tool name
closeHere he comes again
Matt Kenseth picking off spots, making what's become a characteristic move toward top of standings when it counts
JIM UTTER
The Charlotte Observer
Thursday, Jun. 26, 2008
Matt Kenseth (17) in front of J.J. Yeley (96) during the Best Buy 400 at Dover International Speedway. Sam Sharpe/US PRESSWIRE
Here comes Matt Kenseth.
Should we be surprised?
With the precision consistency for which he has been known throughout his Sprint Cup Series career, Kenseth has roared back into contention for this season's championship over the past six races, out-performing even series points leader Kyle Busch along the way.
Although he has yet to win a race in 2008, Kenseth has rattled off six consecutive top-10 finishes to break back into the top 12 in points, the cutoff to qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
In six races he has scored 934 points - more than any other driver - and moved from 22nd in the series standings following the May 3 race at Richmond, Va., to 12th after Sunday's eighth-place finish in the road course race at Sonoma, Calif.
“I feel like we won. This is the only track on the circuit that we never had a top 10 at, and we fixed that,” Kenseth said after Sunday's race at Infineon Raceway.
“That's my best finish ever here, and Dale (Earnhardt) Jr., too. That was pretty fun racing him at the end. I think that's both of our first top 10s. I think it's the only track neither one of us had a top 10 at, so that's pretty cool that we drove hard and got a good finish."
Even Kenseth's late charge from near-elimination in the championship hunt to title contender is not new. He performed a similar feat in 2005, when he rallied from 24th after the 14th race to qualify for the Chase (and only the top 10 qualified then).
Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson, the winner of the past two championships, are the only two drivers who have made every Chase since the format's inception in 2004. Kenseth won his only series championship in 2003, before the advent of the playoff format.
Asked if it was too early to be concerned about making the top 12, Kenseth said, “Never.”
“You always look at (the standings) on the way home, especially if you're moving up to see where you're at and see what happened,” he said.
“The bottom line is really you do the best you can every week, and try to finish as high as you can and try to lead laps and do all that and the points take care of themselves.
“So, really, it's not a strategy, when you race hard and try to be smart and do the right things and, hopefully, get some good finishes and get back in it.”
It may not be a strategy, but Kenseth's rallies from the back are becoming all too familiar. And he glad.
“I definitely feel like we're getting better. I mean, we had a string of miserable finishes there - a couple months ago, I think we had three or four that were 38th or worse or something - so things have definitely been in the upswing,” Kenseth said.
“If you bring fast cars to the track every week and they're competitive and they're fast and they can run in the top five and run in the top 10, you know you'll, hopefully, gather your points and win some races sooner or later.”
Or qualify for yet another Chase.