KENSETH
2 FOR 2
Las Vegas, NV: Matt Kenseth won his second race of the year and made it two in a row at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as well. Matt's run today was nearly flawless. He had started the race 17th and was soon on his way to the front. He easily passed other cars and slid by Tony Stewart to lead on lap 96. The #17 DeWalt Ford was running well and required no adjustments. Only after his crew slipped up on a pit stop did Matt lose any precious positions. But it didn't take him long to regain the lead and hold it to the end. There was nearly a replay of the race at Rockingham as Kasey Kahne tried to catch Matt. However, there were not enough laps left and Matt breathed a sigh of relief as he crossed the start/finish line ahead of the rookie who was quickly approaching.
In just the third race of the 2004 Nextel Cup season, Kasey Kahne was already showing signs that Ray Evernham had made the right decision by placing him in the vehicle vacated by Bill Elliott. After the exciting finish at Rockingham last weekend, Kasey put the #9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge on the pole. Although he didn't lead the first lap, he did lead 29 of them. Then, after a splendid pit stop of 14.0 seconds, Kasey's crew had some problems and he dropped back to 19th. As he resumed his charge to the front, it appeared Kasey would once again excite the fans with a fantastic finish. Unfortunately, he was not able to catch Matt. Kasey finished 2nd.
After a disappointing finish at Rockingham, Tony Stewart was looking forward to better luck at Vegas. He started in the middle of the field, but the #20 Home Depot Chevrolet was destined for higher positions. Tony powered his way to the front and was leading by lap 55. His crew put together some stellar pit stops including one at 14 seconds flat and one at an incredible 13.2 seconds. But Tony lost the lead to Matt on two occasions and although he was able to keep position after pit stops, he could not retain the top spot. When Tony tried to pass Kevin Harvick to retake the lead, he wore out his tires. Kasey Kahne passed by him and Tony was unable to move ahead. He ended the race 3rd, but has taken over 2nd place in the Championship Chase.
Being very loose at the beginning of the race caused Jamie McMurray to brush the wall on lap 65. Fortunately, the #42 Texaco Dodge was not badly damaged. The brush with the wall knocked the toe out of the car which may have cost Jamie the race. He was able to stay in the top 10 for most of the day and he finished 4th.
Mark Martin brought the #6 Viagra Ford in 5th. Elliott Sadler, who had been fastest in Happy Hour practice with the #38 M&M's Ford, came in 6th. Casey Mears had an excellent day finishing 7th in the #41 Target Dodge. The #18 Interstate Batteries car of Bobby Labonte finished 8th. Kurt Busch actually led the first 9 laps in the #97 Irwin Ford before he was pushed aside by Kasey Kahne. He came in 9th. Hoping for a more positive season, Rusty Wallace took the #2 Miller Lite Dodge up to 10th.
Ryan Newman did not win the pole or the race in Las Vegas. The #12 Alltel Dodge was so tight that Ryan had to pit on lap 30. He took three rounds of wedge and returned to the race two laps down. When the caution came out on lap 39 to clean up the track after Scott Wimmer's engine blew on the #22 Caterpillar Dodge, Ryan did not pit. This gave him back one of the laps he had lost. Later, on lap 87, the Alltel dodge spun around. Some great maneuvering by Ryan kept the car from hitting the wall. But all of Ryan's skill could not get him back where he needed to be. He finished the race 27th.
The biggest heartbreak of the day belonged to Dale Earnhardt, Jr. The #8 Budweiser Chevrolet was extremely loose at the beginning of the race. Jr could not handle the car and he was forced to pit on lap 29, which immediately put him two laps down. The problem was still not resolved and Jr went to the pits again on lap 83. As he watched his points lead slip away, Jr finally headed to the garage on lap 106. Jr returned to the race on lap 124 only to have to bring the car back to the garage on lap 137. He repeated this scenario several times hoping to gain as many points as possible. He went from 1st to 7th in the standings, handing the lead to last year's Champion, Matt Kenseth.
Michael Waltrip continued his early season woes when on lap 166, Bill Elliott slightly tapped the #15 Napa Chevrolet. That was all it took to send Mike into the outside wall. He was not injured, but there was too much damage for him to return to the race. Other drivers that met the wall during the race were Jeff Green in the #43 Cheerios Dodge and Brendan Gaughn in the #77 Kodak Dodge.
Kevin Harvick was greatly disappointed when the #29 Goodwrench Chevrolet ran out of gas with 5
laps remaining. He went from 2nd down to 21st.
Article by S. Kipple
03/07/04
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