Kenseth rallies for win at Dover
DOVER, Del. — One day after turning 30, Jamie McMurray came close to giving himself the perfect belated birthday gift: a trip to Victory Lane.
But Matt Kenseth spoiled the party.
Kenseth's decision to not pit on the final caution was a smart one, helping him zip past his Roush Racing teammate with three laps left to pull away Sunday and win at Dover International Speedway.
Crew chief Robbie Reiser wanted Kenseth to pit for fresh tires late in a race that had become marred by yellow flags. With three others in the hunt, Kenseth decided to stay out and take a risk that his tires were strong enough to hold up for the final, frantic laps.
The move paid off.
"I just thought that was my only chance to win the race," Kenseth said. "I felt like that if we got four tires, we weren't going to get back up and win the race."
McMurray held the lead for most of the final 90 laps until the patient Kenseth made his move, passing Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick late before the leader was firmly in view.
Kenseth reached McMurray in lapped traffic, raced side-by-side, then dipped low on a clean pass off the fourth turn to race to his second win of the season and 12th of his career.
"I knew I better finish pretty good, or it was going to be a long couple of months," Kenseth said.
The win earned him a small boost in the points standings. Kenseth sliced Johnson's lead from 109 points to 74.
"I never thought about the points at all today. We're thinking about winning races," Kenseth said. "It's early enough in the year. We're in a pretty solid position in the points."
Harvick finished third, followed by Burton and Kyle Busch. Jimmie Johnson maintained the points lead, finishing sixth after starting a season-worst 42nd.
Injured defending champ Tony Stewart completed 38 laps before Ricky Rudd replaced him. Stewart drove with a broken shoulder blade suffered last week at Charlotte, and had trouble lifting his right arm before he was eased into his car.
