Matt Kenseth is fourth at the Pop Secret 400 to wrap up the Winston Cup title, the first for him and team owner Jack Roush.
By BRANT JAMES
Published November 10, 2003
ROCKINGHAM, N.C. - It was Matt Kenseth's season in miniature: meticulous, determined, good enough.
The driver once regarded as the fourth best on a powerful but unlucky team uncorked 31 weeks of pressure and embossed his name onto history Sunday, clinching his first Winston Cup points championship with a fourth-place finish in the Pop Secret 400 at North Carolina Speedway.
"We struggled a little bit, but we were consistent," said Kenseth, the third driver to win a points title with just one victory. "We were there at the end."
So was Bill Elliott, the 48-year-old legend who has been dogged for months by rumors of retirement despite his constant denials and one of the most productive stretches of his recent career. Despite losing the fifth starting position and starting at the back of the field after switching engines, Elliott dominated the later stages of the race, leading 71 of the final 73 laps to beat Jimmie Johnson by 1.230 seconds. In winning his 44th career race, he strode to Victory Lane for the first time since the 2002 Brickyard 400.
"I'm pretty much speechless," Elliott said. "That thing came on when the race started. I said, "Man, we've got a good race car here today if it all plays out.' "
Elliott, who led five times for a race-best 140 laps, was followed by Johnson, who moved into second in the moot points race, Jeremy Mayfield, Kenseth and Ryan Newman.
It was difficult for the wind-buffeted crowd to decide which celebration to watch: the reserved hand wave of the gentlemanly Elliott; or the long-awaited show of emotion from the staid 31-year-old champion.
One weary group had an easy choice. As Kenseth power-slid his No. 17 Ford through the grass, letting loose the feelings he said he had "bottled up" for months, the vindicated celebrated on top of and around his black-and-gold pit box.
There was owner Jack Roush, a rich, successful and, when it came to Winston Cup titles, unlucky man who captured his first championship in NASCAR's top series after finishing second four times with Mark Martin.
"It's tough to think about the four times we were there with Mark," said Roush, who nearly died in a small plane crash in April 2002. "We've learned to come up short. To get there with Matt and (crew chief) Robbie (Reiser) has been a tremendous relief."
There was Martin, who again watched his prodigy and teammate succeed, coincidentally after his No. 6 Ford blew a motor early in the race. It was Martin who saw some spark of talent in Kenseth when he was a struggling Busch driver pondering the end of his career and helped get him a contract with the resourceful Roush, and who shared the title Sunday as co-owner of the No. 17.
Though Martin said he was not "bittersweet about things I haven't accomplished," he seemed uncomfortable accepting his share of praise for a title he felt he did not win.
"The only reason I'm here is the part ownership was a gift from Jack Roush," he said. "I don't think I deserve this. I'm proud to say I was right about Matt Kenseth. But I'm not more proud of Matt today than I was a year ago, because the actions make the man, the trophy doesn't."
Then there was fellow Wisconsin gearhead Reiser, who gave Kenseth his first break on his low-budget Busch team in 1997 and whom Kenseth brought along when he got his break with Roush. The affable crew chief congratulated his team via radio after the race, then ducked away to celebrate with his family.
The weekend unfolded in the classic Kenseth manner, a good sign at the track where Kenseth and Reiser won their first Busch race together in 1998 and where Martin and Roush did the same in Winston Cup 1989. Kenseth qualified poorly (23rd), avoided trouble - he was bumped from behind by Jeff Gordon and drove through one accident scene - and gained positions as his car performed well on longer runs.
"I felt like I was stepping through a minefield," Kenseth said. "There was a lot of stuff going on and a lot of close calls today."
Kenseth also had a little luck. With 151 laps remaining, he was ninth and entering pit road on green when Martin's engine began belching smoke. Kenseth ducked back out onto the track at his spotter's urging so he could pit under caution, but it was ruled he crossed the commitment line and was sent to the end of the longest line for the restart. Because there were just 12 cars on the lead lap, however, the penalty hurt little and he was able to begin his foray through the leaders. Kenseth knew a seventh-place finish would clinch the title, but as well as he was running, he made constant queries to his crew about the track position of the second-place driver in the points standings, Dale Earnhardt Jr. His rival was no factor Sunday, however, spending much of the race at least one lap off the leaders and finishing 13th.
"I'm not a pessimist, but I don't count on it until it's official," Kenseth said, joking. "You never know what can happen, right, Jack?"
