Just hours after capturing the pole for the Southern 500, Matt Kenseth won Friday’s Diamond Hill Plywood 200 Nationwide Series race after a surprising turn of events in the final laps at Darlington Raceway. Kansas City Star
The victory was Kenseth’s first of the season, his third at Darlington and his 25th in the series, fifth best all-time. Jason Leffler came home second, followed by Carl Edwards and rookie Erik Darnell, who posted his first top-five finish in his third start in the series. Fellow rookie Justin Allgaier ran fifth. NASCAR.com
“It’s been a good day for us,” Kenseth said. “Let’s hope it continues.”
Busch wound up 16th, a disheartening finish to what figured to be his third straight NASCAR win after last week’s sweep at Richmond.
Busch did not speak to the media after the race, jumping on a golf cart and pulling away. His crew chief, Jason Ratcliff, said the team was disappointed by the dramatic turn. “But hey, that’s part of this sport,” Ratcliff said. USA Today
FIN CAR DRIVER MAKE 1 16 Matt Kenseth Ford 2 38 Jason Leffler Toyota 3 60 Carl Edwards Ford 4 6 Erik Darnell * Ford 5 12 Justin Allgaier * Dodge 6 33 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 7 1 Mike Bliss Chevrolet 8 29 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 9 32 Brian Vickers Toyota 10 5 Scott Wimmer Chevrolet 11 88 Brad Keselowski Chevrolet 12 20 Joey Logano Toyota 14 66 Steve Wallace Chevrolet 15 27 Jason Keller Ford 16 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 17 7 Patrick Carpentier Toyota 18 28 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet 19 62 Brendan Gaughan * Chevrolet 20 99 Scott Speed Toyota 21 234 Tony Raines Chevrolet 22 11 Scott Lagasse Jr. * Toyota 23 40 Jeff Green Chevrolet 24 26 Brian Keselowski Dodge 25 81 Kevin Hamlin Dodge 26 61 Brandon Whitt Ford 27 1 Danny O'Quinn Jr. Chevrolet 28 24 Eric McClure Ford 29 15 Michael Annett * Toyota 30 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Chevrolet 31 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 32 87 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 33 47 Michael McDowell * Toyota 34 9 John Wes Townley * Ford 35 52 Kevin Lepage Ford 36 42 Kenny Hendrick Dodge 37 84 Mike Harmon Chevrolet 38 31 Travis Kittleson Chevrolet 39 0 Mark Green Chevrolet 40 49 Kertus Davis Chevrolet 41 91 Terry Cook * Chevrolet 42 90 Johnny Chapman Chevrolet 43 5 Casey Atwood Chevrolet
