Commentary
NASCAR Cup Bristol II
Kenseth, Kahne eye first win as Chase approaches
Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne heads to Bristol for the IRWIN Tools Night Race on Saturday.
Edited: Aug 21, 2014, 8:56 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
A big goose egg sits next to Matt Kenseth’s name in the win column a year removed from a season when he posted a career-best seven wins on his way to a runner-up finish in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. That’s the bad news.
The good news: Kenseth has raced well, posting eight top-five and 14 top-10 finishes in 23 starts this season.
The last three races at Bristol, our No. 20 team has run really well...
Matt Kenseth
Barring disaster, he should qualify for the Chase. Kenseth currently ranks 13th on the Chase grid, 58 points ahead of the Chase Grid bubble. Still, at this point, only a win can lock him in. Kenseth has so many points that a victory at Bristol would catapult him to the No. 8 spot in the Chase standings, ahead of all the one-win drivers. It would also give him three bonus points for the “Challenger Round” of the Chase.
“No, because you get the most points to win,” said Kenseth, when asked whether he thinks about not taking the chance to win due to his high points total. “I don’t ever know why you wouldn’t want to win. I get asked those questions all the time and people always look at me like I’m being smart, but it’s true.”
Kenseth heads to Bristol for the IRWIN Tools Night Race on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET on ABC) with the mission of capturing that elusive victory – and a repeat win in the prestigious race. He captured the checkered flag in this event last year and has won at the half-mile track two other times.
“I always look forward to going to Bristol because I think that the racing has always been pretty good there,” Kenseth said. “The last three races at Bristol, our No. 20 team has run really well even though we got wrecked out of two of those races and won the third.”
Unlike Kenseth...
Kasey Kahne finds himself in a similar situation as Kenseth. The No. 5 Chevrolet driver notched one of his two victories at Bristol last season, but has yet to find victory lane in 2013. Unlike Kenseth, Kahne lurks outside the Chase in 17th, trailing Biffle by nine points for the final spot. He too can control his destiny by winning, guaranteeing himself a slot in the Chase, but otherwise, he would have to hope for other fringe drivers to falter.
Kahne’s victory last season is his lone triumph at Bristol, but he does claim five top-five and 10 top-10 finishes at the high-banked short track.
"I’m really excited to go to Bristol,” Kahne said. “Every time we race at Bristol, I look forward to it. We’ve ran really well there for a while now.”
NASCAR Wire Service
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Bringing up bebe
Next article Six drivers post times below the track record in first Bristol practice
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Kasey Kahne
It's Kasey Kahne Friday every other week in the 2027 NASCAR Truck season
NASCAR Truck
NASCAR Truck
Charlotte II
It's Kasey Kahne Friday every other week in the 2027 NASCAR Truck season
Kasey Kahne officially ends NASCAR retirement for full-time Spire Truck ride
NASCAR Truck
NASCAR Truck
Kasey Kahne officially ends NASCAR retirement for full-time Spire Truck ride
Kasey Kahne is as passionate and competitive as ever at Knoxville Nationals
Sprint Car
Sprint Car
Kasey Kahne is as passionate and competitive as ever at Knoxville Nationals
Latest news
Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
5 h
Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
5 h
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
How to watch NASCAR at Talladega II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
6 h
How to watch NASCAR at Talladega II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV
Peterson Racing addresses online abuse after parting ways with Austin Green
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Talladega II
6 h
Peterson Racing addresses online abuse after parting ways with Austin Green
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe