Breaking news
NASCAR Cup Daytona 500
Time management: Matt Kenseth questions the clock
Kenseth says his strategy would have changed had he known there was time on the clock.
Lee Spencer
Edited: Feb 15, 2015, 10:23 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Despite winning the Sprint Unlimited on Saturday night, Matt Kenseth wasn’t pleased with the chain of events that occurred in the final round of Daytona 500 qualifying.
“You told me I had seconds to spare, I don’t know how they made it,” Kenseth said to crew chief Jason Ratcliff over the radio after qualifying fourth.
“I will tell you through the timing there, as we went off the end of pit road and getting back to the green I don’t know if the goal of the party was to get everybody across the line or not but there was a few seconds added to the clock in the last minute,” Ratcliff replied.
You need to check on that Jason because that is absolutely critical.
Matt Kenseth
“You need to check on that Jason because that is absolutely critical,” Kenseth added. I don’t know if I had five seconds I would have pulled back a little bit…rather than kept going. It’s just one more thing though.”
NASCAR chief racing development officer and executive vice president Steve O'Donnell doesn't know how timing could have been manipulated.
"I looked at the clock, our timing and scoring system," O'Donnell told Motorsport.com. "In that last session, everybody made it in the time we had on the clock. There weren't any adjustments made."
Game on
With less than a minute remaining in Round 3 of qualifying, Martin Truex finally rolled off of pit road. Seconds later, the field followed.
Jeff Gordon won his second Daytona 500 pole – and his fourth pole overall on the 2.5-mile track with a lap of 44.711-seconds. It's the 78th career pole for the four-time Cup champion.
Jimmie Johnson will start second. Aric Almirola, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Carl Edwards and Jamie McMurray are all locked into the 57th Annual Daytona 500 based on times.
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 Pile up halts Daytona 500 qualifying, Bowyer furious with NASCAR
Next article Jeff Gordon on pole for 2015 Daytona 500, edging Jimmie Johnson
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Lee Spencer
Harvick reflects on career after Atlanta win, honors Dale Earnhardt
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Atlanta
Harvick reflects on career after Atlanta win, honors Dale Earnhardt
Chase Elliott: "We have a lot of work to do" after Atlanta showing
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Atlanta
Chase Elliott: "We have a lot of work to do" after Atlanta showing
Harvick leads veteran charge at Atlanta Motor Speedway
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Atlanta
Harvick leads veteran charge at Atlanta Motor Speedway
More from
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Why NASCAR is not penalizing Stenhouse, McDowell for post-race theatrics
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
Why NASCAR is not penalizing Stenhouse, McDowell for post-race theatrics
Winners and losers from NASCAR Cup at Charlotte after dramatic finish
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
Winners and losers from NASCAR Cup at Charlotte after dramatic finish
Michael McDowell wrecks Ricky Stenhouse in heated post-race clash
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
Michael McDowell wrecks Ricky Stenhouse in heated post-race clash
Latest news
Toyota clinches 2026 NASCAR Cup manufacturer championship early after dominant season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
3 h
Toyota clinches 2026 NASCAR Cup manufacturer championship early after dominant season
Tyler Reddick really needed NASCAR Phoenix win for several reasons
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
3 h
Tyler Reddick really needed NASCAR Phoenix win for several reasons
Bubba Wallace laments mistake after heartbreaking Phoenix loss
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
4 h
Bubba Wallace laments mistake after heartbreaking Phoenix loss
NASCAR is getting the championship finish it has pursued since 1992
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
4 h
NASCAR is getting the championship finish it has pursued since 1992
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