LAS VEGAS – Matt Kenseth decided not to replace any tires during the final pit stop under caution, and the calculated risk put him in the lead.
Kenseth knows a bit about risk after his offseason move to Joe Gibbs Racing, and this latest gamble paid off with his third victory in Vegas.
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Kenseth won on his 41st birthday in just his third start for his new team, barely holding off Kasey Kahne at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for his 25th career victory Sunday.
“I was real nervous all day,” Kenseth said. “(Kahne) had the best car. I told (crew chief) Jason (Ratcliff) with about 12 to go that I was sorry we were going to lose. We were just too tight. … We didn’t have the fastest car there, but we had it where we needed it to be.”
Kenseth took only fuel on the final pit stop during caution while almost everybody else replaced two tires. He held onto the lead using his veteran savvy, keeping Kahne’s impressive Chevrolet behind him.
The frequently laid-back Kenseth celebrated with uncommon vigor after his JGR Toyota crossed the line. He’s still getting comfortable with his new teammates after leaving Roush Fenway Racing in the highest-profile driver move of the offseason, joining Gibbs after 13 seasons with RFR.
“I’m not a huge goal person, but my goal was to win, and to win early,” Kenseth said. “Nobody has put any pressure on me except for myself, but I also know that Coach hired me to come in there, climb in that car and win races. You certainly want to do that, and you don’t want to disappoint people. I’m glad we got a win, but it’s still only Week 3. I feel like this is the beginning.”
Pole-sitter Brad Keselowski finished third, with Kenseth’s teammate, Kyle Busch, in fourth and Carl Edwards fifth. Jimmie Johnson was sixth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. seventh.
Kenseth is just the third Sprint Cup driver to win on his birthday, joining Cale Yarborough — who did it twice — and Busch.
The 400-mile race was the first real test for NASCAR’s new Gen-6 car on the intermediate tracks they’re built to race. Most drivers were curious how the Gen-6 would work in its ideal 1.5-mile environment.
Busch made two lengthy charges up to early leads, doing it both before and after a pit-row speeding penalty dropped him back to 18th.
“I just hate it for my team,” said Busch, a Las Vegas native. “We had by far the best car in practice. I don’t know where that went. Today was a different day. The worst Gibbs car ended up winning the race. It’s funny how this game works.”
Danica Patrick struggled with her car from the start, going two laps down by the 60th lap and later getting penalized for a tire violation. She finished 33rd.
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