Matt Kenseth Holds Off Jeff Gordon
Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon Sizzle, Earnhard Jr and Kahne Fizzle
Matt Kenseth has still got it! He led a race-high 133 laps en route to his second consecutive victory in the February event held at the 2-mile oval.
Kenseth was the beneficiary of a debris caution that was displayed by NASCAR with less than 30 laps remaining in the Auto Club 500 at California. At the time of the caution, Kenseth was running in second place, roughly 2 seconds behind Jimmie Johnson. But he emerged from pit road in first thanks to his consistently swift pit crew.
The win was huge for the 17-team considering that crew chief Robbie Reiser was serving the second of his four-race suspension. NASCAR sent Reiser home after a rules infraction last weekend at Daytona.
"It's a special win...It's not without Robbie though. He spent the week at home while we were at Daytona building this car. Robbie built this team," said an emotional Kenseth in victory lane.
After David Reutimann violently hit the wall with less than 10 laps remaining, Kenseth was primed to fend off Kevin Harvick. But a flat tire sent Harvick to the back of the pack and Kenseth was able to pull away from his rival Jeff Gordon.
Gordon's second place finish moves him up to third in the NASCAR Nextel Cup standings. It was also a breath of fresh air for the four-time champion after his disappointing run at Daytona last week.
Dale Earnhardt Jr and Kasey Kahne took major hits in the Nextel Cup standings after their engines expired early in the race.
After finishing the race in 40th position, Earnhardt Jr finds himself 41st in the NASCAR Nextel Cup standings. Kahne finished 38th, and is currently 32nd in the Nextel Cup standings.
But not to worry Earnhardt Jr and Kahne fans, the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season is young.
Toyota drivers Brian Vickers and Dave Blaney were impressive at California. Vickers was able to reward Toyota their first top ten. Blaney had a top ten run going before his engine gave out on lap 112.
The two Penske Racing drivers appear to be heading in the right direction. Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman spent most of the afternoon in the top fifteen, which is a gigantic improvement from their performances on the 1.5-mile and 2-mile tracks in 2006.
In cruise control- Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Jimmie Johnson
On the rise- Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Brian Vickers, and Joe Nemechek (believe it or not)
On the hot seat- Jeremy Mayfield, A.J. Allmendinger, Michael Waltrip, Jamie McMurray, and Ward Burton
Quote of the week
Jimmie Johnson regarding the debris caution on lap 227
"We had a caution flag for debris that took us out of the lead, and I don't think they've found that debris yet."
Next race- UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400 at Las Vegas
Last year's winner- Jimmie Johnson
This year's predicted winner- Tony Stewart
