Matt Kenseth will carry the momentum heading into the Chase for the Sprint Cup after scoring a dominant win at the final “regular” season race at Richmond.
Kenseth has won three of the past six races, with Richmond being his domain leading 352 of the 400 laps run.
The big moment came when he won the race off pit road with just under 25 laps to go. He then held off teammate Kyle Busch and pole-winner Joey Logano when the green flag waved with 18 to go.
“I was disappointed to see that last caution,” said Kenseth.
“I knew it was going to be tough but we were able to get the jump and get out front.”
Needing a win to get into the Chase, Aric Almirola rolled off pit road in third after the final pit stop but failed to make up ground on his way to fourth. Despite the strong run, he fell 17 points short of making the Chase.
Fan-favourite Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished fifth, while Denny Hamlin, who tore the ACL in his right knee Tuesday, placed sixth.
With his seventh-place finish, Jeff Gordon clinched a spot in the Chase, joining Clint Bowyer, Paul Menard, Jamie McMurray and Ryan Newman as winless drivers to punch their tickets for the remaining spots.
VIDEO: Kenseth dominates Richmond
RESULTS: Federated Auto Parts 400 – Richmond International Raceway
| POS. | CAR # | DRIVER | MAKE | START | LAPS | LAPS LED | FINAL STATUS | POINTS | BONUS PTS |
| 1 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Toyota | 2 | 400 | 352 | Running | 48 | 5 |
| 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 4 | 400 | 9 | Running | 43 | 1 |
| 3 | 22 | Joey Logano | Ford | 1 | 400 | 25 | Running | 42 | 1 |
| 4 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | 24 | 400 | 0 | Running | 40 | 0 |
| 5 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | Chevrolet | 29 | 400 | 0 | Running | 39 | 0 |
| 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 25 | 400 | 14 | Running | 39 | 1 |
| 7 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | 23 | 400 | 0 | Running | 37 | 0 |
| 8 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 3 | 400 | 0 | Running | 36 | 0 |
| 9 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 9 | 400 | 0 | Running | 35 | 0 |
| 10 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 26 | 400 | 0 | Running | 34 | 0 |
| 11 | 19 | Carl Edwards | Toyota | 7 | 400 | 0 | Running | 33 | 0 |
| 12 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 11 | 400 | 0 | Running | 32 | 0 |
| 13 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 31 | 399 | 0 | Running | 31 | 0 |
| 14 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | 6 | 399 | 0 | Running | 30 | 0 |
| 15 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | 8 | 399 | 0 | Running | 29 | 0 |
| 16 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Ford | 19 | 399 | 0 | Running | 28 | 0 |
| 17 | 55 | David Ragan | Toyota | 5 | 398 | 0 | Running | 27 | 0 |
| 18 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | 20 | 398 | 0 | Running | 26 | 0 |
| 19 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Chevrolet | 14 | 397 | 0 | Running | 25 | 0 |
| 20 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 13 | 397 | 0 | Running | 24 | 0 |
| 21 | 13 | Casey Mears | Chevrolet | 15 | 397 | 0 | Running | 23 | 0 |
| 22 | 33 | Brian Scott | Chevrolet | 17 | 397 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | 28 | 397 | 0 | Running | 21 | 0 |
| 24 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevrolet | 21 | 397 | 0 | Running | 20 | 0 |
| 25 | 51 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | 18 | 397 | 0 | Running | 19 | 0 |
| 26 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | 22 | 397 | 0 | Running | 18 | 0 |
| 27 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 12 | 397 | 0 | Running | 17 | 0 |
| 28 | 9 | Sam Hornish Jr | Ford | 32 | 397 | 0 | Running | 16 | 0 |
| 29 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | 10 | 396 | 0 | Running | 15 | 0 |
| 30 | 40 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | 35 | 396 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 38 | 396 | 0 | Running | 13 | 0 |
| 32 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr | Chevrolet | 16 | 394 | 0 | Running | 12 | 0 |
| 33 | 38 | David Gilliland | Ford | 30 | 393 | 0 | Running | 11 | 0 |
| 34 | 26 | J.J. Yeley | Toyota | 43 | 392 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | 34 | Brett Moffitt | Ford | 37 | 391 | 0 | Running | 9 | 0 |
| 36 | 83 | Matt DiBenedetto | Toyota | 33 | 390 | 0 | Running | 8 | 0 |
| 37 | 7 | Alex Bowman | Chevrolet | 36 | 390 | 0 | Running | 7 | 0 |
| 38 | 35 | Cole Whitt | Ford | 34 | 389 | 0 | Running | 6 | 0 |
| 39 | 23 | Jeb Burton | Toyota | 41 | 387 | 0 | Running | 5 | 0 |
| 40 | 32 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Ford | 42 | 387 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | 98 | Reed Sorenson | Ford | 40 | 335 | 0 | Running | 3 | 0 |
| 42 | 95 | Michael McDowell | Ford | 39 | 287 | 0 | Accident | 2 | 0 |
| 43 | 46 | Michael Annett | Chevrolet | 27 | 145 | 0 | Accident | 1 | 0 |
| POS | DRIVER | POINTS | BEHIND | STARTS | WINS | TOP 5 | TOP 10 | DNF |
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson | 2012 | Leader | 26 | 4 | 11 | 17 | 0 |
| 2 | Kyle Busch | 2012 | Leader | 15 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 2 |
| 3 | Matt Kenseth | 2012 | Leader | 26 | 4 | 10 | 16 | 2 |
| 4 | Joey Logano | 2009 | -3 | 26 | 3 | 16 | 20 | 0 |
| 5 | Kevin Harvick | 2006 | -6 | 26 | 2 | 18 | 22 | 1 |
| 6 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | 2006 | -6 | 26 | 2 | 12 | 17 | 1 |
| 7 | Kurt Busch | 2006 | -6 | 23 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 0 |
| 8 | Carl Edwards | 2006 | -6 | 26 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 2 |
| 9 | Brad Keselowski | 2003 | -9 | 26 | 1 | 6 | 18 | 1 |
| 10 | Martin Truex Jr | 2003 | -9 | 26 | 1 | 7 | 17 | 2 |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | 2003 | -9 | 26 | 1 | 9 | 13 | 1 |
| 12 | Jamie McMurray | 2000 | -12 | 26 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
| 13 | Jeff Gordon | 2000 | -12 | 26 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 1 |
| 14 | Ryan Newman | 2000 | -12 | 26 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 1 |
| 15 | Paul Menard | 2000 | -12 | 26 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 16 | Clint Bowyer | 2000 | -12 | 26 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 0 |
| 17 | Aric Almirola | 693 | -1319 | 26 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 18 | Kasey Kahne | 677 | -1335 | 26 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| 19 | Kyle Larson | 618 | -1394 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 |
| 20 | Greg Biffle | 611 | -1401 | 26 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 21 | Austin Dillon | 603 | -1409 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| 22 | AJ Allmendinger | 556 | -1456 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 23 | Casey Mears | 554 | -1458 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 24 | Danica Patrick | 552 | -1460 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 25 | David Ragan | 522 | -1490 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 26 | Tony Stewart | 511 | -1501 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 27 | Sam Hornish Jr | 508 | -1504 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 28 | Trevor Bayne | 473 | -1539 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 29 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 468 | -1544 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 30 | Justin Allgaier | 439 | -1573 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 31 | Cole Whitt | 394 | -1618 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 32 | David Gilliland | 391 | -1621 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 33 | Alex Bowman | 331 | -1681 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 34 | Brett Moffitt | 320 | -1692 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 35 | Matt DiBenedetto | 290 | -1722 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 36 | Michael Annett | 277 | -1735 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 37 | Josh Wise | 202 | -1810 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 38 | Michael McDowell | 163 | -1849 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 39 | Jeb Burton | 154 | -1858 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 40 | Alex Kennedy | 93 | -1919 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | Reed Sorenson | 44 | -1968 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | Bobby Labonte | 39 | -1973 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 43 | Brian Vickers | 32 | -1980 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | Michael Waltrip | 26 | -1986 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | Mike Wallace | 8 | -2004 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 46 | T.J. Bell | 7 | -2005 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | Eddie MacDonald | 7 | -2005 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 48 | Will Kimmel III | 6 | -2006 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 | Ron Hornaday Jr | 2 | -2010 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 50 | Ryan Blaney | 0 | -2012 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 51 | Landon Cassill | 0 | -2012 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 52 | Brian Scott | 0 | -2012 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 53 | Ty Dillon | 0 | -2012 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 54 | J.J. Yeley | 0 | -2012 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 55 | Regan Smith | 0 | -2012 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 56 | Chase Elliott | 0 | -2012 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 57 | Matt Crafton | 0 | -2012 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 58 | Johnny Sauter | 0 | -2012 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 59 | Chris Buescher | 0 | -2012 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 60 | Boris Said | 0 | -2012 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 61 | Brendan Gaughan | 0 | -2012 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 62 | JustinMarks | 0 | -2012 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 63 | Mike Bliss | 0 | -2012 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 64 | Travis Kvapil | 0 | -2012 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 65 | Joe Nemechek | 0 | -2012 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 66 | Timmy Hill | 0 | -2012 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 67 | Joey Gase | 0 | -2012 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 68 | Derek White | 0 | -2012 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 69 | Jeff Green | 0 | -2012 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 70 | Erik Jones | 0 | -2012 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 71 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | 0 | -2012 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 72 | Tanner Berryhill | 0 | -2012 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Get the latest NASCAR news, stats, and US racing coverage at Speedcafe US
Discussion about this post