Roush Fenway Racing driver Matt Kenseth earns 26th Nationwide Series victory – NASCAR news
Roush Fenway Racing driver Matt Kenseth won the Nationwide Series Top Gear 300 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Although it was his first race of the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series season, this was his 26th win in the series.
Matt Kenseth outperformed the All Star Race winner Carl Edwards with a sleek gap of 0.736 seconds. On lap 198, Kenseth made his pass over Edwards to lead the race and continued to increase the gap between them.
Kenseth said. “It feels really good to beat Carl. He’s one of the best out there every Sunday and Saturday, and when you can beat him at the game, you know you had a good day.”
Originally, Matt Kenseth was playing the role of Trevor Bayne due to his illness. Bayne is out of race for about couple of months. He was bit by an insect and felt numbness and impaired view for which he was hospitalised for some time. Recent medical check-ups
show he is now in a better condition and will soon resume his racing. Bayne is expected to make his comeback at the Nationwide Series STP 300 Chicagoland Speedway.
Busch said, “It’s funny; Matt comes and runs a one-off and beats us both. Those guys [Kenseth and Edwards] were definitely faster than us today. They had the cars to beat.”
Kyle Busch finished third following Carl Edwards who was in second. Top Gear 300 pole position winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Reed Sorenson came fourth and fifth respectively.
Coca Cola 600 pole winner Brad Keselowski was not lucky enough to make it in the top five as he finished in sixth place. Steve Wallace, Brian Scott, Aric Almirola and Elliott Sadler completed the top ten slots for the race.
Elliott Sadler was also driving as a substitute for Paul Menard of Kevin Harvick Inc. Menard received 20 stitches after sustaining a long cut in his foot. He was replaced with his KHI teammate to prevent any complications.
Former Formula 1 champion Kimi Raikkonen also debuted in the race. He struggled to handle his no. 87 NEMCO Autosports Toyota. He was penalised for speeding in the pit lane and also damaged his Toyota’s front splitter. He crossed the finish line in 27th
place, five places down from his starting position.
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