Kenseth makes move to Joe Gibbs Racing official
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Matt Kenseth opened this season with a second victory in the Daytona 500, and it didn’t take him long to establish himself as a legitimate championship contender.
But before the midpoint of the season, Kenseth had decided he no longer wanted to drive for Roush Fenway Racing. On Tuesday, nearly two months after RFR said Kenseth was leaving, the driver finally confirmed he’s moving to Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of the season.
“Surprise,” he said as he entered a JGR news conference, a dry quip at one of the worst kept secrets in NASCAR.
Kenseth was deliberately vague, though, as to why he’s leaving RFR after 13 full Cup seasons. He’s never driven for anyone else at NASCAR’s highest level, and paired with Jack Roush won 22 races, a pair of Daytona 500s and the 2003 championship.
“I knew it would not only be a good fit, but it’s about winning races and winning championships and you want to put yourself in a position to be competitive going forward,” Kenseth said. “I felt like this was it.”
But he was winning races and he was competitive at Roush, where the 40-year-old Kenseth is considered one of NASCAR’s elite drivers. Pressed as to what JGR offered, Kenseth knew he wasn’t going to give a clear answer.
“There’s just a lot of different things that go into that. It’s about 2013 and beyond,” Kenseth said. “I felt like and I feel like (Gibbs) was the right place for me. I know without a doubt at all it’s the right place for me to be.”
Kenseth was in the final year of his contract with RFR, and every one of his previous deals with Roush had been extended before he’d gotten to the final season. But he indicated Tuesday things “got cloudy” after his Daytona 500 victory.
Enter JGR, who has room for a fourth car but was also eager to add an upgrade to its lineup.
“When we realized there might be a possibility to get Matt, we realized it would be foolish not to do that,” said team president J.D. Gibbs.
Kenseth said it was RFR’s decision to announce in June that Kenseth was leaving at the end of the year and would be replaced in the Sprint Cup Series by defending Nationwide champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Then it was Joe Gibbs Racing’s decision on when it was ready to announce Kenseth had signed to drive the No. 20 Toyota next year. Behind the scenes, Gibbs officials were trying to figure out how to also keep Joey Logano.
Logano has spent four seasons in the No. 20, and JGR wanted to keep him even after signing Kenseth. But they didn’t have the pieces in place for a fourth full-time Cup team, and AJ Allmendinger’s failed drug test opened the No. 22 seat at Penske Racing that Logano pursued.
“We felt like if we could get Joey into a full Nationwide deal and add some Cup races, we’d be in good shape,” said J.D. Gibbs. “When the 22 car opened up, we knew it might look different.”
Kenseth is expected to pick up some of the Nationwide races that Logano ran in a shared ride with Denny Hamlin and developmental drivers, and team owner Joe Gibbs said the organization will field two other Nationwide teams that will run for the title. He said the drivers would be announced at a later date, but Elliott Sadler is believed to have locked down a deal already.
Kenseth will be the third driver in the Cup lineup that includes Hamlin and Kyle Busch.
Both Hamlin and Busch are eager for Kenseth to step into the program and add some leadership that’s been lacking since three-time champion Tony Stewart left after the 2008 season.
But, Busch said they’ll miss Logano.
“I love Joey to death, I think he’s one of the best and he’s one of the hardest working drivers out there,” Busch said. “I wish Joey would stay, but obviously if there’s something better out there for him, he’s got to do what’s best for him.”
Hamlin celebrates
while godran laments
HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — While Denny Hamlin whooped it up in Victory Lane for the second week in a row, Jeff Gordon lamented one that got away.
It might just cost the four-time champion a shot at winning his fifth title.
Taking advantage of a late yellow flag, Hamlin got a boost from his pit crew and held off Gordon in a green-white-checkered finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday night.
Gordon, like a number of drivers in the race, desperately needed a win to boost his chances of getting into the NASCAR playoff.
He was right on Hamlin’s bumper heading into the turn three, right where he needed to be to pull off a dramatic pass for the win. But Gordon didn’t stick close enough to the leader to make his car a bit wobbly. Instead, it was the No. 24 car that drifted up the banking, allowing Hamlin to pull away for the victory by a couple of car lengths.
“I guess I’m getting soft in my old age,” the 41-year-old Gordon said. “I’m too nice. Fifteen years ago, Ii would have just moved him right up the racetrack. I don’t know why I didn’t do that.”
With a win, Gordon would have been in a strong position to claim a wild card into the Chase. Now, in all likelihood, he has to win next weekend’s race at Richmond to advance to the 12-driver playoff.
Either that, or make up a daunting 12-point deficit on Kyle Busch, the guy right ahead of him in the standings.
“It’s going to be intense,” Gordon said. “Don’t get in front of me on that last lap.”
Ten drivers have locked up their spot in the Chase, and Kasey Kahne is well positioned to take one of the wild cards (two wins this season, 11th in the points). That leaves Busch, Gordon and three other drivers with a win this season – Marcus Ambrose, Ryan Newman and Joey Logano – essentially fighting for one spot.
“I’ve been a part of it where I’ve either been trying to get in like this, or trying to stay in the Chase,” Gordon said. “There’s so much on the line, trying to win the race. That race is always intense. But when you look at how many guys have to win the points and everything else, it’s going to be a pretty crazy night.”
After a largely uneventful race, all sorts of subplots developed on the harried dash to the finish.
Coming off a win at Bristol, Hamlin knew a series-leading fourth victory of the season would put him in position to be the top seed after Richmond. Also on his mind was keeping Gordon from getting to the line first, which would have severely damaged the hopes of Busch and Logano, Hamlin’s teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing.
“I’m going to do whatever it takes to get as many (Gibbs) cars in there because it helps me,” Hamlin said. “We need Kyle in there, we need Joey in there, and if Jeff won that race, it was going to be all over. We had to do what we had to do.”
Martin Truex Jr. appeared to be positioned for his first win since 2007 until Jamie McMurray smashed into the wall on the front straightaway, bringing out a caution with three laps to go. The leaders went to pit road, and Hamlin’s crew got him back on the track first, just ahead of Truex.
While Truex struggled to get up to speed on the restart, Hamlin pulled away with Gordon right on his bumper. It was still that way when the checkered flag waved, the margin of victory 0.378 seconds.
“I wanted this one real bad,” Hamlin said. “The car faded a little bit, but the pit crew won me that race. That’s what a championship team is all about. This year, I think we have it all.”
Brad Keselowski finished third, while Truex faded to fourth. He had struggled all night on restarts, usually needing about five laps to get up to speed. In a desperate bid to stay with Hamlin, he spun his tires when the green flag waved.
“I sure didn’t want to see that caution,” said Truex, who has gone 192 races since his only Cup win at Dover five years ago. “We had it covered. Such is life. That seems to be my kind of luck when we’re leading.”
Along with Hamlin, eight other drivers have locked up a spot in the Chase based on points: Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Truex, Keselowski, Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick. Defending Cup champion Tony Stewart, who has three wins this season, is assured of at least a wild card.
Among those in desperation mode: last year’s runner-up, Carl Edwards.
He has yet to win a race this season after nearly capturing the title in 2011, and this was another tough night in a frustrating season. The No. 99 car started smoking on lap 264, apparently from a blown piston. Edwards was done for the night, a devastating blow to his chances.
Last year, he lost the title to Stewart on a tiebreaker in the final race of the season. Now, he absolutely must win at Richmond – and even that may not be enough to get him into the playoff.
“I’m not a real religious person, but it’s like somebody’s trying to reach me a lesson,” Edwards said. “We’re going to Richmond, where anything can happen. Hopefully, whatever happens involves us winning the race and getting in the Chase.”
The race was a snoozer much of the night, the field spreading out all over the 1.54-mile tri-oval, with a handful of drivers running up front while everyone else just struggled to stay on the lead lap. Busch dominated early on, leading a total of 66 laps. Then it was Harvick’s turn to set the pace, leading the field for 101 laps. Hamlin wound up leading the most laps, 105, but Truex appeared to have the strongest car at the end – until that final caution came out.
“It just wasn’t meant to be, I guess,” said Truex, who led 40 laps.
The first big wreck occurred on lap 269, when Newman and Sam Hornish Jr. got pinched by Johnson on the backstretch after a restart. Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet turned sharply into the outside wall, leaving Newman with nowhere to go. They were both damaged beyond repair, while Hornish managed to keep going in his banged-up car.
“It looks like the 48 just ran everybody out of room,” said Newman, another of those in a must-win at Richmond.
That’s not a concern for Hamlin.
He’s already got his sights on the bigger prize – his first Sprint Cup title.
“We have a lot of momentum now,” Hamlin said. “I will try to take advantage of it.”
