Daytona 500 Champion Matt Kenseth Leads Westward Charge
Riding the crest of his first career Daytona 500 victory, Matt Kenseth (No. 17 CARHARTT Ford) heads toward Sunday’s Auto Club 500 with a solid shot at a 2-0 start.
Maybe even better than that.
Roush Fenway Racing rules at Auto Club Speedway, especially of late. The team has a collective six wins at the 2-mile track near Los Angeles, including the last four February events there, and Kenseth owns two of those, back-to-back February triumphs in 2006 and ‘07. He also boasts the second-best pre-race Driver Rating there (110.8) and an Average Running Position of 8.3.
Teammate Carl Edwards (No. 99 AFLAC Ford) is the defending Auto Club champion. Another teammate, Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Ford), won the event in 2005. Certainly, a little statistical karma can’t hurt.
“We know the equipment is there,” Kenseth said. “I really feel like I’ve got the team to win. We need to go win some more races at these other tracks.”
Winless in 2008, the 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion started near the rear of last Sunday’s 51st Daytona 500 field after going to a backup car. Patience, pluck and good teamwork on pit road and atop the pit box with new crew chief Drew Blickensderfer helped Kenseth razor toward the front. Aided by a push from 2007 Daytona 500 champion Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet), Kenseth wrestled the lead from Elliott Sadler (No. 19 Best Buy Dodge) on Lap 146. The race was called due to rain at Lap 152.
“It really doesn’t take any pressure off,” Kenseth said of the win. “It puts, I think, a little bit of a spring in everybody’s step. Probably gives everybody a little bit more confidence.”
This week’s whirlwind of celebration and national media appearances aside, Kenseth hopes that one career goal, a Daytona 500 win, leads to career victory No. 3 this week at Auto Club Speedway.
“For some reason, when we do get victories, we’ve been able to get some early-season wins,” he said. “I think it’s important to get off to a good start like we did.”
California Native Allmendinger Looks To Build On Daytona Finish
Two seasons and one race into his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career, AJ Allmendinger (No. 44 Charter Communications Dodge) won’t demur when asked for its highlight:
Last Sunday’s third-place finish in his first, ever Daytona 500.
A huge step, and eye-opening to some, especially for a driver who had to race his way into a starting spot. That third-place finish also means he’s third in the series standings heading into Sunday’s Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Speedway, another career high.
“For our team’s sake, we would have loved to have had a chance to win the Daytona 500,” Allmendinger said of last Sunday’s rain-shortened race, “but leaving there with a third-place finish isn’t all that bad. I’m not going to complain.”
Now, Allmendinger returns to his home state of California with significant momentum and confidence, all necessary for a driver who’s filling a part-time role with the newly-minted Richard Petty Motorsports. A Los Gatos native, he’s set to run the first eight races of 2009, plus the July event at Daytona International Speedway, while RPM officials work to secure fulltime sponsorship for his team.
As part of the sport’s recent wave of open-wheel transfers, Allmendinger began his NASCAR Sprint Cup tenure with Team Red Bull in 2007. A lack of experience and starts, he started only 17 races in ‘07 and 24 in ‘08, led to a steep and often frustrating learning curve. Released by Red Bull late in 2008, he ran the season’s final five races for what was then Gillett Evernham Motorsports.
Earlier this year, RPM (a combination of GEM and Petty Enterprises) announced that Allmendinger has been signed through 2009 with a team option in 2010. So far he’s validated that move, finishing fifth in the non-points Budweiser Shootout on Feb. 7 and 10th in his Gatorade Duel qualifying race for the Daytona 500.
“I want to do well at any track,” Allmendinger said. “But winning at (Auto Club Speedway) would be extra special. I have a lot of friends and family there and I’d like to perform well in front of them.”
Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports Again Looking For Auto Club Speedway Rebound
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet) didn’t win last Sunday’s 51st Daytona 500.
In fact, the three-time and reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion didn’t come close, finishing 31st, the last driver on the lead lap behind eventual winner Matt Kenseth
But if you think that sounds an ominous note for 2009, don’t.
Since winning the 2006 Daytona 500, Johnson has finishes of 39th (2007) and 27th (2008) to pair with last week’s 31st. He also has three consecutive series titles from 2006-08, which mitigates the string of poor Daytona results.
“We knew that we weren’t up to speed then,” Johnson said of last season’s slow start. “We were trying to work on it and correct it then when we knew we were off.”
“This year, we don’t have a clue. We haven’t tested. My fingers are crossed, but I have to have the mindset that we’re going to be off and just go to Fontana and learn from there.’
At least there’s consolation in a crowd: Johnson won’t be the only Hendrick Motorsports driver seeking a post-Daytona rebound.
Teammates Mark Martin (No. 5 CARQUEST/Kellogg’s Chevrolet), Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet) didn’t score their expected finishes, either.
Gordon, who won the first Gatorade Duel qualifying race last Thursday, finished 13th last Sunday. Martin, who started on the outside pole at Daytona, finished 16th.
Earnhardt’s eventful day on pit road and on the track led to a 27th-place finish, with Johnson’s 31st rounding out organizational frustration.
Auto Club Speedway could provide the perfect panacea, however.
Rick Hendrick leads all owners with seven wins there. Gordon and Johnson lead all drivers with three wins each at Auto Club. They also lead all drivers with eight top-10 finishes each there.
Johnson’s numbers are particularly luminous, three wins, one pole (Sept. 2007), four runner-up finishes and one third-place finish.
He’s also the most recent Auto Club Speedway winner, having captured the event there last August en route to his third consecutive title.
That win, the third of seven in 2008, saw Johnson finish with a perfect Driver Rating of 150.0, only the seventh perfect rating since the stat’s 2005 debut. He also led 228 of 250 laps and had an Average Running Position of 1.2.
Stewart, Gordon and Martin Looking To Finish What They Started At Daytona
| 
|