Matt Kenseth Concedes Cup Title
Matt Kenseth figures that he is all but out of championship contention.
The glumness on Matt Kenseth's face after the Checker 500 at Phoenix was apparent, after finishing 13th.
Matt Kenseth came into the next to last race of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup season just 17 points behind Jimmie Johnson, but leaves the Arizona Desert 63 points behind the championship leader.
“We're running so bad right now I don't feel like we can beat anybody…He's going to have to have problems, and we're going to have to have a lot of good luck to get in there. We can't do it on performance. We can't run 25th right now.” Kenseth said in his post-race interview.
It appears that the magic that Kenseth and crew chief Robbie Reiser had for ¾ of the season has all but vanished, and Jimmie Johnson has capitalized in a big way.
Heading into the Nextel Cup Chase for the Championship, Johnson and Kenseth were considered the two drivers to beat as their teams had been solid from Day 1. But ever since Kenseth ran out o gas at Dover in September, the 17-team has faded to near mediocrity.
Johnson started 29th at Phoenix and literally raced his way to a stirring 2nd place finish, further solidifying his stranglehold as the NASCAR Nextel Cup championship leader.
"I never conceded," Johnson said after his rocky start in the Chase for the Championship. "But I said, 'Let's go all out now. Let's finish up by winning races.' I kind of took the same approach Tony [Stewart] has."
Johnson put pressure on the eventual race winner Kevin Harvick throughout the closing laps, and nearly made contact with his rival, but chose to back off, and acquiesce the 2nd place finish.
Harvick led 252 of 312 laps raced at Phoenix on Sunday. His dominant performance showed that no team has a better short flat track program than Harvick and the 29-team.
"We've won five races this year, so it's been pretty good…We're excited just to be a part of this thing, to be honest. We're just having fun. There's really not a lot of pressure, to tell you the truth. How it falls is how it falls." Harvick said in victory lane.
Only five drivers head to the Ford 400 at Homestead with a shot at the Nextel Cup championship. Harvick is 90 points behind Johnson, as is Denny Hamlin, and Dale Earnhardt Jr is 115 points behind Johnson.
Jeff Gordon is 167 points behind his teammate, and his Drive For Five in 2006 is formally over.
Quote of the week
Jamie McMurray after he was taken out by Tony Stewart.
"Tony was a little frustrated maybe. Just say I'll be buying my tools at Lowe's."
