Power Rankings: Breakthrough gets Kenseth in position
By Pete Pistone | CBSSports.com NASCAR Blogger Follow Pete
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| Saturday's win in Charlotte puts Kenseth seven points behind Carl Edwards for the Chase lead. (Getty Images) |
Updated Oct. 17
Matt Kenseth has won three times this year, but his victory Saturday night in Charlotte actually ended a bit of a drought for the Roush Fenway Racing driver.
Before taking the checkered flag in the Bank of America 500, Kenseth hadn't visited Victory Lane for twenty races.
That might not seem like such a dry spell but when you're in the middle of such a solid season like Kenseth, the expectation level is pretty high.
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"I'm ... happy to have won obviously," Kenseth said after his first Chase win of the year. "Like you say, it's been 20 races, which doesn't seem that long because I don't know how many it was before that, I think it was 70 some before. So you're always thankful. I'm always thankful to get to Victory Lane. You never know when you are going to win your last race -- I'm certainly in a great position to be able to win races and these guys give me the cars and the crew and the opportunity to do that."
Team owner Jack Roush was aware of the time between wins for the 2003 Sprint Cup Series champion, but understands the competitive nature and unpredictability of the series this year.
"I am not embarrassed we have not won more races," Roush said. "We have had races we missed with because we made the wrong decision with two tires, three tires, fuel economy, but we are in championship form. And in my 24 years, I've never had better cars for the championship stretch than we have got and we are anxious to see how it's going to work out. But I don't feel vindicated. I just think that the hard work everybody's done is paying off, and we are getting what we deserve."
The way Kenseth is going he may get the biggest prize of all by winning the Sprint Cup trophy for a second time in his career.
Saturday night's win moved Kenseth to a mere seven points behind teammate Carl Edwards for the Chase lead.
However Kenseth isn't keeping track just yet.
"Honestly I know you probably don't believe me, but I don't look at the points that much," he said. "If you go out and do the best job you can do every week and you leave the track knowing that everybody did their best, you executed as good as you could and did what you could do on the track, you can't -- any points you gained or lost, you're not going to give them back and you're not going to get them back, the ones you lost."
For now Kenseth is content just appreciating running well and winning races, especially in the middle of the playoff schedule.
"Can I appreciate it in a Chase? Yeah, I mean, I think this is the first time we've ever won a race in the Chase actually," he said, forgetting he did win at the Homestead finale in 2007. "You know, it seems like for some reason through the years we have been better in the beginning of the year than the end of the year, so certainly you appreciate it running that good."
| POWER RANKINGS | ||
| Current | Driver | Previous |
| 1 | Tony Stewart | 1 |
| It took the most incredible Chase performance in NASCAR history for Stewart to pull it off, but his five wins in the final 10 races of the playoff schedule earned Smoke his third Sprint Cup championship. Turned in one of the most driven efforts in NASCAR history Sunday to claim the title in a finale for the ages. | ||
| 2 | Carl Edwards | 2 |
| Any other year Edwards' 4.7 average finish over the course of the Chase would have been good enough to win the championship. Edwards did all he could to bring Jack Roush a Nationwide and Cup title in the same season, but could not deny Stewart. If you have to lose one first before winning a championship, Edwards is in fine shape for next year and beyond. | ||
| 3 | Matt Kenseth | 3 |
| Rebounded from a trip into the wall for a top-five finish in another vintage Kenseth performance that was indicative of his season. Had it not have been for his feud with Brian Vickers at Martinsville, perhaps Kenseth could have stayed in the draft of Stewart and Edwards to at least be in the championship picture down the stretch. But he can still be proud of his consistent campaign. | ||
| 4 | Brad Keselowski | 4 |
| The 2011 season will be remembered as Keselowski's breakthrough campaign and when he firmly established himself as a Sprint Cup title contender. He was on the short end of some pit strategy Sunday but still ran at the front of the field most of the afternoon and appears poised to make the jump to the next level in 2012. | ||
| 5 | Kevin Harvick | 5 |
| Got involved in a bit of controversy with Edwards, who accused Harvick of not racing him above board. But that may be the least of Harvick's concerns as rumors of some sweeping changes at Richard Childress Racing could point to a drastically different looking 29 team next year, including a new crew chief to replace Gil Martin. | ||
| 6 | Kasey Kahne | 6 |
| Did not back down one bit from his impressive late-season performance and followed up his Phoenix win with another top-10 finish. The future of Team Red Bull may be very much in doubt but there's no wondering about where Kahne is in his career as he makes the move to Hendrick Motorsports next season. | ||
| 7 | Jimmie Johnson | 7 |
| His year went up in smoke with a very uncharacteristic spin Sunday and a finish well back in the field. But while Johnson did not meet the high level of expectations he's set for himself (could anyone, really?), he was hardly a non-factor this season. The question now is will Johnson be able to bounce back next season and if crew chief Chad Knaus is indeed calling the shots or moving on to a new role as has been speculated. | ||
| 8 | Clint Bowyer | 8 |
| Bowyer showed that he's talented and a pro's pro by ending his tenure at Richard Childress Racing going as hard as he could. The next phase of his career should be very interesting to watch as he migrates to Michael Waltrip Racing as part of that organization's overhaul. | ||
| 9 | Jeff Gordon | 9 |
| The 2011 season will be remembered as one of rebirth for Gordon, who broke a long winless drought while also being part of the championship picture. He had a strong car Sunday at Homestead and finished the campaign with a solid outing and one that should provide a nice boost of momentum and confidence into the offseason. | ||
| 10 | A.J. Allmendinger | 9 |
| The Richard Petty Motorsports driver didn't join the first-time winners list as many predicted but did elevate his game from last year when he was part of the uncertainty surrounding the race team. There's no reason to believe Allmendinger will lose a step in 2012, and look for him to get that first career Sprint Cup victory then. | ||
| 11 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 11 |
| Had one of the fastest cars of the weekend at Homestead, which was a pleasant surprise for Earnhardt who has struggled at the track during his career. Ultimately he wasn't able to challenge for the win and will carry his victory drought into 2012. But compared to where Junior was at this time last year, there's a marked improvement for the driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet. | ||
| 12 | Denny Hamlin | 13 |
| It must have been bittersweet for Hamlin to return to Homestead a year after being in the thick of the title Chase. But he continued his turnaround at season's end with a strong outing and has at least a good head start to 2012, when Hamlin hopes to return to championship contention. | ||
| 13 | Kyle Busch | 14 |
| Was stout at Homestead and had the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 at the front of the field and in the mix for a potential win. But now Busch enters the most important offseason of his career as decisions will be made about his future and perhaps his role in the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series. The 2012 season will be the most pivotal of Busch's career and he'll need to focus on his priorities during the winter months. | ||
| 14 | Kurt Busch | 14 |
| A transmission failure on Lap 2 frustrated Busch to the boiling point early Sunday with a single-digit salute to some lucky soul caught on his in-car camera. It appears a new crew chief will take the job of trying to harness Busch next year with Steve Addington's reported departure to Stewart-Haas Racing. | ||
| 15 | Greg Biffle | 15 |
| As predicted, Biffle did challenge for a win Sunday and was in the mix until an engine failure, one of several for Roush Yates engine drivers. Showed he could be a factor at times this year but will have to find a more consistent level in 2012 to be a Chase candidate. | ||
