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CUP: Kenseth A Strong Third
Written by: Tom Jensen   
09/27/2009
Dover, DE
 
Matt Kenseth (Left) and crew chief Drew Blickensderfer (Right) posted the best finish for the team in the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway in 15 races. (Photo: LAT Photographic) ยป More Photos

Told that his third-place finish in Sunday’s AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway was his first top-five in 15 races, Matt Kenseth smiled wryly. “Feels like 15 years,” he said, his droll midwestern humor flashing just a little.

Indeed, it has been a strange and disappointing season for Kenseth, who opened 2009 with back-to-back victories at Daytona and Southern California, only to see his Roush Fenway Racing Fords seem to slip a little deeper in the pack every week. And that’s why the 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion missed the Chase for the Sprint Cup for the first time in his career.

But a trip to the Monster Mile proved to be good for what ailed Kenseth, who finished fourth here in May, the last time he had scored a top-five finish. For Kenseth, it was business as usual on Sunday, even though he’s not in the running for the championship this year.

“My approach never changes,” said Kenseth. “Everybody asks me. But it really never changes. I don't come to the racetrack and say, ‘Man, I don't want to win today. I want to run fifth.’ So we always go to win.” And if you can’t win, you try to finish second. And if you can’t finish second, you try to get third, which is what Kenseth did.

The key to is day came during caution-flag periods. Kenseth’s pit crew, the Killer B’s, were as efficient as ever at changing tires and picking up positions on pit road, while Kenseth always seemed to be in the advantageous outside lane on restarts.

“We got most of our … positions through pit stops and restarts,” said Kenseth. “I kept getting in the proper lane on restarts and my car would run for two laps, and I'd get two or three spots. And you had to do it right there because there weren't many people that
could pass very good. So we had a nice solid day on pit road. And the car was okay, also, and (I) was able to get a decent finish out of it.”

As for his season, Kenseth continued to be philosophical about the disappointment of not making the Chase. “It shouldn't be a big surprise,” he said. “It wasn't a big surprise to me we missed the Chase. I saw it coming for three months. We haven't been performing. The whole company hasn't been performing the way it needs to to win a championship. And that's not being negative or anything. It's just obvious. Everybody can see that.”

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of ?Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,? and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to




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