|
 But JGR's Matt Kenseth did his teammates one better -- he brought a
howitzer.
Leading 352 of 400 laps in a race he owned from the outset, Kenseth
pulled away from Kyle Busch after a restart with 18 laps left and
won the Federated Auto Parts 400 by .951 seconds over his teammate.
Kenseth's fourth victory of the season, tying him for the NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series lead with Jimmie Johnson and Busch, meant the 16
drivers who started the race in playoff-eligible positions stayed
there.
Jamie McMurray (13th-place finisher), Jeff Gordon (seventh), Ryan
Newman (20th), Clint Bowyer (10th) and Paul Menard (26th) all earned
berths in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup based on position in
the standings - without a victory between them.
Joey Logano ran third on Saturday night, followed by Aric Almirola,
whose gallant bid to crack the Chase grid fell 17 points short of
the final position claimed by Menard.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. came home fifth.
The victory was Kenseth's second at Richmond and the 35th of his
career. Joe Gibbs Racing has won seven of the last nine NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series races, with Logano the only other driver to score
a win during that stretch.
"Man, these guys gave me a great car," Kenseth said. "Thanks to
(crew chief) Jason (Ratcliff) and all these guys standing behind me.
They had the pit stops we needed, held serve every time and kept us
out in front.
"We were really superb in the long run. I had to work for it pretty
hard in the short run. I was disappointed to see that last caution
(called for debris on the backstretch on Lap 375). I knew it was
going to be tough, but we were able to get the jump to get out
front."
Emblematic of JGR's dominance at Richmond was a restart on Lap 126.
Hamlin surged from fourth to first on the restart lap, pulling his
three teammates with him. The four Gibbs cars quickly separated from
fifth-place Kyle Larson, establishing a gap of two seconds back to
the No. 42.
Kenseth overtook Hamlin for the top spot on Lap 139, but for 60
straight laps the JGR teammates ran 1-2-3-4, until McMurray (who had
qualified for the Chase simply by taking the green flag to start the
race) passed Carl Edwards for the fourth position on Lap 186.
The only suspense during that stretch came when Kenseth and Edwards
rubbed fenders while fighting for position early in the run.
That brief fracas gave team owner Joe Gibbs an anxious moment.
"That's the most nervous that I get in a race," Gibbs said. "Tonight
I saw them up there. I saw some beating and banging there. I saw a
hand come out the window, and I wasn't sure what it was showing for
a minute or two. I got a little nervous there.
"I think that's when I'm always the most nervous, when you got your
cars up front and having a good night. Our guys, though, I think
they all handled it the right way, it seems like. I know Matt came
over the mic there and said his situation there with Carl, he kind
of straightened that out, so I thought that was good."
Logano was the only non-JGR driver who could stay within hailing
distance of Kenseth, but the ultimate third-place finisher stayed
out on old tires for that restart on Lap 126 and did a creditable
job holding the 10th spot before the fourth caution on Lap 209 gave
him a chance to pit for fresh rubber.
Almirola posted his best finish of the year, but it wasn't enough.
"I'm really proud of all my guys," Almirola said. "We worked our
guts out all year long, and tonight was no different. I feel we've
overachieved this year and really maximized our results week in and
week out.
"I'm disappointed to come up a few spots short, but we gave it all
we had, and that is all we can do. We'll go race these last 10 races
and try to get a victory."
Notes: Roush Fenway Racing failed to place a car in the Chase for
the first time in the organization's history. ... McMurray and
Menard earned Chase positions for the first time in their careers.
... Newman made the Chase without a victory for the second straight
year. ... In his final season as a full-time Sprint Cup driver,
Gordon qualified for his 11th Chase in 12 tries. ... The most
bizarre moment of the race went to Michael McDowell, who grazed a
safety truck in Turn 3 as the cars circulated under caution and
ripped the right rear quarter panel off his car.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race -- Federated Auto Parts 400
Richmond International Raceway
Richmond, Virginia
Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015
1. (2) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 400, $262451.
2. (4) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 400, $203716.
3. (1) Joey Logano, Ford, 400, $179483.
4. (24) Aric Almirola, Ford, 400, $158236.
5. (29) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 400, $130950.
[to top of second column] |
6. (25) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 400, $116915.
7. (23) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 400, $138801.
8. (3) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 400, $135331.
9. (9) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 400, $133601.
10. (26) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 400, $123523.
11. (7) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 400, $88840.
12. (11) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 400, $114898.
13. (31) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 399, $115806.
14. (6) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 399, $133315.
15. (8) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 399, $98465.
16. (19) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 399, $91215.
17. (5) David Ragan, Toyota, 398, $110129.
18. (20) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 398, $96765.
19. (14) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 397, $90440.
20. (13) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 397, $114790.
21. (15) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 397, $108123.
22. (17) Brian Scott(i), Chevrolet, 397, $102823.
23. (28) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 397, $122565.
24. (21) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 397, $109998.
25. (18) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 397, $100748.
26. (22) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 397, $88840.
27. (12) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 397, $117526.
28. (32) Sam Hornish Jr., Ford, 397, $106698.
29. (10) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 396, $107104.
30. (35) Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 396, $81265.
31. (38) Greg Biffle, Ford, 396, $110173.
32. (16) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 394, $102835.
33. (30) David Gilliland, Ford, 393, $93912.
34. (43) JJ Yeley(i), Toyota, 392, $76240.
35. (37) Brett Moffitt #, Ford, 391, $77590.
36. (33) Matt DiBenedetto #, Toyota, 390, $75935.
37. (36) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 390, $75788.
38. (34) Cole Whitt, Ford, 389, $70777.
39. (41) Jeb Burton #, Toyota, 387, $66705.
40. (42) Jeffrey Earnhardt(i), Ford, 387, $62705.
41. (40) Reed Sorenson, Ford, 335, $58705.
42. (39) Michael McDowell, Ford, Accident, 287, $54705.
43. (27) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, Accident, 145, $51205.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 100.353 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 59 Mins, 22 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.951
Seconds.
Caution Flags: 6 for 47 laps.
Lead Changes: 13 among 4 drivers.
Lap Leaders: J. Logano 1-14; M. Kenseth 15-46; J. Logano 47; M.
Kenseth 48-103; J. Logano 104-108; M. Kenseth 109-121; J. Logano
122-125; D. Hamlin 126-138; M. Kenseth 139-216; D. Hamlin 217; Kyle
Busch 218-226; M. Kenseth 227-296; J. Logano 297; M. Kenseth
298-400.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): M. Kenseth 6 times
for 352 laps; J. Logano 5 times for 25 laps; D. Hamlin 2 times for
14 laps; Kyle Busch 1 time for 9 laps.
Top 16 in Points: K. Harvick - 978; J. Logano - 948; D. Earnhardt
Jr. - 894; B. Keselowski - 873; J. Johnson - 852; M. Kenseth - 824;
M. Truex Jr. - 818; D. Hamlin - 793; Kurt Busch - 781; J. Mcmurray -
757; C. Edwards - 746; R. Newman - 738; J. Gordon - 737; C. Bowyer -
716; P. Menard - 710; A. Almirola - 693.
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