Matt Kenseth dominates at Richmond as Chase field is set

Matt Kenseth celebrates after the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 12, 2015 in Richmond, Virginia.
Matt Kenseth celebrates after the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 12, 2015 in Richmond, Virginia.
Matt Kenseth celebrates after the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 12, 2015 in Richmond, Virginia.

Saturday night was Matt Kenseth night at Richmond International Raceway. Kenseth led a race high 352 of the 400 laps in route to victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Federated Auto Parts 400.  Kenseth dominated the final race of NASCAR’s regular season and made a strong statement as the 16-driver field for NASCAR’s 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup was set when the checkered flag fell.

Kenseth took the lead on lap 15 and from there it was his race to lose.  There seemed to be no one else who could compete with the Joe Gibbs Racing driver however, as he led the majority of a relatively tame race for his fourth win of the season.  Kyle Busch was second, Joey Logano was third, Aric Almirola who made a brilliant run late in attempt to make the Chase field but came up short finished fourth with Dale Earnhardt Jr. coming home fifth.  Denny Hamlin was sixth, Jeff Gordon seventh, Brad Keselowski overcame a pit road speeding penalty to finish eighth with Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer rounding out the top 10. The only drama for the Kenseth came on lap 132 when he and teammate Carl Edwards got together while contesting second. Edwards eventually waved Kenseth by for the spot and Kenseth went back to the front taking the lead from Hamlin on lap 139.

Kenseth took the lead for the final time on a restart after the races sixth and final caution with 18 laps to go and drove to victory MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.