MATT KENSETH WINS BY A NOSE
Rockingham, NC: Matt Kenseth took the #17 DeWalt Ford from 23rd to 1st by lap 89. From that point on, he gave up the lead only once to Jamie McMurray. He didn’t relinquish the spot for long and soon reclaimed the top position. It looked as though Matt would run away with the victory until rookie, Kasey Kahne, caught up to him with 5 laps left. On the final lap, Kasey swung to the bottom of the track and poured on the power. It was a photo finish, but the nose of the #17 DeWalt Ford crossed the finish line .010 seconds ahead of the #9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge. Matt moved up to 2nd in points.
Kasey Kahne started the race in 3rd and made a good showing at his first race at “The Rock.” He had stayed in the top 10 until the caution at lap 132. As he was leaving his pit stall, a wrench used to adjust the trackbar, was left in its jackbolt. Kasey was forced to come back onto pit road to have it removed and penalized to the end of the longest line on the lead lap. It didn’t take Kasey very long to make his way back to the front. The #9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge was strong and the pit crew was flawless. After getting Kasey out 2nd on the final pit stop, it looked as though the rookie might snatch the victory from Matt. But the nose of the #17 Ford prevailed and Kasey ended 2nd. He now holds first position in the Rookie of the Year standings.
Jamie McMurray appeared to have the best car on the track. He had won the Busch race just the day before. However, after leading the race briefly on two occasions, he could not get the #42 Texaco Dodge in front again. There was a small controversy over position after a round of pit stops that occurred when some cars had been on pit road and a caution came out. NASCAR awarded the lead back to Matt Kenseth when it appeared he should not have kept that position. Jamie’s crew chief, Donnie Wingo, argued with NASCAR officials, but could not budge them from their ruling. Jamie rallied at the end of the race to challenge Matt & Kasey, but slipped up coming out of turn 2. He came in 3rd.
There was relatively little activity and even less excitement in the first half of the race. Although an incident that occurred on lap 132 between Jimmie Johnson and Ken Schrader ruined Jimmie’s streak of 70 weeks in the top 10 for Championship points. Ken Schrader came across the track from the outside lane heading towards pit road. Jimmie, who was running on the inside lane, swerved to miss the #49 Schwan Dodge and smashed into the inside retaining wall. The #48 Lowes Chevrolet was knocked out of the race.
Something that rarely occurs at the track in Rockingham, happened twice today. On lap 264, Brendan Gaughan and Joe Nemechek came together pushing the #46 Al Smith Dodge of Carl Long into the wall. The momentum caused the 46 to climb the wall and turn onto its side. It flipped over several times. Luckily, Carl was not hurt.
The second wild ride was taken by Robby Gordon in the #31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet after he was struck by Jeff Green in the #43 Cheerios/STP Dodge. Robby, too, climbed the wall, but did not flip. Robby was unhurt as well.
Other strong contenders throughout the race included Dale Jarrett in the #88 UPS Ford. Unfortunately, he lost his engine on lap 210 and was forced out of the race. Sterling Marlin started 13th and quickly moved forward. But, Sterling could not get the #40 Coors Light Dodge to the front. He finished 4th.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr continued his “Quest for the Cup” with an impressive run. He never had an opportunity to lead, but stayed close to the top 10 all day. He came in 5th and retained the lead in Championship points.
The #12 Alltel Dodge began on the pole, however, he was not strong enough to hold the top position. He battled most of the day and finished 6th.
Rusty Wallace had the fastest car in the two practices on Saturday. However, his crew had problems throughout the day and could not give Rusty the track position he needed. The #2 Miller Lite Dodge was overpowered by stronger cars but managed to come in 7th.
Kurt Busch made an attempt to get the #97 Irwin Ford to the front, but could not quite make it. He
finished 8th. Ward Burton was impressive coming in 9th in the #0 NetZero Dodge. Jeff Gordon had
problems throughout the day, going down a lap, moving back up, then going down again. He brought the
#24 DuPont Chevrolet in 10th.
Article by S. Kipple
02/22/04
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