In what may be the surprise of the year Matt Kenseth pulled out all of the stops to win his second race of the Chase and third of the 2012 season at the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Kenseth outlasted the field which suffered 14 cautions – a record at the track and for this season to date – and saw Chase Racers scramble to the finish in ugly fashion.
The repave at Kansas Speedway provided the “ideal” setting for the rollicking action at the track.
Kenseth earned his 24th career Cup win which ties him on the list of all-times with Kurt and Kyle Busch.
Martin Truex Jr. battled to the line but was .495 seconds behind Kenseth and had to settle for second.
Non-Chase racer Paul Menard finished third, his best finish of the season to date.
Pole-sitter Kasey Kahne earned a fourth place finish. Defending NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart started 33rd, had a rough day, and still managed to take home fifth.
Clint Bowyer finished sixth. Non-Chase racer Regan Smith, subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr. who had a concussion, ended the day in seventh. Earnhardt Jr., it was announced, was cleared to race again for next week’s race from Martinsville, VA.
Brad Keselowski placed eighth. Jimmie Johnson hit the wall and still managed to pick up ninth place. Jeff Gordon brought up the top-10.
Keselowski retains the points lead another week with a slim seven point margin.
Johnson, also in the same spot as last week, occupies second.
Denny Hamlin finished 13th in Sunday’s race and is still in third for another week. Bowyer held on to fourth for another week as well. Kahne held firm in fifth.
Truex Jr. bumped up one spot to take sixth. Stewart also moved up one to occupy seventh. Gordon also stepped up one for eighth. Kenseth’s win ascended him to ninth, a jump of two positions. Kevin Harvick, 11th in Sunday’s race, stays at tenth.
Falling the farthest due to a 27th place finish, Biffle dropped five spots and is currently 11th in points.
Earnhardt Jr. remains in 12th place due to his imposed hiatus from racing since being diagnosed with the concussion sustained at Talladega two weeks ago.
From the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers return to short track racing at Martinsville Speedway next weekend. The Tums Fast Relief 500 will be run on Sunday, October 28th at 1pm EST on ESPN.
Be sure to tune into the seventh Chase Race and then return here upon the conclusion of the race for my Tums Fast Relief 500 Race Recap.
Candice Smith can be reached via Twitter by following @Chief187s. To find out more please visit http://Chief187.com.
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