Kasey Kahne held off points leader Tony Stewart on several late-race restarts, including one for a green-white-checkered finish, to win Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway.
Kahne grabbed the lead for the final time with 34 laps to go and then beat Stewart to the finish line by 0.748 seconds for his first victory of the season and the 10th of his Sprint Cup Series career. He gave Richard Petty Motorsports its first win since “The King” merged his team with Gillett Evernham Motorsports before the start of the 2009 season.
Prior to his win at Sonoma, Kahne had never finished in the top-10 in a NASCAR road-course race. His best finish was 14th, which came twice at Watkins Glen, NY. MiamiHerald.com
It also moved him up two spots in the standings to 13th, just three points away from a berth in the Chase.
“The Chase is what we work for every year. We need to have a car in that Chase,” he said. “We’ve run strong for the last six races ... top-five, top-10 material. Haven’t finished there, but we’ve been there, and (Sunday) we did.
“I know we have a great opportunity if we keep showing up and working as hard as we have been to make the Chase.”
“I feel just as good as (Kahne) does,” The King, clad in his trademark cowboy hat and sunglasses, said before he sipped on a congratulatory glass of red wine. “It’s great, man. It’s great.”
Petty’s race team teetered on the verge of collapse at the end of last season and needed a January merger with Gillett-Evernham Motorsports to secure the storied NASCAR team. Rebranded as Richard Petty Motorsports, the four-car organization kicked off the season with a strong showing at the Daytona 500.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Infineon Raceway - Race Results
But it’s been a rough ride, since.
Stewart, an accomplished road racer, finished second and was followed by Marcos Ambrose, who blew a motor in Saturday’s practice that forced him to start at the back of the field and forfeit his third-place qualifying position. The Associated Press
“Awesome—not too bad for a dirt-tracker from Washington!” Kenny Francis, Kahne’s crew chief, radioed after his driver crossed the stripe on Lap 113, three laps beyond the scheduled distance at the 1.99-mile road course.
“Unreal,” replied Kahne, who gave owner Richard Petty his first victory since John Andretti in 1999. “Gosh, we had to hold him [Stewart] off for a while. We won a road-course race! Oh, my God, I can’t believe this.”
Jimmie Johnson recovered from a pit-road speeding penalty to finish fourth. Denny Hamlin, who led 33 laps—second only to Kahne’s 37—came home fifth. Juan Montoya, A.J. Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Gordon and Elliott Sadler completed the top 10. NASCAR.com
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The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Top 12 - And Beyond - Week 17
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