Surprising and Not Surprising: Vegas Kobalt Tools 400
With rain in the desert setting the field and the Denny Hamlin fine all the talk, here is what else was surprising and not so surprising from the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Surprising: The transformation surprisingly continued for Matt Kenseth, who moved from lame duck last year at Roush Fenway Racing to winner this year in just the third race of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing.
“Thank you Lord for putting me here,” Kenseth said simply as he took the checkered flag.
This was the driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota’s 25th career victory and the 101st victory for his new owner Joe Gibbs. And it was Kenseth’s 41st birthday to boot.
Not Surprising: It was a strong day for the Hendrick bunch, with one notable exception, Jeff Gordon, who brought up the rear with a disappointing 25th finish in his No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet.
Kasey Kahne, who had a strong No. 5 Farmer’s Insurance Chevrolet, gave Kenseth a run for his money but could not close the deal, finishing second.
“I had the car to beat today,” Kahne said. “We lost, but it was still a great run for all of our guys.”
Jimmie Johnson, behind the wheel of the No. 48 Lowes/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet, finished sixth and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy Orange Chevrolet, finished 7th.
“I lost a couple of spots in that last restart, but it was fun to race that fast,” Johnson said. “We were flying.”
“We had a real good race,” Junior said. “I enjoyed the race track and the raceability of the track was a lot of fun. I had a blast really.”
Not surprisingly, Hendrick Motorsports is also strong in the point standings, with Johnson in the lead, Junior in third, Gordon dropping five spots to 13th and Kahne moving up 17 spots to 14th after the Vegas race.
Surprising: While every other driver complained of being loose, Rookie of the Year contender Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. surprisingly complained about being tight.
“I kept telling them to free it up and we would get tighter and tighter,” the driver of the No. 17 Zest Ford said. “That is why we gave up all our track position.”
“Every pit stop we made we got tighter and tighter,” Stenhouse, Jr. continued. “I couldn’t go on a restart.”
Stenhouse Jr. finished 18th and is still in the lead in what he refers to as the ‘Ricky of the Year’ standings. He also led his first ever Cup lap after staying out while others headed to pit road.
Not Surprising: Stenhouse Jr.’s other half, Danica Patrick had ‘one of those days’ at the track. Not only did she struggle and finish 33rd in her GoDaddy.com Chevrolet but her team also had a tire outside the box violation on Lap 123, necessitating a pass through penalty.
“That’s alright, guys,” Patrick said. “If we’re going to have these days, might as well have them all together.”
“It was a real tough day, no doubt.”
Surprising: While both Earnhardt Ganassi Racing cars had to start from the rear of the field due to engine changes, both rebounded surprisingly well.
Jamie McMurray, behind the wheel of the No. 1 McDonalds Chevrolet, finished 13th and EGR teammate Juan Pablo Montoya in the No. 42 AXE Apollo Chevrolet finished 19th.
Not Surprising: While Denny Hamlin paid the price for sharing his concerns publicly about the new Gen 6 car, many other drivers admitted to still trying to figure out their own race cars.
Top among that group, however, was Kyle Busch, who overcame a Lap 48 pit road speeding penalty to finish fourth in his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota.
“Man it was really unique,” Busch said. “When I was out front, I was fast as heck.”
“But behind others, then I was wrecking loose,” Busch continued. “All in all it was fun and today was the first part of figuring out the nuances of this race car.”
Surprising: In his 150th career start, Joey Logano, behind the wheel of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Fusion, made an uncharacteristic mistake. Just like his former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch, Logano sped down pit road on his first pit stop.
Logano rebounded, just like Busch, to finish in the 12th spot.
“I screwed up,” Logano said. “I went down a lap but never caught our break to go.”
“I felt like we had a top-five car but I made a dumb mistake.”
Not Surprising: Although not running a full-time season, NASCAR’s Iron Man Mark Martin continued to show his mettle, finishing 14th in his No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine and moving one spot up to sixth place in the point standings.
“It was fun,” Martin said. “I didn’t get a good restart on the last one but other than that, it was a good solid day by this team and car.”
Surprising: There is a bit of surprising name up there in the top ten in points and he just so happens to drive for the King. Aric Almirola, driver of the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Farmland Ford Fusion, may have finished 16th at Vegas but he remains right there in the tenth spot in the point standings.
“We probably had an 8th – 12th place car so I’m disappointed we finished 16th,” Almirola said. “We didn’t have any major mistakes and I think points-wise we are still decent.”
Almirola tweeted this after the race, “Headed to one of my favorite tracks next week in top 10 in points. Proud of my team!”
Not Surprising: Finally, the determination and grit of the reigning champ Brad Keselowski came through yet again. Keselowski posted his first top-ten finish at Las Vegas and brought the Blue Deuce home in the third spot.
“Never give up,” Keselowski said. “Never give up. This team doesn’t and we didn’t today.”
The champ is taking that attitude right into Bristol next weekend. And he admitted he has no idea how the new Gen 6 car will react on the first short track of the season.
“That’s why you’ve got to watch,” Keselowski said simply.
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Las Vegas
Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.
1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished sixth at Las Vegas and maintained his lead in the Sprint Cup point standings. Johnson leads Brad Keselowski by five points.
“It’s always good to leave Las Vegas on top,” Johnson said. “The season is shaping up to be a two-man battle for the Sprint Cup championship. Who’s going to win it, me or Keselowski? I don’t have a clue, but if I was a detective, I’d have a ‘lead.’”
2. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski started on the pole in the Kobalt Tools 400 and finished third, his third top-5 result of the year. Keselowski now trails Jimmie Johnson by five in the point standings.
“It was quite an awkward moment when the Miller Lite Ford was awarded the Coors Light Pole Award,” Keselowski said. “Luckily, my ‘wide mouth’ didn’t ‘vent,’ thereby avoiding a ‘vortex’ of controversy.”
3. Matt Kenseth: On his 41st birthday, Kenseth held off Kasey Kahne to win the Kobalt Tools 400, his 25th career Sprint Cup win.
“How about that race trophy I was awarded?” Kenseth said. “Toyota engine issues aside, Joe Gibbs, for once, is happy to have a wrench thrown into his operation.
“I became just the third driver to win on his birthday. Carl Edwards threatened to give me a ‘spanking,’ but I politely declined.”
4. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt posted his third top-10 finish of the year with a seventh at Las Vegas. He now trails Jimmie Johnson by 10 in the point standings.
“I’m off to the best three-race start of my career,” Earnhardt said. “And I’m still in third.
“I hear they’ve chosen a grand marshal for the April race in Texas. His name is ‘N.R. Ray,’ and I understand he’ll be packing a starter’s pistol.”
5. Denny Hamlin: An eventful week for Hamlin culminated with a 15th at Las Vegas, as Joe Gibbs teammate Matt Kenseth won the Kobalt Tools 400. Earlier in the week, Hamlin was fined $25,000 for making critical comments about the new Gen-6 car.
“There’s five digits in $25,000,” Hamlin said. “Unfortunately for NASCAR, they’ll only see one of them.”
6. Carl Edwards: Edwards backed up his win at Phoenix with a solid fifth at Las Vegas, earning his second top 5 of the year. He moved up six spots to fifth in the point standings, 31 out of first.
“I hear Danica Patrick was hit in the head by a rock,” Edwards said. “If it’s anything like her driving, I’m sure it left a dent.”
7. Kasey Kahne: Kahne No. 5 Chevy was clearly the class of the Kobalt Tools 400, but lost the race off pit road to Matt Kenseth on the final caution. Kahne tracked down Matt Kenseth but was unable to make the winning pass and settled for second.
“I’m amazed that Kenseth could hold me off on old tires,” Kahne said. “And speaking of ‘old’ and ‘tired,’ how about the racing at Las Vegas. Maybe Denny Hamlin was on to something. His children may not be, but his points sure are legitimate.”
8. Mark Martin: Martin finished 14th in the Kobalt Tools, as Michael Waltrip Racing teammate Martin Truex, Jr. finished eighth. Martin is sixth in the point standings, 34 out of first.
“Much like my homeboy 50 Cent to find black people at Daytona,” Martin said, “I’m on a fruitless quest of my own—-to win a Sprint Cup championship.
9. Greg Biffle: Biffle finished 17th in the Kobalt Tools 400 as former Roush Fenway teammate Matt Kenseth took the win. Biffle is tied for seventh in the point standings, 36 out of first.
“Congratulations to Matt,” Biffle said. “I knew he’d do well in the Dollar General Toyota. When you combine Matt’s boring personality in a car with ‘Dollar’ on the side, you get a character named ‘So-So Money.’
10. Kyle Busch: Busch overcame an early pit road speeding penalty to claim fourth in the Kobalt Tools 400.
“Pit road speeding is exactly what you’d expect from Joe Gibbs Racing,” Busch said. “Usually, it happens when we’re in a hurry to make an engine change.”
