kevin Harvick finished second. Busch was sixth in qualifying Friday, but going to the backup auto will force him to start from the back in today’s race. Not a huge win, but it should definitely make a statement for The Chase. It dates back to Kyle Busch’s victory at Kentucky in July. The only reason this should be considered a loss for Busch, is because he was running second at one point during this race.
“We think it is something to do with fueling”, Dillon said.
Still, Johnson is coming off his worst race of the season Sunday amid a curious slump at Hendrick Motorsports. Logano was 20th and Busch wound up 21st. Other than his height of 6-foot-4 and broad shoulders, Baker is best remembered for a dominating performance in the 1980 Daytona 500 when he led 143 laps in Harry Ranier’s Oldsmobile. Sadly, Bowyer spun on lap 127 and finished the race 34 laps down. I guess the struggle continues for MWR in 2015.
Just when the wackiness subsided Sunday, it took off in another direction in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Windows 10 400 at Pocono Raceway. The 2011 Brickyard 400 victor now sits at 13th in the standings with 654 points, two top-5 finishes and four top-10 finishes. Just like his disrespect of the guitar trophy at Nashville years ago, just like his disrespect of Dale Jr.at Richmond in 2008, just like every other instance in his life, Busch has shown that he has no respect for the sport he races in. In three weeks when NASCAR heads to Darlington, they will again run a different rules package. Given, it’s not much life, but it’s enough to establish a starting point for the young and talented Austin Dillon.
On the 113th lap, which was 226 miles into the 400-mile race, then-leader Harvick got a little careless on timing a pit stop, tried to cheat another lap, and actually ran out of gas. Not only that, he stayed in The Top-five and ended the day in fifth. He apparently made contact with Ryan Newman, another driver in Chase no-man’s-land.
Advertisement
Busch must remain in the top 30 in the standings through the next three races if he wants to be part of the 16-driver Chase field. His five victories there are his most on any Cup track.
