Kenseth, JGR set up for Chase domination
Kenseth, JGR set up for Chase domination
Joe Gibbs Racing cemented itself as the team to beat for NASCAR’s championship with a dominating run Saturday night that ended in Matt Kenseth’s fourth win of the season.
The win put Kenseth in a tie with JGR teammate Kyle Busch and six-time champion Jimmie Johnson for the top seeds in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
The 10-race playoff series begins next Sunday at Chicagoland.
Kenseth has won three of the past six races, and JGR has won eight of the past 11.
“Certainly right now as a company we’re on a roll,” Kenseth said.
The 16-driver Chase field was set in the regular-season finale, where only four spots were really up for grabs.
Jamie McMurray clinched his berth as soon as he took the green flag, but Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Paul Menard and Clint Bowyer all had to protect their positions.
Bowyer was in a little bit more of a precarious position as he came to Richmond ranked 16th in the field and unable to afford any mistakes Saturday night.
Aric Almirola briefly tried to shake up the playoff picture by charging to the front to race with the leaders.
Had Almirola won, he’d have earned an automatic berth into the Chase and bumped another driver.
Divided into three rounds before the Nov. 22 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, a win automatically advances the driver into the next round.