With rain closing in and the Daytona 500 almost certain to become the Daytona Less-Than-500, Matt Kenseth knew he had to make his move while he still had time. So with a good shove from Kevin Harvick, he powered his Ford past the Dodge of Elliott Sadler in the waning laps of the season-opening NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Sunday.
When the rain did, indeed, come five laps later, Kenseth simply rode around until officials red-flagged the race, then made it official a half-hour later. It was the first Daytona International Speedway win for the Roush Fenway Racing driver and the first Daytona 500 win for team owner Jack Roush.
“I don’t know that it’s set in yet,” Kenseth said an hour after the finish. “It’s just awesome, though, I know that. This is definitely a dream moment, an unbelievable moment. You knew it was down to crunch time, but you’re almost more careful with your moves with the rain coming. You don’t want to make the wrong move and get hung out and finish in the back, either.”
Kenseth led only the final seven laps to win ahead of 2007 winner Kevin Harvick, ex-Champ Car World Series star A. J. Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer and a disconsolate Sadler. Kenseth was in a Roush Fenway Ford, Harvick and Bowyer in Richard Childress Racing Chevrolets, and Allmendinger and Sadler in Dodges from Richard Petty Motorsports. The rest of the top 10: David Ragan, two-time 500 winner Michael Waltrip, Tony Stewart, Reed Sorenson and pole winner Martin Truex Jr.
Kenseth and the weather conspired to keep Sadler from the win he felt he deserved. He took the lead on lap 122 when previous leader Bobby Labonte pitted. He stayed out front--and thus avoided a nine-car crash in turn three--until Kenseth passed on lap 146. Once passed, Sadler couldn’t hold back Harvick, Allmendinger and Bowyer, and settled into fifth. After a brief caution for Aric Almirola’s spin in turn four, rain moved in and caused officials to stop the race on lap 152. They waited less than a half-hour before calling it official. The last seven laps were the only ones Kenseth led.
Sadler could only lament what could have been.
“On one hand, I’m very happy and on the other, I’m really disappointed,” he said. “We got a top five for Stanley Tools, Dodge and Richard Petty Motorsports and that’s great. On the other hand, I was one lap away from winning the Daytona 500 and that’s hard to swallow. With the off-season I had, I feel like I deserved to win more than anyone. I really wanted to go to victory lane. I just needed to hang on for one more lap to win the 500.”
The final laps were compelling, but overall the race was not. Kyle Busch dominated, leading twice for 88 laps before crashing out. Sadler led 24, Stewart 15 and Jeff Gordon 14. The other 11 laps were divided among Kenseth (seven) and Truex, Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Bobby Labonte (one each). Busch led his 88 laps in 50- and 38-lap segments. Sadler led his 24 in one segment, Stewart led his 15 in one segment and Gordon led his 15 in one.
TOP 10 FINISHERS
1. Matt Kenseth, Ford
2. Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet
3. A. J. Allmendinger, Dodge
4. Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet
5. Elliott Sadler, Dodge
6. David Ragan, Ford
7. Michael Waltrip, Toyota
8. Tony Stewart, Chevrolet
9. Reed Sorenson, Dodge
10. Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet
POINTS LEADERS
1. Kenseth, 190
2. Harvick, -20
3. Allmendinger, -25
4. (Tie) Bowyer, Sadler, -30
6. Ragan, -40
7. Stewart, -43
8. Waltrip, -44
9. Sorenson, -52
10. Truex, -55
11. Kurt Busch, -56
12. Jeff Gordon, -61
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