K&N West News & Notes: Brainerd

admin — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:50:08 +0000

K&N West News & Notes: Brainerd

Self Looks Forward To Returning To Site Of First Series Win

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Michael Self had a breakthrough year in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West last season, scoring his first career win and following that up with two additional victories.

His initial win came on the road course at Brainerd (Minn.) International Raceway. The 22-year-old former karting champion from Park City, Utah will be going for a repeat win when the series returns to Brainerd for the NAPA Know-How 125 on Saturday, May 25. It is the third event on a 15-race series schedule and the first of three road course races this season.

“This is definitely the race I’ve been looking forward to the most since last year,” said Self, who is in his fourth full season of series competition. “We had such a great time going there. I love the track and I love the area. It’s really nice. It was a weekend for us where we had so much fun. With all the water parks, the team got a chance to relax. I’m looking forward to getting back to that this year and hopefully having a repeat.”

In addition to being his first win, last year’s race carried added significance because Self’s dad played a role in the victory. Many teams use a secondary spotter on road courses and his father took on that task at Brainerd.

“It was the first race my dad had ever spotted for me,” Self said. “He was my second spotter. He actually cleared me for the lead with two laps to go, which was really cool.”

Self also looks forward to Brainerd because, as a road course, it’s a track where he feels he has an edge.

“For eight years all I knew was turning right and left,” he said of his karting experience. “All I knew was road courses.”

Self followed up last year’s Brainerd victory with two additional wins in the No. 21 Golden Gate Meat/Bay Bio Diesel Chevrolet he drives for Jim Offenbach’s Golden Gate Racing Team – which has an affiliation with Richard Childress Racing. The team’s success led to a change in the way they approached this year, according to Self.

“This season we came in with really one thing on our mind and that is just the championship,” he said. “That is our biggest goal and our biggest focus. With the momentum we had at the end of last year, we know it’s very possible.

“If you look at our program – our road course program, our short track program, our big track program – I think we have everything covered,” he said. “We started the season off just like we wanted to with a third at Phoenix. We had everything going our way at Stockton and I made a mistake.”

Battling back from a flat tire, Self spun late in the race – resulting in a 15th-place finish and dropping him to sixth in the championship standings. Now he says it’s a matter of rebounding and getting good finishes in the upcoming events, which he considers the team’s strongest tracks, and getting back in the points chase.

SCHEDULE | ENTRY LIST

FAST FACTS
The Race: This event is the third of 15 events on the 2013 schedule for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West.

The Procedure: The starting field is 28 cars, including provisionals. The first 24 cars will qualify through NASCAR road racing style (group) qualifying. The remaining four spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 50 laps (125 miles).

The Track: Brainerd International Raceway is a 2.5-mile, 13-turn road course.

Records: Qualifying: None; Race: Michael Self, May 26, 2012, 80.819 mph, 1 hour 32 minutes 48 seconds.

History: The series made its inaugural visit to the Minnesota track last year.

BRAINERD RACE NOTES
Road Racers: Road course events generally attract a few drivers who are not regulars in the series. The entry list for Brainerd includes two such drivers who are known for their talent on a road course – Andrew Ranger and Dale Quarterley. Neither are strangers to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. Ranger, a two-time champion in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1, won the K&N West race at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway in 2010 – one of five series starts he has made. A runner-up finish, meanwhile, stands as Quarterley’s best series finish among six starts.

Newcomers: A handful of rookie drivers on the entry list will be getting their first look at the Brainerd track. They include Rich DeLong III, Dylan Lupton, Dallas Montes and Giles Thornton.

First Of Three Road Course Events: This event marks the first of three road course races on this year’s series schedule. The series makes its annual visit to Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway on June 22 and travels to Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah on Sept. 14.

LAST TIME OUT: STOCKTON
Thorn Dominates: Derek Thorn led every lap en route to winning the G-Oil 150 at Stockton (Calif.) 99 Speedway on May 4. It marked the third career series win for the Lakeport, Calif., driver – who is in his second full season of competition.

Hayley Takes Pole, Track Record: Cameron Hayley broke the track record at Stockton in winning his first career series pole. The 16-year-old Canadian driver lapped the historic quarter-mile oval in 13.726 seconds at an average speed of 65.569 mph.

Strong Debut: Several young drivers had a strong performance in making their series debut at Stockton. Sixteen-year-old Luis Tyrrell finished fourth, while 15-year-old Giles Thornton finished seventh. Bobby Runyan Jr., 20, ran in the top 10, before ending the night in 16th.

Career Best Finish: Veteran driver John Wood turned in a career best series mark with a 12th-place finish at Stockton. His previous best finish was 13th, on two occasions.

NEXT TIME OUT: Iowa & Lebanon
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West continues its trek through the Midwest with two races in three days in early June.

The first event will be the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East-West combination race at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa on Friday, June 7. Dylan Kwasniewski was the top finishing K&N West driver in last year’s event.

Following the Iowa event, the series will head to Missouri for its inaugural visit to the .375-mile oval at Lebanon (Mo.) I-44 Speedway on Sunday, June 9.

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Who sets the pace after NASCAR All-Star Race?

admin — Tue, 21 May 2013 04:28:37 +0000

Five-time became Four-Time on Saturday night, as Jimmie Johnson became the only driver in NASCAR history to win the Sprint All-Star Race for the fourth time, fighting off the Busch brothers for a historic victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

That triumph moves Johnson atop the FOXSports.com/SPEED.com Power Rankings for this week.

This week’s list:

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NASCAR Charlotte race weekend entries and schedule

admin — Tue, 21 May 2013 04:28:36 +0000

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NASCAR Charlotte race weekend entries and schedule
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Dumoulin Snags First Career Win

admin — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:49:29 +0000

Dumoulin Snags First Career Win

Road Course Ace Gets Off To Fast Start In ‘13

BOWMANVILLE, Ont. – Louis-Philippe Dumoulin won the Pinty’s presents the Vortex Brake Pads 200 on Sunday in NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 action at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Dumoulin, out of Trois-Rivieres, Que., handled all comers on the 2.459-mile road course to pick up his first series career win while leading a race-high 32 laps. The 2011 series rookie of the year had a previous best finish of second last season in his hometown the event – the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres.

After leading four laps early Dumoulin bided his time behind the wheel of his No. 47 WeatherTech.ca/Bellemare Dodge while everyone cycled through pit stops for tires and fuel. He took the lead from fellow Quebecer Martin Roy on Lap 24 and was out front for the rest of the 51-lap affair.

“I’m really proud of my team and the car was great all weekend,” said Dumoulin. “My crew chief Tyler Case was on top of everything and making sure we made the right decisions. We’re really happy to get out first win.”

In three of the six seasons in series history the winner of the season opener has gone on to win the points championship. However, Dumoulin is in just his second full season of Canadian Tire Series competition and the road course specialist will need to prove his mettle on the eight oval track events on the schedule this season.

“I learned quite a bit last year on the ovals, but it’s pretty tough to beat some of these guys,” he said. “This is a good win and we’ll continue to build on it.”

Runner-up Jeff Lapcevich seemed to be within striking distance after taking the white flag, but a bobble in Turn 1 effectively ended his challenge. The result equaled his best series finish established in 2009 at Riverside International Speedway in Antigonish, N.S., and helped raise the spirits of the Lapcevich Racing team after Lapcevich’s father passed away unexpectedly in early April.

“Everything with my dad really set us back,” he said. “I wasn’t even sure we were going to come here and I told the team to get everything ready just a couple of weeks ago. They’ve worked extremely hard and I appreciate it.”

On the final lap the veteran Lapcevich tried some gamesmanship to get past Dumoulin.

“I thought maybe I could rattle him, but I just ended up rattling myself,” said the pilot of the No. 76 Tim Hortons Dodge out of Grimsby, Ont. “After that it was over. He would have had to have done something really wrong for me to catch him.”

Jason Hathaway finished third and scored his best Canadian Tire Motorsport Park finish in seven starts on the road course.

“We put a lot of emphasis on our road course program over the offseason and it certainly paid off in running up front most of the day,” Hathaway said.

Defending series champion D.J. Kennington and Robin Buck in fourth and fifth, respectively and Kerry Micks, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular Ty Dillon, Noel Dowler, Trevor Seibert and Brad Graham rounded out the top-10 finishers.

Dillon gained some valuable experience on the track that will host its first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event on Sunday, Sept. 1.

Pole sitter J.R. Fitzpatrick broke a drive shaft early on and finished a disappointing 27th in the 28-car field. He set a track record in Saturday’s qualifying and led the race’s first six laps before the untimely mechanical difficulty.

The race lead was exchanged six times among six drivers while the action was slowed due to caution three times for 13 laps.

The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 is back in action next on Saturday, June 15 for the EMCO 200 at Delaware (Ont.) Speedway.

RESULTS | LAP-BY-LAP RECAP |JEFF LAPCEVICH POST-RACE AUDIO | JASON HATHAWAY POST-RACE AUDIO

Louis-Philippe Dumoulin takes the checkered flag on Sunday in the Pinty’s presents the Vortex Brake Pads 200 at Canadian Tire Motrorsport Park for his first career NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 victory. Matthew Manor/NASCAR

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Jimmie Johnson wins All-Star race

admin — Mon, 20 May 2013 04:24:47 +0000

CONCORD, N.C. (AP)

Cross another milestone off of Jimmie Johnson‘s list. He stands alone in All-Star history.

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”Five-time” became the first four-time winner of NASCAR’s annual All-Star race, breaking a tie with the late Dale Earnhardt and teammate Jeff Gordon on Saturday night.

”To beat Jeff and Earnhardt, two guys that I have looked up to my whole life, two massive icons of our sport, this means the world to me,” Johnson said.

It was fitting that he did it at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the track Johnson, the five-time NASCAR champion, has dominated since his 2002 rookie season.

This win in the $1 million Sprint All-Star Race was his second straight and fourth in 12 years. He also won in 2003 and 2006.

”The only four-time All-Star champion – I am very proud of you,” crew chief Chad Knaus radioed after Johnson took the checkered flag.

A day after Johnson overshot his pit stall during qualifying to earn a poor starting spot, his Hendrick Motorsports crew changed four tires in 11 seconds on the mandatory final spot to send Johnson back onto the track in second place for the final restart.

He lined up inside of teammate Kasey Kahne for the final 10-lap sprint to the cash, and the two battled side-by-side for a little more than a lap before Johnson cleared Kahne completely. He then sailed away to an easy victory.

Joey Logano finished second and Kyle Busch, who won two of the first four segments, was third as neither had a shot at running down Johnson once he got his No. 48 Chevrolet out front.

”The 48, once he got that clean air, he was gone,” Logano said. ”Second isn’t anything to hang your head, but it’s about the million bucks tonight.”

Kahne faded to fourth and Kurt Busch, who also won two segments to give the Busch brothers a sweep, was fifth.

It was disappointing for both Busch brothers, who had the cars to beat through the first 80 laps. New scoring rules designed to stop sandbagging sent the drivers onto pit road for the mandatory final stop in order of their average finish in the first four segments.

The Busch brothers tied with an average finish of 2.0, and Kurt went down pit road as the leader based on the tiebreaker of winning the final segment.

But the two Hendrick cars beat everybody off pit road, Kyle Busch exited in third and a poor final pit stop dropped Kurt to fifth.

”Ultimately, it came down to pit road, where my guys always prove their worth,” Kyle Busch said. ”Unfortunately, we didn’t have the best of stops and to come out third, well, that was the race right there. You have to be on the front row if you’re going to win this thing.”

Johnson didn’t think he had a shot at winning the All-Star race after botching his qualifying run and starting 20th in the 22-car field. By staying patient through the four 20-lap segments, he was in position at the end to make his move.

”Worked our way through there and got the job done,” Johnson said. ”It’s just dedication and drive from every member of this Hendrick Motorsports team.”

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Johnson Wins Sprint All Star Race Record Fourth Time: Kurt Busch Loses in The Pits

Steve Waid — Sun, 19 May 2013 16:49:53 +0000

Jimmie Johnson celebrates at Charlotte Motor Speedway after he won the Sprint All Star Race. Johnson has now won the special race four times, more than any other driver.

Perhaps many fans would have preferred that the winner of the Sprint All Star race be anyone other than Jimmie Johnson.

Not that his talent is questioned, nor that of crew chief Chad Knaus and the Hendrick Motorsports team.

It’s just that, well, Johnson has won races and championships so often that some folks are a bit bored.

Johnson won five championships in a row and while that is an astonishing feat it’s often true that the fans of such a dynasty are only team members and loyal fans.

So when Johnson took the checkered flag in the All Star Race, it’s likely a fair share of fans uttered something like, “Oh, no, not again,” and turned off their TVs.

They have seen enough of Johnson. They want to see some new winners, like they saw in David Ragan at Talladega

Got news for them. Like it or not, they are going to see more of Johnson – and in this season.

The California native is a Hall of Fame talent who has the benefit of a strong crew and team. Like all other NASCAR superstars, he races to win.

Makes no difference if it’s a point race or a high-buck exhibition, Johnson is in it to win, just like so many of his peers.

Isn’t that the way it is supposed to be?

The victory in the All Star Race added to the glory Johnson has experienced – and earned – so far this season.

He’s won twice in 11 races, has six top-five finishes and eight among the top 10. He’s first in points with a comfortable 44-point margin over Carl Edwards.

There’s little doubt he will be a strong contender for a sixth championship.

And, yes, not everybody likes that.

Kyle Busch stands by as his crew works on his car during a rain delay in the Sprint All Star Race. Busch led the second and third 20-lap segments of the race.

The victory was Johnson’s fourth in the All Star Race, which moves him ahead of Dale Earnhardt and Hendrick teammate Jeff Gordon – and solidifies his place in the record books.

“Truthfully I don’t think a question about my place in history is one that I’m to answer,” Johnson said. “I still have a lot of years left in my career, and that’s something that the public, the mass, that’s what other people come up with.

“I don’t think it’s right for me to sit here and say, ‘Hey, I’m this guy, I’m the guy or anything in between.’

‘I’m very proud of what I’ve accomplished, but I still feel like there’s a lot left I can do in this sport, and I’ll work hard to do that.

“When I’m old and sit in a rocking chair hopefully people think highly of what I’ve done and give me a tip of the hat.”

The race was broken down to five segments, four of 20 laps each and a final 10-lap dash to the finish. A driver’s average finish over the first four segments determined his starting position in the fifth.

Kurt and Kyle Busch – talk about guys who race to win – won the first four segments, which were, overall, lacking in excitement.

A mandatory four-tire pit stop was scheduled for all competitors before the final segment. Despite changes to his pit crew this week, Johnson’s guys pulled of an 11-second pit stop to give him the edge.

Johnson sped away from Hendrick teammate Kasey Kahne to win by more than one second over Joey Logano.

Kyle Busch, who won the second and third segments, finished third. Kahne was fourth and Kurt Busch rounded out the top five.

It’s likely NASCAR will study the All Star Race format and might make some changes for 2014. It has been suggested that the final segment’s 10 laps are too short. The leader is in clean air while others race side-by-side behind him, with not enough time to catch up.

However, the All Star Race has had a 20-lap final segment before. Johnson simply took advantage of what was offered.

“We knew what we needed to do on the race track to try to get ourselves in good position, Knaus said. “We felt like that if we could come down in the top five and try to get a solid pit stop and maintain that, we would be solid.

“I really didn’t think that we would be able to come down pit road and have a stop that fast, and man, those guys just absolutely nailed it. My hat’s off to them.

“We’ve had to switch some things around during the course of the last month or so and the guys really rose to the occasion.”

It should be pointed out that if indeed changes are made to the format, it might not affect Johnson at all.

He’s won the All Star Race in four different formats. Does this indicate he can win no matter what NASCAR does? Does his team have it all figured out?

Well, it only seems that way.

“No, we just get lucky, man,” Johnson said. “That’s what people will say. There’s no talent involved.

“We just got lucky tonight.”

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QUALIFYING: Record Run For Fitzpatrick

admin — Sun, 19 May 2013 10:49:07 +0000

QUALIFYING: Record Run For Fitzpatrick

Defending Race Winner Picks Up 12th Career Pole

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada – J.R. Fitzpatrick claimed the pole position in NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 qualifying on Saturday at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for Sunday’s Pinty’s presents the Vortex Brake Pads 200.

Fitzpatrick, out of Ayr, Ontario, established a track record with an 83.286-second lap on the 2.459-mile road course for an average speed of 106.289 mph. It is the 12th career pole for the defending race winner. The 25-year-old has won three straight poles dating back to last season and now holds the all-time series mark for career poles by breaking a three-way tie with Andrew Ranger and Don Thomson Jr. – the current crew chief for Fitzpatrick’s No. 84 Equipment Express Chevrolet.

Louis-Philippe Dumoulin, who was fastest in practice earlier in the day, earned a start from the outside pole position with a qualifying time of 83.503 seconds (106.013 mph).

The third-fastest time was posted by two-time series champion Scott Steckly at 83.828 seconds (105.602 mph). He owned the previous track mark established a season ago at 83.922 seconds (105.484 mph). Kerry Micks (105.098 mph) and defending series champion D.J. Kennington (104.848 mph) qualified fourth and fifth, respectively.

Alex Guennette, Robin Buck, Peter Klutt, Howie Scannell Jr. and Jeff Lapcevich rounded out the top-10 qualifiers.

The Pinty’s presents the Vortex Brake Pads 200 is scheduled to take the green flag at 1:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon. Live coverage of the race on CTV begins at 1 p.m.

QUALIFYING RESULTS

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PRACTICE: Dumoulin Paces Field

admin — Sun, 19 May 2013 10:49:06 +0000

PRACTICE: Dumoulin Paces Field

Canadian Tire Series Teams Prep For Season Opener

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada – Louis-Philippe Dumoulin led NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 final practice on Saturday for the Pinty’s presents the Vortex 200 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Dumoulin, out of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, got around the 2.459-mile road course in 83.161 seconds for an average speed of 106.449 mph. The time was a few ticks quicker than the track record of 83.992 seconds (105.484 mph) established by Scott Steckly in the 2012 season opener.

J.R. Fitzpatrick was second on the charts in the final session at 83.291 seconds (106.283 mph) followed by Scott Steckly at 83.644 seconds (105.834 mph). Series rookie Alex Guennette at 84.228 seconds (105.100 mph) and Robin Buck with a time of 84.285 (105.029 mph) were fourth and fifth, respectively.

Jason Hathaway, Jeff Lapcevich, D.J. Kennington, Kerry Micks and Ty Dillon rounded out the top 10.

Fitzpatrick led the first practice session of the day at 83.665 seconds (105.808 mph) followed by Dumoulin, Steckly, Kennington and Peter Klutt.

Qualifying will begin at 4 p.m. ET with the Pinty’s presents the Vortex 200 scheduled to get underway at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. The race will air live on CTV with coverage beginning at 1 p.m.

PRACTICE RESULTS

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Jimmie Johnson wins Sprint All-Star Race

admin — Sun, 19 May 2013 04:19:43 +0000

CONCORD, N.C. (AP)

Jimmie Johnson became the first four-time winner of NASCAR’s annual All-Star race Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

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Johnson got a fast final pit stop from his Hendrick Motorsports crew to restart the race in second for the 10-lap sprint to the finish.

He battled teammate Kasey Kahne for a little more than one lap before clearing Kahne and sailing away to the $1 million payday.

Johnson entered the race tied with the late Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon as the only three-time winners in event history.

Now the five-time NASCAR champion is in a class of his own.

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Joe Gibbs Team Is Showing Kenseth Championship Form

Steve Waid — Sat, 18 May 2013 12:54:39 +0000

With three victories already this season, Matt Kenseth is off to a hot start and has emerged as the leader of the Joe Gibbs Racing team.

CONCORD, N.C. – Is this the year in which Joe Gibbs Racing wins its fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup championship?

Frankly, it’s kind of early to predict much of anything about any team, but it’s almost certain two of the team’s drivers – Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch – will make the Chase.

If the third Gibbs driver, Denny Hamlin, who is in 27^th place in points due to injury, wins a couple of races, he’ll nab a “wildcard” position for the Chase. He’s certainly capable of doing just that.

Which, overall, means that the odds are in Gibbs’ favor right now.

Kenseth is Gibbs’ leader in the point standings. He sits third, 59 points behind No. 1 Jimmie Johnson and 15 behind runnerup Carl Edwards.

Johnson seems very comfortable with his 44-point margin over Edwards. He’s just one point shy of the maximum available in a given race.

But at the moment, many media outlets rank Kenseth No. 1 in their power rankings – and for good reason, I might add.

The latest addition to the Gibbs team has already posted an excellent record early in the season. His three top-five finishes are all victories, at Las Vegas, Kansas and last week at Darlington.

He also has seven top-10 finishes.

Johnson, top dog at Hendrick Motorsports, has an impressive early record as well. He’s won twice, at Daytona and Martinsville, with six top-five finishes and eight among the top 10.

Now, it’s been suggested by some that if Kenseth had experienced a kinder fate in a few races, he, and not Johnson, would be the points leader.

At Daytona Kenseth led the most laps but then experienced engine failure with less than 50 laps remaining. He went to the garage area with a DNF.

Presently Jimmie Johnson holds a commanding lead in the point standings as he seeks his sixth career Sprint Cup championship.

Meanwhile, Johnson went on to win the race.

At Bristol, Kenseth might well have earned another top-five finish had he not become involved in a crash with Jeff Gordon. Kenseth suffered his second DNF.

Johnson didn’t have a stellar performance at Bristol. He finished 22^nd, two laps down to winner and Hendrick teammate Kasey Kahne.

If we do the math, if Kenseth had been able to snag a couple of top-five finishes at Daytona and Bristol, he would have earned around 83 points instead of the 19 he got. And he would be leading in points, not Johnson.

An observation here:

We can talk about how Kenseth “should” be the points leader until we are blue in the face. But “should” is NOT the reality.

The reality is that Kenseth’s two DNFs have made all the difference. True, he has had an excellent season so far, but being unable to finish a couple of times – where Johnson has completed every race – simply means Kenseth had a slim chance of leading the points.

Yes, Johnson and Kenseth have been consistent this year. But Johnson has been a bit better at it. The statistics prove it.

That’s why he’s the points leader and deserves to be.

But all of this is not to say Johnson is going to be the champion. Again, it’s too early to predict much of anything, especially since there are 15 races until the Chase begins and 10 more in the “playoff.”

The point here is that the Gibbs team has shown, in a short period of time, that it once again has what it takes to be a championship contender.

A couple of examples:

Busch has displayed the competitive dominance for which he has become well known.

He’s won twice already, at Fontana and Texas, and would have a third victory under his belt at Darlington. He ran roughshod over the competition by leading 265 laps. But he suffered a cut tire and gave way to Kenseth.

Oh, and Busch did pummel the field in the Nationwide Series race the night before the Bojangle’s Southern 500.

It seems obvious Busch has indicted he can win at any track.

Because of his back injury Hamlin has made only seven starts. But that seventh one, at Darlington, proved his mettle.

It was his first complete race following his injury and he finished second to Kenseth.

Now think of it. In one race Gibbs impressively flexes its muscle. It finishes one-two and one of its drivers leads more laps that anyone else.

It’s Kenseth who has made all the difference. He brings experience and leadership to the team, both of which he cultivated during his many years with Roush Fenway Racing.“I knew Matt before,” said J.D. Gibbs, team president. “When he came on the team, I knew he would be a good leader.

“I think Denny and Kyle really like having him here and hearing what he has to say. On the race track, he just has a gift.

“So I think it is really a blessing to have him join our team. We look forward to a great future.”

It is true the Gibbs team got a huge break when an appeals board reduced most of the stern penalties levied by NASCAR against it after Kansas.

For example, instead of being docked 50 driver points, Kenseth lost only 12. And his Kansas victory was allowed to count toward the Chase.

Had that not been the case it’s likely Kenseth, and Gibbs, wouldn’t be in their current position.

But it is indeed the case and Kenseth and Gibbs are indeed in a good spot.

Kenseth himself looks past the penalties.

“I try to look forward and not back,” he said. “I’m hoping Joe and J.D. keep me around for a long time.

“Certainly I’ve been fortunate and blessed throughout my career to have great race teams, great people working on the cars, great sponsors – the whole thing.

“I’ve been very fortunate. I got the good job. I got the easy job. They give me cars that are fast and drive so well, it sure is a lot of fun.”

As the year moves ahead, the Gibbs team might have a lot more fun.

Frankly, it may reach the point where it goes head-to-head with Hendrick.