Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 Dollar General Toyota, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway. [Credit: Jonathan Moore/NASCAR via Getty Images]
Richmond, VA – Matt Kenseth dominated the Federated Auto Parts 400 at the Richmond International Raceway in the race that closed out the regular season for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and set the field for the 2015 Chase for the Sprint Cup.
So dominant was Kenseth’s Dollar General Toyota, the Wisconsin champion led 352 of the 400 laps and including his three Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, three of them led 375 laps tonight.. For a 60-lap stretch midway through the race, the four drivers ran 1-2-3-4 at the head of the field.
Going into the important race, 11 race winners had copped spots in the Chase and five others were hoping to advance based on their point tally. In order, the latter quintet included Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon, Paul Menard and Clint Bowyer. Aric Almirola and Kasey Kahne were the next two in line.
When the dust settled, there were no changes to the top 16.
In the Chase seeding, Kenseth, Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson are tied for first with 2012 points followed by Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, McMurray, Gordon, Newman, Menard and Bowyer.
Even though miserable weather prevailed throughout Saturday’s daytime hours and an ominous forecast had been made for the evening, a near-capacity crowd ignored the dire predictions and turned out for a rain-free night of intense racing.
Kenseth scored his fourth win of the season and second consecutive at Richmond, plus the 16th top-10 finish of the year. Overall, he now has 35 victories in 570 Sprint Cup races.
“It was great to get this win. When I came to JGR, Richmond was one of its best tracks,” Kenseth said. “With 20 to go, I didn’t think anyone could run with us. On the restarts, Joey (Logano) and Brad (Keselowski) are so good, I had to be careful and I knew with that caution with 30 to go I had to have a good pit stop and a good restart, as we weren’t that good on short runs.
“You want to win every week and if you could do this every week, you would. This feels very good and is good for our confidence, especially mine, as I felt horrible this week about wrecking last week. I felt like an idiot all week and am glad I didn’t make any mistakes tonight and to get the win.”
Added crew chief Jason Ratliff, “We have made a lot of headway since being here a few months ago, and I felt good coming into this weekend. When you go to set a game plan for the season, you want that momentum going into the Chase, so it was a good weekend for us.”
Team owner Joe Gibbs said, “This is a total team effort and this is their victory. I am thrilled with where we are but for next three weeks, I will probably be ready to throw up at any minute. There will be 16 teams in the Chase and it will all be about being consistent.
“The most nervous I got tonight was in seeing my four cars running together. I saw them beating and banging, and when I saw a hand come out the window, I got a little nervous. Our guys all handled it the right way, and it was a thrill to see them all up there.”
Kyle Busch finished second .957 seconds behind his teammate.
Third place went to pole winner Logano and fourth went to hard-charger Aric Almirola, who needed a win to make the Chase. Almirola’s finish was only his second top-10 of the year.
Rebounding from his 29th starting position, Earnhardt motored to a fifth-place finish.
Sixth through 10th were Hamlin, Gordon, Keselowski, Johnson and Bowyer.
Edwards and Kyle Larson were 11th and 12th, the last two to finish on lead lap.
Six caution flags slowed the race for 47 laps.
For the start of the 10-race Chase, the Sprint Cup Series races next weekend at the Chicagoland Speedway.
FeaturedMatt KensethNASCARRichmond International Raceway