BRISTOL, Tenn. - Matt Kenseth held off Kasey Kahne for 12 nerve-racking laps to hang on and win Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The win is the fifth of the season for Kenseth, most in the Sprint Cup Series, and clinches a spot in the Chase for the championship.
Kahne passed Juan Pablo Montoya for second and set his sights on Kenseth. Kahne tried numerous times over the final dozen laps to make the pass but never could make it stick. He went for the bump-and-run on the last lap and missed, and had to settle for second.
Montoya was third, followed by Brian Vickers, Joey Logano, Paul Menard, Jeff Gordon, Marcos Ambrose, Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Irwin Tools Night Race
At Bristol, Tenn.
Lap Length: .533 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
Car makers: C=Chevrolet, D=Dodge, F=Ford, T=Toyota
1. (5) M. Kenseth, T, 500 laps, 132.4 rating, 48 points.
2. (7) K. Kahne, C, 500, 108.2, 42.
3. (16) J. Pablo Montoya, C, 500, 108.1, 41.
4. (4) B. Vickers, T, 500, 92, 0.
5. (6) J. Logano, F, 500, 97.9, 39.
6. (21) P. Menard, C, 500, 92.8, 39.
7. (32) J. Gordon, C, 500, 111.3, 37.
8. (14) M. Ambrose, F, 500, 78.7, 36.
9. (29) G. Biffle, F, 500, 77.2, 35.
10. (19) D. Earnhardt Jr., C, 500, 112.4, 35.
11. (43) Ky. Busch, T, 500, 80.1, 33.
12. (17) D. Ragan, F, 500, 67.1, 32.
13. (41) J. Burton, C, 500, 74.9, 31.
14. (24) C. Bowyer, T, 500, 88.7, 31.
15. (10) A. Almirola, F, 499, 85.3, 29.
16. (39) T. Kvapil, T, 499, 53.1, 28.
17. (38) D. Stremme, T, 498, 52.6, 27.
18. (27) R. Stenhouse Jr., F, 497, 71.5, 26.
19. (20) J. McMurray, C, 497, 69.2, 25.
20. (11) M. Martin, C, 497, 58.9, 24.
21. (8) R. Newman, C, 497, 84.4, 23.
22. (36) D. Blaney, C, 497, 48.5, 22.
23. (33) L. Cassill, C, 497, 42.9, 0.
24. (34) J. Yeley, C, 496, 46.2, 20.
25. (25) D. Gilliland, F, 495, 49.6, 19.
26. (22) D. Patrick, C, 493, 46.2, 18.
27. (35) K. Schrader, F, 491, 37, 17.
28. (1) D. Hamlin, T, 487, 82.9, 17.
29. (31) D. Reutimann, T, 483, 55.9, 15.
30. (12) Bra. Keselowski, F, 478, 66.7, 14.
31. (2) Ku. Busch, C, 476, 77.8, 14.
32. (40) T. Raines, C, 475, 29.9, 0.
33. (30) C. Mears, F, 467, 48.7, 11.
34. (15) K. Harvick, C, 449, 81.6, 11.
35. (9) M. Truex Jr., T, accident, 446, 93.2, 10.
36. (13) J. Johnson, C, 440, 50.2, 8.
37. (28) J. Wise, F, 418, 43.8, 0.
38. (23) B. Labonte, T, 394, 69, 6.
39. (3) C. Edwards, F, engine, 387, 108.1, 6.
40. (42) S. Speed, F, brakes, 223, 27.5, 4.
41. (26) M. McDowell, F, engine, 175, 37.1, 3.
42. (18) R. Truex, C, accident, 39, 29.4, 0.
43. (37) J. Nemechek, T, engine, 1, 26.3, 0.
RACE STATISTICS
Average Speed of Race Winner: 90.279 mph.
Time of Race: 2 hours, 57 minutes, 7 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 0.188 seconds.
Caution Flags: 11 for 74 laps.
Lead Changes: 16 among 9 drivers.
Lap Leaders: D.Hamlin 1-22; Ku.Busch 23-76; C.Edwards 77-92; M.Truex Jr. 93; D.Earnhardt Jr. 94-125; C.Bowyer 126-175; C.Edwards 176-178; M.Truex Jr. 179; C.Edwards 180-235; M.Kenseth 236-258; D.Hamlin 259; P.Menard 260-322; C.Edwards 323-335; P.Menard 336; K.Harvick 337-343; C.Edwards 344-374; M.Kenseth 375-500.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): M.Kenseth, 2 times for 149 laps; C.Edwards, 5 times for 119 laps; P.Menard, 2 times for 64 laps; Ku.Busch, 1 time for 54 laps; C.Bowyer, 1 time for 50 laps; D.Earnhardt Jr., 1 time for 32 laps; D.Hamlin, 2 times for 23 laps; K.Harvick, 1 time for 7 laps; M.Truex Jr., 2 times for 2 laps.
Top 12 in Points: 1. J.Johnson, 821; 2. C.Bowyer, 803; 3. C.Edwards, 768; 4. K.Harvick, 760; 5. Ky.Busch, 739; 6. M.Kenseth, 736; 7. D.Earnhardt Jr., 714; 8. K.Kahne, 701; 9. G.Biffle, 698; 10. J.Logano, 685; 11. Bra.Keselowski, 681; 12. Ku.Busch, 679.
Other - Motorsports
Matt Kenseth restored order to a chaotic week for NASCAR with a steely victory over teammate Kyle Busch in the opening race for the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
Just when it appeared Kyle Busch couldn't be any stronger in a Nationwide Series race, he broke the record for most laps led on a 1.5-mile track in a Nationwide race in winning the Dollar General 300 race at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday.
