Fourtitude!

Kenseth shakes early troubles to win fourth race of season

Matt Kenseth led the final 107 laps for his fourth win of the season. Jonathan Ferrey/ Getty Images

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Matt Kenseth twice struggled to get back on the lead lap after early problems with flat tires.

Once he did that, only another blown tire could have slowed him as he ran away with the Monte Carlo 400 on Saturday night for his Winston Cup-high fourth victory of the year.

"We had such a fast car and we kept getting flat right-front tires, and I was real concerned about that," he said after his fifth career Winston Cup victory. "But everybody on this crew did a great job tonight. They gave me great pit stops and they had me out there when we needed to be."

Kenseth dropped a lap behind twice in the first quarter of the 400-lap race, but his Ford was strongest during two periods of long green-flag runs, and the 120 caution-free laps to end it allowed him to show off his car.

CNNSI.com's Denise N. Maloof Hard Charger: Matt Kenseth storms back for the victory. Breaks of the Race: Sterling Marlin and Jeff Gordon bow out early.

After starting 25th, Kenseth also won from deeper in the field than anyone at Richmond International Raceway since the three-quarter-mile track was reconfigured in 1988. Terry Labonte won from the 24th spot in 1995.

"It was just really fast the whole time we've been here," Kenseth said. "It would work high and it would work low and before a lot of guys got to the high line, I went out there and was able to pass a lot of guys."

The race further tightened the points race when series leader Sterling Marlin crashed on his ninth lap, second-place Jeff Gordon had to park because of a valve train problem, and Mark Martin rallied to finish sixth.

Martin now trails Marlin by just nine points for the lead, with Jimmie Johnson 72 points back, Gordon 82 behind and Tony Stewart 118 back.

The victory allowed the Roush racing driver to climb two spots to eighth in the points standings, 248 back with 10 races remaining.

Ryan Newman finished second in his Ford after teammate Rusty Wallace got a flat with 11 laps to go. Jeff Green was third in a Chevrolet.

Monte Carlo 400 Results Finish  Driver  Make  1.  Matt Kenseth  Ford  2.  Ryan Newman  Ford  3.  Jeff Green  Chevy  4.  Dale Earnhardt Jr.  Chevy  5.  Todd Bodine  Ford  For complete results, click here.

"I just got a little tight there on that last run and when Matt got by me, I could hold my own but I couldn't catch him," said Newman, who led 145 laps and posted his series-best 12th top-five finish of the year.

Green never contended to win, but surged at the end when several teams bidding for top-10 finishes ran out of gas to end the 120-lap run.

"We just could never get it just right to get up there with Matt," Green said. "I don't know what happened to those guys -- I guess they ran out of gas. But we were going to have a fourth- or fifth-place spot."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. also rallied from a lap down to finish fourth, followed by Todd Bodine, Martin and defending champion Ricky Rudd.

After a pre-race tribute to the victims and heroes of Sept. 11, the race began as a showcase of super rookies Johnson and Newman, the first rookies to sweep the front row in NASCAR's modern era, or since 1972.

Newman was the class of the field early, taking the lead on lap No. 2 and holding it for 142 laps until Stewart became the third leader.

Most Victories in 2002 Driver  No.  Matt Kenseth  4  Tony Stewart  3  Ward Burton  2  Bill Elliott  2  Jeff Gordon  2  Dale Jarrett  2  Jimmie Johnson  2  Sterling Marlin  2

The race had an on-again, off-again flavor, with the first 100 laps and the third 100 laps marred by frequent cautions, and the second and fourth segments featuring green-flag runs that showcased the best cars.

In all, there were 10 caution periods for 65 laps, and 14 lead changes among 11 drivers. Kenseth led 134 laps, second only to Newman's total.

For a time, Stewart seemed capable of winning for the fourth time in eight career starts at Richmond, but then Kenseth and Newman rose to the top, pulling away from the rest of the field and lapping cars with ease.

That was especially true for Kenseth, who eventually also left Newman in the distance after passing him for the lead with 107 laps to go.

"It would fly around Turns 1 and 2. That was our strong point, off the corner," Kenseth said. "It rolled through the center real fast, too."

Marlin's race didn't last long as he, teammate Jimmy Spencer and Jeff Burton all crashed early. All three cars headed for the garage, and Marlin went to the infield care center for treatment of back and chest injuries.

"I'm not sure what happened. I saw Jimmy spin and I tried to miss him, but we got together," Marlin said. "We've got 10 races left, and I guess it's going to be really tight after tonight."

Marlin's misfortune seemed like a golden opportunity for four-time champion Jeff Gordon to close his 91-point deficit, but he brought his Chevrolet to the garage only a few laps later.

"This weekend hasn't been real good for luck for us," said Gordon, who returned later more than 150 laps down and eventually parked. That stopped his modern-day record of consecutive races running at the end at 56.

 

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