Kenseth Dominates Richmond While Chase Field is Set

RICHMOND, VA – RIS – Matt Kenseth had the car and the skill to win Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400, and he did it by leading 88% of the laps.  Kenseth qualified second when Joey Logano, the third-place finisher, edged him for the pole, but there was no doubt who had the best car.

Kenseth beat Kyle Busch, Logano, and 40 others to claim the trophy on a wet night in Richmond, but the last race in the regular season was noted for the lack of passes and drama. 

Kenseth, who had a stout car in practice and qualifying Friday, led 352 of the 400 laps on his way to the victory. Kenseth lamented how the cars practice in daylight didn’t translate to a night race, but didn’t seem to have the problem on this night.

There were no surprises in who made the Chase for the Sprint Cup in the regular-season finale.

Jamie McMurray (who finished 13th), Jeff Gordon (seventh), Ryan Newman (20th), Clint Bowyer (10th) and Paul Menard (26th) earned the final five spots for the 16-driver Chase field, doing just enough to keep Aric Almirola (fourth) and Kasey Kahne (18th) from leapfrogging them in the standings. Almirola unofficially finished 17 points behind Menard for the final spot in points.

Kenseth joined Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch with four regular-season wins, and they left Richmond atop the standings thanks to the three-point bonus for each regular-season victory as part of the points reset for Chase competitors.

They each have 2,012 points entering the Chase, with a three-point lead on Joey Logano, a six-point lead on regular-season champ Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards, and a three-point lead on Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin.

The winless drivers who got into the Chase on points will start 12 points behind.

No driver who entered the race on the outside looking in raced into the Chase field, with most of them needing to earn one of the automatic Chase berths that comes with a race win. Of the notables missing the Chase were 2014 Chase participants Almirola, Kahne, AJ Allmendinger and Greg Biffle. Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick also were among those to miss the Chase cut.

There was one bizarre incident: Michael McDowell clipped a safety truck on the high side of the track on Lap 291. He was a lapped-down car, and as the leaders dove down pit road, McDowell didn't know that the safety truck was on the track.

The safety crew reported to NASCAR race control that they were not injured.

"I jumped on the brakes and started to slide, and then [the cars in front of me] all pulled down, and it was just too late for me," McDowell said. "I had no idea the safety truck was there. I think a lot of guys were trying to pull up to get to pit road, and a lot of lapped guys jumped on the brakes.

"It was just my mistake, obviously. I'm driving it. I take full responsibility for it. But it definitely caught me off guard. ... I'm thankful nobody got hurt. I'm embarrassed for my team."

That was one kind of drama, but the drama that gave a signature to the Chase in 2014 just may show up again in this year’s championship run.  Ryan Newman explained it best.

"It's probably been a little tamer this first 25 races, just kind of watching, because people are giving and taking and not being quite as aggressive. I saw a little bit more of that (aggressiveness) at Darlington (last week) than I thought I was going to see and there were quite a few guys that typically when you'd get underneath somebody, they'd let you go. And that didn't happen last week.

"So, I think it's building; especially going into the Chase. But I think the Chase itself is what really lit that fire. There was a lot of fuel in the air last year, and that Chase lit that fire. I think there is potential for that to happen again."

As it stands, Chevrolet drivers will have a distinct advantage.  Nine Chevrolets made the final 16, Two Fords, and five Toyotas.  Joe Gibbs Racing had the most qualifiers (4) followed by Hendrick Motorsports (3).  Team Penske and Stewart-Haas Racing had two in the Top 16.

It’s on to Chicagoland where the first round will begin next Sunday.  We are getting closer to crowning a new champion, but there is a long treacherous road to navigate to Homestead.

Unofficial Results: 58th Annual Federated Auto Parts 400, Richmond International Raceway

Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Lap, Pts, TLd, LLd, BPts, Status
1) 2, Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota, 400, 48, 6, 352, 5, Running
2) 4, Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Crispy/American Heritage Chocolate Toyota, 400, 43, 1, 9, 1, Running
3) 1, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 400, 42, 5, 25, 1, Running
4) 24, Aric Almirola, No. 43 Smithfield Foods/Waffle House Ford, 400, 40, , , , Running
5) 29, Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet, 400, 39, , , , Running
6) 25, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, 400, 39, 2, 14, 1, Running
7) 23, Jeff Gordon, No. 24 3M Chevrolet, 400, 37, , , , Running
8) 3, Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Miller Lite Ford, 400, 36, , , , Running
9) 9, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, 400, 35, , , , Running
10) 26, Clint Bowyer, No. 15 5-hour Energy Toyota, 400, 34, , , , Running
11) 7, Carl Edwards, No. 19 ARRIS Toyota, 400, 33, , , , Running
12) 11, Kyle Larson, No. 42 Target Chevrolet, 400, 32, , , , Running
13) 31, Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Cessna Chevrolet, 399, 31, , , , Running
14) 6, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John's Chevrolet, 399, 30, , , , Running
15) 8, Kurt Busch, No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet, 399, 29, , , , Running
16) 19, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Cargill Ford, 399, 28, , , , Running
17) 5, David Ragan, No. 55 Aaron's Online Dream Machine Toyota, 398, 27, , , , Running
18) 20, Kasey Kahne, No. 5 HendrickRideAlong.com Chevrolet, 398, 26, , , , Running
19) 14, Danica Patrick, No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet, 397, 25, , , , Running
20) 13, Ryan Newman, No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet, 397, 24, , , , Running
21) 15, Casey Mears, No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet, 397, 23, , , , Running
22) 17, Brian Scott(i), No. 33 Shore Lodge Chevrolet, 397, 0, , , , Running
23) 28, Trevor Bayne, No. 6 AdvoCare Ford, 397, 21, , , , Running
24) 21, AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Kroger/Bush's Beans Chevrolet, 397, 20, , , , Running
25) 18, Justin Allgaier, No. 51 Brandt Chevrolet, 397, 19, , , , Running
26) 22, Paul Menard, No. 27 Libman/Menards Chevrolet, 397, 18, , , , Running
27) 12, Austin Dillon, No. 3 DOW Chevrolet, 397, 17, , , , Running
28) 32, Sam Hornish Jr., No. 9 Go Bowling/Draft Kings Ford, 397, 16, , , , Running
29) 10, Tony Stewart, No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, 396, 15, , , , Running
30) 35, Landon Cassill(i), No. 40 Precon Marine/Interstate Moving Services Chevrolet, 396, 0, , , , Running
31) 38, Greg Biffle, No. 16 Cheez-It Ford, 396, 13, , , , Running
32) 16, Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet, 394, 12, , , , Running
33) 30, David Gilliland, No. 38 The Pete Store Ford, 393, 11, , , , Running
34) 43, JJ Yeley(i), No. 26 Maxim Toyota, 392, 0, , , , Running
35) 37, Brett Moffitt #, No. 34 Dockside Ford, 391, 9, , , , Running
36) 33, Matt DiBenedetto #, No. 83 James Madison University Toyota, 390, 8, , , , Running
37) 36, Alex Bowman, No. 7 Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet, 390, 7, , , , Running
38) 34, Cole Whitt, No. 35 MDS Ford, 389, 6, , , , Running
39) 41, Jeb Burton #, No. 23 Estes Toyota, 387, 5, , , , Running
40) 42, Jeffrey Earnhardt(i), No. 32 BeerFrost.com/CorvetteParts.net Ford, 387, 0, , , , Running
41) 40, Reed Sorenson, No. 98 Premium Motorsports Ford, 335, 3, , , , Running
42) 39, Michael McDowell, No. 95 Thrivent Financial Ford, 287, 2, , , , Accident
43) 27, Michael Annett, No. 46 Switch Hitch Chevrolet, 145, 1, , , , Accident

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, # = Rookie
Fin = Finish, Str = Start, Pts = Total Points, BPs = Lap Leader Bns Pts, TLd = Times Led, LLd = Laps Led.
Average Speed: 100.353 MPH
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 59 Mins, 22 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 0.951 Seconds
Lead Changes: 13 among 4 drivers Cautions: 6 for 47 laps

Unofficial NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Points Report

Pos   Driver                               BPts Pts    Ldr   Nxt   Sts    Pls    Win  T5    T10  DNF  PP    G/L
1.      Kevin Harvick                 34    978  0       0       26    1       2       18    22    1       1       0
2.      Joey Logano                    28    948  -30   -30   26    5       3       16    20    0       2       0
3.      Dale Earnhardt Jr.          15    894  -84   -54   26    0       2       12    17    1       3       0
4.      Brad Keselowski             23    873  -105 -21   26    1       1       6       18    1       4       0
5.      Jimmie Johnson              23    852  -126 -21   26    0       4       11    17    0       5       0
6.      Matt Kenseth                  27    824  -154 -28   26    3       4       10    16    2       7       1
7.      Martin Truex Jr.             17    818  -160 -6     26    0       1       7       17    2       6       -1
8.      Denny Hamlin                16    793  -185 -25   26    2       1       9       13    1       8       0
9.      Kurt Busch                      20    781  -197 -12   23    3       2       8       14    0       9       0
10.    Jamie McMurray            3       757  -221 -24   26    0       0       2       7       1       10    0
11.    Carl Edwards                  22    746  -232 -11   26    2       2       3       9       2       12    1
12.    Ryan Newman                4       738  -240 -8     26    0       0       4       12    1       11    -1
13.    Jeff Gordon                     10    737  -241 -1     26    3       0       3       13    1       13    0
14.    Clint Bowyer                   5       716  -262 -21   26    0       0       2       11    0       15    1
15.    Paul Menard                   1       710  -268 -6     26    0       0       2       4       1       14    -1
16.    Aric Almirola                   1       693  -285 -17   26    0       0       2       2       1       16    0
17.    Kasey Kahne                  7       677  -301 -16   26    1       0       2       6       2       17    0
18.    Kyle Larson                     5       618  -360 -59   25    0       0       1       7       4       19    1
19.    Greg Biffle                       3       611  -367 -7     26    0       0       2       3       0       18    -1
20.    Austin Dillon                   3       603  -375 -8     26    0       0       1       4       2       20    0
21.    Aj Allmendinger             4       556  -422 -47   26    2       0       0       3       3       21    0
22.    Casey Mears                   2       554  -424 -2     26    0       0       0       1       3       22    0
23.    Danica Patrick                2       552  -426 -2     26    0       0       0       2       2       23    0
24.    David Ragan                   2       522  -456 -30   26    0       0       1       1       4       25    1
25.    Kyle Busch                      25    514  -464 -8     15    1       4       6       9       2       27    2
26.    Tony Stewart                  3       511  -467 -3     26    0       0       0       2       4       24    -2
27.    Sam Hornish Jr.              0       508  -470 -3     26    0       0       0       3       2       26    -1
28.    Trevor Bayne                  0       473  -505 -35   26    0       0       0       2       3       28    0
29.    Ricky Stenhouse Jr.        1       468  -510 -5     26    0       0       1       1       2       29    0
30.    Justin Allgaier                 1       439  -539 -29   26    0       0       0       1       3       30    0
31.    Cole Whitt                       2       394  -584 -45   26    0       0       0       0       2       31    0
32.    David Gilliland                4       391  -587 -3     26    0       0       0       0       2       32    0
33.    Alex Bowman                  3       331  -647 -60   25    0       0       0       0       3       33    0
34.    Brett Moffitt #                2       320  -658 -11   22    0       0       0       1       0       34    0
35.    Matt Dibenedetto #       1       290  -688 -30   23    0       0       0       0       1       35    0
36.    Michael Annett               1       277  -701 -13   26    0       0       0       0       3       36    0
37.    Josh Wise                        3       202  -776 -75   19    0       0       0       1       4       37    0
38.    Michael McDowell          0       163  -815 -39   12    0       0       0       0       1       38    0
39.    Jeb Burton #                   0       154  -824 -9     20    0       0       0       0       3       39    0
40.    Alex Kennedy                 0       93    -885 -61   10    0       0       0       0       0       40    0
41.    Reed Sorenson               1       44    -934 -49   5       0       0       0       0       0       41    0
42.    Bobby Labonte               1       39    -939 -5     3       0       0       0       0       1       42    0
43.    Brian Vickers                  0       32    -946 -7     2       0       0       0       0       0       43    0
44.    Michael Waltrip              0       26    -952 -6     2       0       0       0       0       0       44    0
45.    Mike Wallace                  0       8       -970 -18   1       0       0       0       0       0       45    0
46.    Eddie Macdonald           0       7       -971 -1     1       0       0       0       0       0       46    0
47.    T J Bell Jr.                        0       7       -971 0       1       0       0       0       0       0       47    0
48.    Will Kimmel III               0       6       -972 -1     1       0       0       0       0       0       48    0
49.    Ron Hornaday Jr.            0       2       -976 -4     1       0       0       0       0       1       49    0
50.    Ryan Blaney(I)               0       0       -978 -2     11    0       0       1       1       3       50    0
51.    Landon Cassill(I)            0       0       -978 -2     26    0       0       0       0       4       51    0
52.    Brian Scott(I)                  0       0       -978 -2     7       0       0       0       0       3       52    0
53.    Ty Dillon(I)                     0       0       -978 -2     4       0       0       0       0       0       53    0
54.    Jj Yeley(I)                        0       0       -978 -2     25    0       0       0       0       4       54    0
55.    Regan Smith(I)               0       0       -978 -2     4       0       0       0       0       0       55    0
56.    Chase Elliott(I)               0       0       -978 -2     5       0       0       0       0       1       56    0
57.    Matt Crafton(I)              0       0       -978 -2     1       0       0       0       0       0       57    0
58.    Johnny Sauter(I)            0       0       -978 -2     1       0       0       0       0       0       58    0
59.    Chris Buescher(I)          0       0       -978 -2     6       0       0       0       0       0       59    0
60.    Boris Said(I)                   0       0       -978 -2     2       0       0       0       0       0       60    0
61.    Brendan Gaughan(I)     0       0       -978 -2     8       0       0       0       0       2       61    0
62.    Justin Marks(I)               0       0       -978 -2     1       0       0       0       0       0       62    0
63.    Mike Bliss(I)                   0       0       -978 -2     10    0       0       0       0       0       63    0
64.    Travis Kvapil(I)              0       0       -978 -2     3       0       0       0       0       0       64    0
65.    Joe Nemechek(I)            0       0       -978 -2     1       0       0       0       0       0       65    0
66.    Timmy Hill(I)                  0       0       -978 -2     6       0       0       0       0       1       66    0
67.    Joey Gase(I)                    0       0       -978 -2     2       0       0       0       0       1       67    0
68.    Derek White(I)               0       0       -978 -2     1       0       0       0       0       0       68    0
69.    Jeff Green(I)                   0       0       -978 -2     1       0       0       0       0       0       69    0
70.    Erik Jones(I)                   0       0       -978 -2     1       0       0       0       0       0       70    0
71.    Jeffrey Earnhardt(I)      0       0       -978 -2     1       0       0       0       0       0       72    1
72.    Tanner Berryhill            0       0       -978 -2     0       0       0       0       0       0       71    -1
Pos   Driver                               BPts Pts    -Ldr  -Nxt  Sts    Pls    Win  T5    T10  DNF  PP    G/L
BPts= Bonus Points, PTS= Points, -Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, STS = Starts, Pls= Poles, Win= Wins, T5= Top Fives, T10= Top Tens, DNF= Did Not Finish, PP = Previous Position, G/L = Points standing gain/loss, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series