Source: ESPN
Matt Kenseth pulled away from teammate Kyle Busch to win the opening race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
The steely win by the top seed in the Chase helped restore a sense of normalcy at the end of a week that saw NASCAR fighting the biggest credibility crisis in its history.
Now the sport waits to see whether its fans are still angry that several teams attempted to manipulate the race finish at Richmond. The ensuing scandal has raised questions about NASCAR's integrity that winning team owner Joe Gibbs said he's seen before in sports.
"I've seen things like that happen on the NFL side," said Gibbs, a three-time Super Bowl-winning coach with the Washington Redskins. "We tried to do the best we could in handling it, and hopefully we've got this behind us with the race. We all love our sport, and nobody wants anything that would hurt or harm it or disappoint people."
Kenseth passed Busch on a restart with 27 laps remaining -- in part because of a push from Kevin Harvick -- then led Busch across the finish line for a 1-2 finish for Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota.
Harvick finished third, Kurt Busch was fourth and Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Gordon were fifth and sixth as Chevrolet took spots three through six and Chase drivers swept the top six spots.
Newman was 10th, Carl Edwards 11th and Kasey Kahne 12th.
Chase driver Greg Biffle was 16th. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (35th) and Joey Logano (37th) had the worst nights of the Chase drivers, as both failed to finish because of engine issues.
"I am pretty angry. That was such as fast race car we had," said Logano, the pole-sitter. "Unfortunately the motor blew up. You have these every once in a while. It is a bummer to have it in the Chase when you are running for a championship."
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Matt Kenseth pulled away from teammate Kyle Busch to win the opening race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
The steely win by the top seed in the Chase helped restore a sense of normalcy at the end of a week that saw NASCAR fighting the biggest credibility crisis in its history.
Now the sport waits to see whether its fans are still angry that several teams attempted to manipulate the race finish at Richmond. The ensuing scandal has raised questions about NASCAR's integrity that winning team owner Joe Gibbs said he's seen before in sports.
"I've seen things like that happen on the NFL side," said Gibbs, a three-time Super Bowl-winning coach with the Washington Redskins. "We tried to do the best we could in handling it, and hopefully we've got this behind us with the race. We all love our sport, and nobody wants anything that would hurt or harm it or disappoint people."
Kenseth passed Busch on a restart with 27 laps remaining -- in part because of a push from Kevin Harvick -- then led Busch across the finish line for a 1-2 finish for Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota.
Harvick finished third, Kurt Busch was fourth and Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Gordon were fifth and sixth as Chevrolet took spots three through six and Chase drivers swept the top six spots.
Newman was 10th, Carl Edwards 11th and Kasey Kahne 12th.
Chase driver Greg Biffle was 16th. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (35th) and Joey Logano (37th) had the worst nights of the Chase drivers, as both failed to finish because of engine issues.
"I am pretty angry. That was such as fast race car we had," said Logano, the pole-sitter. "Unfortunately the motor blew up. You have these every once in a while. It is a bummer to have it in the Chase when you are running for a championship."
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