NASCAR Race Mom: Matt Kenseth Wins at Phoenix Raceway

Monday, November 13, 2017

Matt Kenseth Wins at Phoenix Raceway

Could Not Have Happened to a Nicer Guy

This weekend, Circle K* marked its seventh race as a primary sponsor within NASCAR’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series aboard the No. 20 Toyota Camry with Matt Kenseth.

In 29 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Phoenix Raceway, Matt Kenseth has completed 8,456 of 9,144 laps (92.5 percent) and has led for a total of 267 laps. Kenseth has earned one win, six top-five finishes, 11 top-ten finishes and one pole award at Phoenix.

Last year, Kenseth started the Phoenix race from tenth on the starting grid for a disappointing twenty-first place finish.

Hey @mattkenseth If I had a team in #Nascar, you’d be my driver! Great job @PhoenixRaceway. No doubt you still have it !!
— Mario Andretti (@MarioAndretti) November 12, 2017

What a difference a year makes. Matt Kenseth entered the race without a ride for the next season. With nine laps left in Sunday’s Can-Am 500 at Phoenix Raceway, 45-year-old Matt Kenseth passed 21-year-old Chase Elliott for the lead and pulled away to win for the first time since the July 2016 New Hampshire race, breaking a 51-event winless streak.

The win is Kenseth’s second at Phoenix Raceway and provided a rare show of emotion in Victory Lane.

"Yeah, it’s really not describable," Kenseth fighting back the moisture invading his eyes 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.

"We’ve had a lot of close ones. Just felt like it was never meant to be, and today it was meant to be…. I’ve got to be honest with you, I never dreamed I’d win one of these races, so obviously I’ve been so incredibly blessed throughout my whole career."

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race
Avondale, Arizona Sunday, November 12, 2017

Can-Am 500 Phoenix Raceway

(7) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 312.
(4) Chase Elliott (P), Chevrolet, 312.
(5) Martin Truex Jr. (P), Toyota, 312.
(11) Erik Jones #, Toyota, 312.
(6) Kevin Harvick (P), Ford, 312.
(13) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 312.
(8) Kyle Busch (P), Toyota, 312.
(27) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 312.
(22) Aric Almirola, Ford, 312.
(14) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 312.
(29) Ty Dillon #, Chevrolet, 312.
(9) Joey Logano, Ford, 312.
(20) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 312.
(21) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 312.
(19) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 312.
(16) Brad Keselowski (P), Ford, 312.
(1) Ryan Blaney (P), Ford, 312.
(10) Daniel Suarez #, Toyota, 312.
(17) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 311.
(18) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 311.
(15) Kurt Busch, Ford, 310.
(28) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 309.
(23) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 309.
(32) Landon Cassill, Ford, 309.
(24) Danica Patrick, Ford, 309.
(37) DJ Kennington, Chevrolet, 307.
(30) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 306.
(36) * David Starr (i), Toyota, 305.
(38) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 305.
(35) * Joey Gase (i), Chevrolet, 304.
(33) Corey LaJoie #, Toyota, 303.
(40) * Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 302.
(26) David Ragan, Ford, 301.
(39) * Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 294.
(2) Denny Hamlin (P), Toyota, Accident, 275.
(34) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, Accident, 258.
(31) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, Accident, 247.
(25) Trevor Bayne, Ford, Accident, 226.
(12) Jimmie Johnson (P), Chevrolet, Accident, 148.
(3) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Engine, 104.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 105.534 mph.
Time of Race: 02 Hrs, 57 Mins, 23 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 1.207 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 7 for 41 laps.
Lead Changes: 9 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders:

R. Blaney (P) 1-11
C. Elliott (P) 12-25
D. Hamlin (P) 26
C. Elliott (P) 27
D. Hamlin (P) 28-67
K. Larson 68-79
D. Hamlin (P) 80-231
M. Kenseth 232-283
C. Elliott (P) 284-302
M. Kenseth 303-312

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):

D. Hamlin (P) 3 times for 193 laps
M. Kenseth 2 times for 62 laps
C. Elliott (P) 3 times for 34 laps
K. Larson 1 time for 12 laps
R. Blaney (P) 1 time for 11 laps

Stage #1 Top Ten: 42,11,24,20,4,18,77,78,31,48
Stage #2 Top Ten: 11,20,77,78,18,4,1,31,24,14

🚨 EMOTIONS ALERT 🚨
Prior to the #CanAm500 Drivers Meeting, Track President Bryan R. Sperber + Phoenix Raceway presented @mattkenseth with a custom Bill Patterson painting. 🎨 pic.twitter.com/wMlfIwtRKT
— Phoenix Raceway (@PhoenixRaceway) November 12, 2017

*Circle K is the largest independent convenience store operator in terms of number of company-operated stores in North America, and the brand currently has over 6,000 stores located in 41 states throughout the United States.