Matt Kenseth took his first win of the year in Sunday’s Can-Am 500, in his second-to-last race in his career.  Kenseth showed more emotion than he ever had for a win in his career in victory lane.  “Yeah, it’s really not describable,” Kenseth said. “With only two (races) left, I didn’t think we probably had a good chance of getting back to Victory Lane. It’s been, I don’t know how many races – somebody’s probably going to tell me tonight – but it”s been at least 50 or 60, so it’s been a long time.”  Kenseth passed Chase Elliott for the lead with 9 laps to go after Elliott’s car got really tight.  Kenseth never looked back from there.

Denny Hamlin was eliminated from the playoffs, along with Chase Elliott, Jimmie Johnson, and Ryan Blaney.  Elliott and Hamlin made contact with 45 laps to go, cutting Hamlin’s tire, and Hamlin hit the wall a few laps later, ending his race.  Hamlin was the dominant car, leading 193 laps.  “We had a fast car all day. … We put ourselves in good position, things just didn’t work out there at the end,” Hamlin told NBC Sports after being evaluated and released from the infield care center.  Many people assume that the contact was a form of payback for Elliott after Hamlin wrecked Elliott at Martinsville.  “Each person has their own opinion of how they do things. It just proves to the people that thought I was a bad guy that he would do the exact same thing in the same circumstances,” said Hamlin, who will have to wait another year for a chance at his first career title. “It’s just part of racing. I got into him and he chose to retaliate. I’m in the garage and that’s the way it is.”  Elliott finished 2nd for the 7th time in his career, but when he was asked about the incident with Hamlin, he said, “I’m going to race guys how they race me and keep a smile on my face, regardless. I’m happy to race guys how they choose to race me, and that’s the way I see it.”

The Championship 4 drivers are Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Martin Truex Jr.  The best finisher of the 4 at Homestead on Sunday is the Champion.  Tune in to NBC at 3 PM ET for the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead.

Credit to www.nascar.com

Written on November 13, 2017