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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Friday Kansas Notebook
Kenseth wasn't happy to lose engine, but was glad to be fast again.
Tom Jensen  |  Posted September 27, 2007   Kansas City, Kan.
Even though it didn't last, Kenseth was pleased by the promising performance of his Roush Ford at Dover. (LAT photo) MORE NASCAR PHOTOS

UP TO SPEED After spending much of the season struggling to demonstrate the pace that the top NASCAR Nextel Cup cars have had, Matt Kenseth finally had a rocket last week at Dover, only to see the motor in his Roush Fenway Racing Ford Car of Tomorrow expire after a rare failure. While Kenseth clearly wasn't happy that he lost at Dover, he said it was better than not being fast in the first place.

"Less frustrating. It wasn't something really in our control," Kenseth said Friday at Kansas Speedway, where he was asked to compare the motor failure to some recent sub-par runs this season. "It's disappointing when you don't finish, but it's not more frustrating. It's more frustrating when you go to the track and you're not performing. So, it felt good to go there and perform; that's the best we performed in the COT car. We had a first- or second-place car there, depending on what stage of the race it was. We felt pretty good about that, that we were able to run and keep up and make some progress on our cars, so that part gives you a lot of confidence. Obviously, the timing could have been better for breaking, not being in the Chase somewhere, but certainly we feel better about our performance."
The aerodynamics of the COT have the drivers refiguring the do's and don'ts at 'Dega. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images) MORE NASCAR PHOTOS

BLIND AMBITION Next week, the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series will race at Talladega Superspeedway, the largest oval on the circuit and the first superspeedway to host a Car of Tomorrow races. Already, drivers are expressing some concern about racing the COT at Talladega, because the combination of the COT's rear wing and 2-inch taller "greenhouse" roof area are causing visibility issues for the drivers.

"The wing, the rear glass angle, the way the sunlight hits the back window it's kind of reflecting some light towards us now and it's tough to see through the glass," said reigning NASCAR Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. "The other part of it is the roof itself is much larger, the greenhouse is much larger and we didn't realize how that extra couple inches really made a difference in the draft following people to know where you're at. Right now you're driving blind out there and if it something happens in front of you there's no chance in missing it because all you see is the back window and the framework of the car in front of you."

MOVING FORWARD Denny Hamlin said he hasn't talked with Kyle Petty yet about the collision and subsequent confrontation the two had in the garage last weekend at Dover. "No matter what you do, Kyle is going to be right and a lot of what he did was right. It's tough," said Hamlin. "You never want to be involved in an incident, especially with Kyle because he's respected a lot like Mark Martin is in the garage. So really I've just got to learn to grow up as far as that's concerned."
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