Kenseth forced to settle on second-place finish, again
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- Matt Kenseth was in another side-by-side race for the lead in the closing laps at Texas. He finished second again, just as he did in April.
After taking only two tires on the final stop Sunday, Matt Kenseth couldn't hold off Jimmie Johnson any longer with two laps left. Johnson went on to win the Dickies 500 and take over the Nextel Cup points lead.
In April, Jeff Burton overtook Matt Kenseth on the backstretch on the last lap to win after the longtime friends and former teammates raced side-by-side in the closing laps.
"It wasn't that different in the spring," Matt Kenseth said. "We raced as hard as we can for 10-15 laps and [Jeff Burton] finally passed me on the last lap."'
Johson didn't wait that long, but it was close.
Matt Kenseth took the lead on the final restart with 29 laps to go. Once Johnson caught him, they remained by each other lap after lap, bumping at least once and wiggling several times. Twice, they crossed the finish line with the scoring computer showing them dead even.
"I'm happy and disappointed," Matt Kenseth said. "Overall, you sit back at the end of the day, it's a great day. I don't think we necessarily had a second-place car most of the day. ... But when you're leading with two or three to go and you get passed, it's disappointing."
While Johnson won his third straight race, Matt Kenseth had his third consecutive top-five finish and 11th of the season.
Not As Happy
A day after capturing the Busch Series title, Carl Edwards had a tough race in his Cup car on the same track.
Edwards, still mathematically in contention for the Nextel Cup title, had an ill-handling car early and twice got penalized for pitting too soon. He wound up 26th, three laps off the lead.
At one point soon after the midpoint of the race, the top 11 spots were filled by drivers who made it into the Chase for the Nextel Cup. The lone driver missing was Edwards, who was 34th and already three laps back at the time.
Edwards dropped from fourth to fifth in the standings with two races left.
Caution, Caution
The yellow flag was flying early and often during the Dickies 500.
Four cautions slowed down the pace in the first 39 laps. By time Greg Biffle blew an engine on the 298th of 334 laps to bring out the yellow flag for the 12th time, the track record for cautions was matched. There were 52 laps run under caution.
The first four cautions came in a span of 23 laps.
Paul Menard got loose going into the third turn on the 15th lap and hit the wall, then three laps after the restart from that caution, AJ Allmendinger went high and scrapped the wall in the second turn. The other cautions were both because of debris, some from the car of Jeff Burton, who won the spring race to become the only two-time Cup winner at Texas.
After those four early cautions, the yellow flag didn't come out again until the 119th lap when J.J. Yeley got loose coming off the fourth turn nd spun into the infield.
No Advantage For A.J.
Good starts haven't translated into good finishes for Cup rookie AJ Allmendinger.
After qualifying fifth at Texas for his best career starting spot, Allmendinger was only three laps into the race when he made contact with Denny Hamlin and hit the wall. That didn't bring out a caution, but the yellow flag flew when Allmendinger went high and hit the wall in the second turn on the 21st lap.
Allmendinger's race ended for good when he got loose coming out of the second turn on lap 213, then slammed hard into the inside wall. He finished 39th, 183 laps behind winner Jimmie Johnson.
The best starting spot for Allmendinger before Texas had been 11th at Dover, where he completed only four laps in the Red Bull Toyota before an engine problem ended his race and he was last in the field.
Can't Hold On
David Stremme had already dipped down to the apron trying to get to pit row. He didn't make it.
"We had a left rear tire starting to go down and we knew it," Stremme said. "I got to the bottom and we were on the apron and it blew out and shot me up the track."
When the tire blew on lap 132, Stremme's Dodge pushed back onto the track and into the path of Kyle Petty and Bill Elliott. All the cars sustained heavy damage and were done for the day.
Riggs Finale
Scott Riggs drove the No. 10 Gillette-Evrnham Motorsports Dodge for the final time Sunday. He was 13th, matching his best finish since he was eighth at Martinsville in the sixth race back in April.
Patrick Carpentier was already set to replace Riggs in the seat next season, and the longtime pen-wheel driver will get a head start by attempting to qualify for the Cup races at Phoenix and Homestead.
Riggs will join Haas CNC Racing in 2008, but that team's two seats are already filled for the last two races this season.
SPARKPLUGS: Jimmie Johnson gave owner Rick Hendrick only his second victory at Texas. The other Hendrick victory was Terry Labonte in 1999. ... Only five drivers have participated in all 14 Cup races at Texas, which opened in 1997. They are Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte and Mark Martin. ... The estimated attendance was 183,500. That's about 7,500 less than the spring race in April, but about 2,000 more than last November. ... Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki, the NBA MVP last season, was enthusiastic and loud when he gave the commnd for drivers to start their engines. It was the German's first NASCAR race. ... Actor Vince Vaughn drove the pace truck, leading the 43-car field to the green flag for the start of the race. "I'm glad I got out of the way before the boys started racing," Vaughn said.
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