Matt Kenseth held off Martin Truex, Jr. to score the win in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Unlimited non-points event at Daytona International Speedway. Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR
Just three months after finishing his first winless season in four years, Matt Kenseth got his 2015 Sprint Cup season started off on the right foot with a win in the 37th annual Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night.
With help from his new Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Carl Edwards, Kenseth grabbed the lead with 56 laps to go and survived a final four-lap shootout to hold off Martin Truex, Jr. for his first victory in NASCAR’s traditional pre-season opener.
Edwards just barely missed getting second from Truex at the line and settled for third, followed by Casey Mears and Kyle Larson.
The victory was Kenseth’s fifth overall Sprint Cup victory at Daytona and second-straight win for JGR in the Sprint Unlimited after Denny Hamlin took the checkered flag in 2014.
Despite making the Chase last year, Kenseth endured his first winless season since 2010 but was buoyed by the off-season signing of his former Roush Fenway Racing teammate Edwards, who helped give Kenseth an edge in the late stages of the race.
“This is a great feeling. It’s always fun to win at Daytona for sure – it’s fun to win anywhere,” said Kenseth. “I tried to help Carl (Edwards) as much as I could without me losing the lead. It would be silly to stick in the bottom groove to help him, then watch a car pass me and neither one of us win. Whenever you do these kind of races, you always want to take care of your teammates the best you can.
“Great start to the week. Hopefully we can keep the momentum for the rest of the week.”
Truex, Jr. led a race-high 28 laps after having led just a single lap in all of 2014, an otherwise miserable season made worse when his longtime girlfriend Sherry Pollex was diagnosed with cancer last summer. During last month’s annual media tour, Truex, Jr. announced that Pollex had completed her last round of chemotherapy.
Truex hopes that Saturday night’s runner-up finish was sign of good things to come this season.
“It was a lot of fun. Honestly, it was the most fun I’ve had in a racecar in quite some time, probably about a year and a half,” said Truex, Jr. “It’s been miserable for a while. Last year was a tough year for us, on and off the racetrack.
“It’s just been fun to come to the racetrack. If we can come to the racetrack and know we’re going to have cars like that every week, that’s a dream come true for me. Hopefully we can continue that not only tonight, but throughout the season.
“Hate we came up short. Just kind of two against one there at the end. Kind of hard to compete with.”
Much like last year’s edition of the race, Saturday night’s event was a sheet metal rending wreck-fest that included four caution flags, two red flags and a 14-car pileup just past the halfway point of the race that took out nearly half the field.
In all, only 12 of the 25 entrants were still running by the time the checkered flag waved.
Brad Keselowski sits on the grass after an on track incident. Photo by Sean Gardner/NASCAR via Getty Images
Brad Keselowski was the first driver to make an early exit on lap 24 after contact with Kyle Larson sent Keselowski spinning through the tri-oval grass before sliding back up the racetrack and into the outside wall directly in front of a pack of six cars that somehow managed to avoid hitting him.
Just 17 laps later, the ‘Big One’ made its first appearance of the season, as Jamie McMurray spun off the bumper of Greg Biffle directly in front of the field, collecting 13 other cars including front row starters Paul Menard and Kasey Kahne, as well as Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin, among others.
The extended cleanup brought out the red flag for nearly 15 minutes before racing resumed with Truex at the head of the field, followed by Jeff Gordon and Joey Logano.
Back under green, Truex tried to make his no. 78 Chevrolet three lanes wide as he darted from the high side to the low to try and keep the rest of the field at bay, but the gig only held up so long as Kenseth and Edwards powered up the middle, then Kenseth dropped down to the low side to make the pass for the lead.
Truex refused to go quietly, and dogged Kenseth before the caution waved again on lap 63 for an incident involving Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Austin Dillon.
Back under green, Kenseth pulled away like he was shot out of a canon, opening up a five-car length lead that only held up for three laps before the final yellow flag waved for a hard crash between Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch and Greg Biffle that brought out another red flag.
Setting up for the final dash to the finish, Kenseth jumped out to another huge lead on the final restart as Edwards, Kevin Harvick and Truex jockeyed for position behind him before Truex managed to slide by to take second.
Although trailing by nearly six car lengths, Truex managed to chase down Kenseth on the final lap, closing right on Kenseth’s bumper in the final turn.
ED http://frankkrauseautomotive.com/cars-for-sale/page/3/?order_by=_price_value&order_by_dir=asc discount levitra condition affects more than 30 million men, who are diagnosed with a common male sexual issue called erectile dysfunction. Propecia super cialis professional is a medicine used by males to increase hair on the scalp. What are the key ingredients in Mast Mood oil, levitra no prescription which offers one of the best medicines available in the market. Once you are sure of your purchase Irrespective of the volume of the purchase, it is always best if the user is able viagra prescription to achieve and maintain erection.
Coming out of turn four, Truex looked low as Kenseth moved to block, then looked to the high side only to find Edwards there looking to steal second, allowing Kenseth to escape with the win.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Daytona International Speedway – Daytona Beach, FL
Sprint Unlimited – Feb. 14, 2015
1. (16) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 75, $198475.
2. (10) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 75, $84475.
3. (14) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 75, $44450.
4. (23) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 75, $38450.
5. (25) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 75, $37450.
6. (3) Joey Logano, Ford, 75, $35450.
7. (11) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 75, $34950.
8. (5) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 75, $32950.
9. (24) Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Chevrolet, 75, $30950.
10. (15) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 75, $29450.
11. (8) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 75, $28950.
12. (12) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 75, $28450.
13. (22) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, Accident, 67, $27950.
14. (7) Greg Biffle, Ford, Accident, 67, $27450.
15. (13) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, Accident, 67, $26950.
16. (20) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Ford, Accident, 61, $26700.
17. (6) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, Accident, 61, $26450.
18. (19) Aric Almirola, Ford, Accident, 55, $25950.
19. (9) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, Accident, 45, $25450.
20. (18) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, Accident, 45, $25200.
21. (1) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, Accident, 45, $24950.
22. (17) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, Accident, 45, $24710.
23. (2) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, Accident, 45, $24450.
24. (21) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, Accident, 45, $23950.
25. (4) Brad Keselowski, Ford, Accident, 22, $23450.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 135.569 mph.
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 22 Mins, 59 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.219 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 4 for 17 laps.
Lead Changes: 14 among 9 drivers.
Lap Leaders: P. Menard 1-7; B. Keselowski 8-9; M. Kenseth 10; M. Truex Jr. 11-13; M. Kenseth 14; M. Truex Jr. 15-25; K. Harvick 26; D. Earnhardt Jr. 27-39; M. Truex Jr. 40-45; J. McMurray 46; G. Biffle 47; M. Truex Jr. 48-55; M. Kenseth 56-68; C. Edwards 69; M. Kenseth 70-75.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): M. Truex Jr. 4 times for 28 laps; M. Kenseth 4 times for 21 laps; D. Earnhardt Jr. 1 time for 13 laps; P. Menard 1 time for 7 laps; B. Keselowski 1 time for 2 laps; K. Harvick 1 time for 1 lap; J. McMurray 1 time for 1 lap; G. Biffle 1 time for 1 lap; C. Edwards 1 time for 1 lap.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.