Matt Kenseth (Pictured) is helping rookie Colin Braun learn the ropes in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Matt Kenseth wasn’t supposed to be in this predicament.
Not after making the Chase for the Sprint Cup five years in a row, a feat that only three-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson has equaled.
And most assuredly not after opening the 2009 season by winning the Daytona 500 in February and following it up the next week with a dominating victory at Auto Club Speedway in Southern California. Those victories put he and the crew of his Roush Fenway Racing No. 17 Ford Fusion on top of the racing world.
Yet the 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion sits 12th in points, just 20 up on Brian Vickers and 37 ahead of Kyle Busch, with the final race of the regular season set for Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway.
The deal is simple: Kenseth needs to leave RIR 12th or higher in points to make the Chase again.
Working in Kenseth’s favor: There are a lot of ways he can hold onto 12th. Given that the gap from fifth-place Carl Edwards to 14th-place Kyle Busch is a mere 122 points, any number of scenarios could play out in Kenseth’s favor. If, say, a Mark Martin or a Juan Pablo Montoya, blew an engine or cut a tire, that could help seal the deal for Kenseth.
His best insurance, of course, is simply to run well. If Kenseth finishes second and leads at least one lap in Saturday night’s Chevy Rock ‘N’ Roll 400, he’s in the Chase regardless of what Vickers or Busch does.
And there’s the rub: Since winning the first two races of the season, Kenseth has just two top fives, a fifth at Texas in April and a fourth at Dover the following month.
