DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Even Matt Kenseth got in on the aggressive-driving act on his way to victory Friday in the IROC race at Daytona International Speedway.
After coming from the back of the pack to dominate most of race, Kenseth -- known for his low-key style -- had to nudge Martin Truex Jr. out of the way on the final lap, then urge Frank Kimmel to push him to victory.
But compared to other instances of rough driving in the race, Kenseth's move was fairly tame.
"They do hit each other pretty hard," Kenseth said. "It was just hard to pass and to get anybody a big run outside you had to hit them pretty hard to give them a shot to give them some momentum."
It was Kenseth's third career victory in the International Race of Champions. Sam Hornish Jr. finished second, just ahead of Kimmel.
Aggressive bump drafting, an issue that has dominated discussion at Daytona Speedweeks this year, figured prominently in Friday's race.
Kimmel, who joked that he felt like he was back in the second-tier ARCA series, said the race was "the damnedest thing I've been involved in a while."
Kimmel played a prominent role in an ugly crash that sent Steve Kinser's car flipping in the air with three laps to go.
Kimmel ran into the back of Kinser in Turns 3 and 4, pushing him into the back of Max Papis. Kimmel tapped Kinser again, causing him to flip over Tony Stewart's hood.
"I saw the green car go big-time up in the air, and I went, 'Whoa!"' Scott Sharp said.
It took 12 minutes for track safety workers to remove Kinser from his car, cutting away part of the door roll cage to get him out. He was able to walk to a waiting ambulance. A track spokesman said Kinser was treated for minor injuries and released.
"I'm all right," Kinser said. "It knocked the top down and I got trapped in the car, that's about it. It took a while to get out."
Regarding bump drafting, Kinser said, "I don't know what they're going to do. I was clear against the car in front of me, getting beat on from behind, turning me sideways."
