Catchfence

Matt Kenseth became the first NSCS driver this season to win two races during the “chase for the championship” (the other being Talladega) as he kept Martin Truex, Jr., behind him (by 0.495 seconds) at the drop of the checkered flag to win Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Kenseth, who led the most laps – 78 out of 267, received his third series win of the 2012 season, his twenty-fourth series career win and his first series win at Kansas Speedway.

Coming in third-place behind Kenseth and Truex (his 18th top-ten of the season) was Paul Menard, followed by pole-sitter Kasey Kahne finishing fourth and Tony Stewart fighting his way back from a frustrating day (included a pit road penalty, accident on lap 83 and a backstretch spin on lap 165) to finish fifth.

Rounding out the top-ten finishing positions were last week’s race winner, Clint Bowyer, finishing in sixth, Regan Smith seventh, the current series points leader, Brad Keselowski – who still maintains a 7-point lead in the points standings over ninth-place finisher, Jimmie Johnson (another driver that recovered from hitting the wall on lap 136) and Jeff Gordon finished in the tenth position.

RACE NOTES:

Average Speed: 115.086 MPH
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 28 Mins, 48 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 0.495 Seconds
Lead Changes: 16 among 10 drivers
Cautions: 14 for 66 laps (a new series track record, and most in a single event this season so far.)
Attendance: 78,000

Unofficial Top-Twelve in the Points Standings: 1. Brad Keselowski – 2250 (Leader) 2. Jimmie Johnson – 2243 (-7 Points Behind the Leader) 3. Denny Hamlin – 2230 (-20) 4. Clint Bowyer – 2225 (-25) 5. Kasey Kahne – 2220 (-30) 6. Martin Truex Jr. – 2207 (-43) 7. Tony Stewart – 2203 (-47) 8. Jeff Gordon – 2199 (-51) 9. Matt Kenseth – 2195 (-55) 10. Kevin Harvick – 2191 (-59) 11. Greg Biffle – 2188 (-62) 12. Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 2128 (-122)

Next Up: Four races left as the teams head to Martinsville Speedway for race #7 in the “chase for the championship,” as they tackle some good old fashion short track racing with the 64th annual TUMS Fast Relief 500. The race is scheduled to get underway at approximately 2:20 pm (ET) Sunday, Oct 28th, with ESPN providing television coverage beginning with their 1:00 pm (ET) NASCAR Countdown pre-race show.

2012 NSCS Hollywood Casino 400 Race Results

(i) Ineligible for Driver Points in this Series
# Denotes Rookie

Source: Timing and Scoring provided by NASCARMedia