Matt Kenseth Tag

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief A day after NASCAR announced the suspension of Matt Kenseth for two races following his collision with Joey Logano at Martinsville, I’m left wondering if Brian France and company made the right call. The decision to suspend the former NASCAR Sprint Cup champion has sent a message to fans and drivers alike, but also created division on the severity of the punishment. Many look to the Kevin Harvick incident during the green-white-checkered finish at Talladega as intentional and point to the fact that the sanctioning bodyRead More

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Yes, Jeff Gordon celebrated his 93rd career victory in the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Yes, Gordon will compete for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Yes, there were tears of joy in Victory Lane for Gordon, who’s at the tail end of his final season in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. But Sunday’s race at Martinsville had so much more — most notably, “Matt Kenseth’s Revenge.” Long before Gordon held off Jamie McMurray in aRead More

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Block me once, and I’ll cut you some slack. Block me twice — and it’s “Gotcha.” That, in essence, was the conversation on Joey Logano’s team radio after Logano spun race leader Matt Kenseth in Turn 1 with less than five laps left in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. Logano went on to win the race after a green-white-checkered-flag restart that sent the race two laps past its scheduled distance of 267 laps. The driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford has monopolizedRead More

JOLIET, Ill. – In the theater, using the expression “Break a leg” is a way to wish an actor good luck on opening night. Twelve days before Sunday’s opening Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway, Denny Hamlin tore the ACL in his right leg playing basketball. Late in the myAFibRisk.com 400 at the 1.5-mile track, Hamlin found his good fortune in the form of a serendipitous pit call on the part of crew chief Dave Rogers. Staying out on old tires, Hamlin grabbed the lead momentsRead More

RICHMOND, Va. – Joe Gibbs Racing brought guns to a knife fight on Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway. 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 JohnsonRead More

BROOKLYN, Mich.—From Matt Kenseth’s point of view, the competition package NASCAR used at Michigan International Speedway could well have had a big, bright bow on it. The Coors Light Polesitter for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, Kenseth quickly exhibited his mastery of the high-drag aerodynamic package, leading 146 of 200 laps in winning for the third time this season, the third time at Michigan and the 34th time in his career. The 2003 premier series champion had to survive a restart with 13 laps left, afterRead More

INDIANAPOLIS—“This is awesome!” Kyle Busch screamed as he crossed the finish line at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and continued a run that has grown from extraordinary to downright other-worldly. Holding off Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano during three late-race restarts, Busch beat Logano to the finish line by .332 seconds to win Sunday’s Crown Royal presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at The Brickyard. The victory was Busch’s fourth in the last five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, all coming after an 11-event absence to start the season, the result of aRead More

DOVER, Del.—Chris Buescher had enough fuel left at the end of Saturday’s Buckle Up 200 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Dover International Speedway to do a celebratory burnout, but his No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford wasn’t the only thing that was smoking after the checkered flag. Yes, Buescher won for the second time this season and extended his lead in the series standings to 15 points over eighth-place finisher Ty Dillon, but his winning pass of teammate and Coors Light Polesitter Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. left Wallace fuming. ContactRead More

CONCORD, N.C. – Will the mystery winner of Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 enter and sign in please? Hint: It’s the guy who does back flips every time he takes the checkered flag. But for the first 370 of 400 laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway, no one would have picked Carl Edwards or his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota as the likely winner of the season’s 12th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin had spent the lion’s share of time at the headRead More

After powering to his second pole of the season on Thursday night, Matt Kenseth will start NASCAR’s longer race from the most advantageous position—with his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota getting serviced in the most advantageous pit stall. Kenseth ran his fastest lap of the night (194.252 mph) in the third and final round of knockout qualifying at Charlotte Motor Speedway and secured the top spot on the grid for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m. ET on FOX), the 12th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race of the season. TheRead More