FORT WORTH, Texas - Matt Kenseth caught flak for winning NASCAR's championship last season when he won just one race.
His title helped prompt a change in how the Nextel Cup winner is decided this season.
Through six races in 2004, Kenseth has had the perfect response to critics who questioned how he won his championship.
Kenseth is again the points leader, and he already has won twice with three other top-10 finishes. His strong performance has sent an "I told you so" message without having to say a word.
"There was probably a little bit of that attitude there because of some of the criticism we got over the winter," he said. "But all of the people that were really educated about racing, and the insiders and all of the competitors, I think, really accepted our championship."
Kenseth's 2003 victory came in March and he led just 354 laps all season, but he topped the points standings for a record 33 straight weeks. He was a consistent finisher with a series-best 25 top 10s.
"The funny thing is the year before we won the most races, and there were no complaints over that," he said. "Everything was just hunky-dory that year."
Kenseth won five races in 2002 and finished eighth in points.
This season began with a ninth-place finish at Daytona, then Kenseth drove his No. 17 Ford to consecutive wins while leading 382 laps at Rockingham and Las Vegas. He has been on top of the points since winning at Vegas.
Kenseth takes a 22-point lead over Roush Racing teammate Kurt Busch into Sunday's Samsumg/RadioShack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Kenseth said the Fords, which weren't very strong at the end of last season, are much better. And there is continuity in his team.
"We came into this year with better cars, better engines, the same pit crew together, and we came out of the box and ran real strong like we hoped we could," Kenseth said.
BUSCH ON POLE: Rookie Kyle Busch secured his second Busch series pole of the season, running a lap at 189.847 mph at Texas Motor Speedway. Busch's Chevrolet edged the Ford of Nextel Cup driver Greg Biffle, who will start second in Saturday's O'Reilly 300. Biffle ran a lap at 189.827 mph at the 11/2-mile oval. David Green drove his Pontiac on a 189.733 lap for third. He will be joined on the second row by Cup driver Joe Nemechek, who had a lap at 189.447 in his Chevrolet.
INDY FIELD ADDS 13: Helio Castroneves and Sam Hornish were among 13 entries from seven teams entered in the Indianapolis 500 before the deadline.
Wednesday was the last day for entries in the May 30 race to be postmarked. Additional entries are expected to arrive.
Castroneves and Hornish drive for Penske Racing. Penske also filed paperwork for a third driver to be named.
Andretti Green Racing filed entries for Tony Kanaan, Bryan Herta, Dan Wheldon and Dario Franchitti. Cheever Racing filed entries for Alex Barron and rookie Ed Carpenter. The Hemelgarn, PDM, Nunn and Dreyer & Reinbold teams also entered cars, with drivers to be named.
