Matt Kenseth isn’t flashy, and doesn’t win much, but he’s as predictable as a driver plugging his sponsors during a television interview.
Despite winning just one race this year, Kenseth has made the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year. Only he and Jimmie Johnson, the defending series champion, have made the Chase every year from its 2004 debut.
“Obviously, it’s a difficult thing to do, to put together a good 26 races, to be in that top (12),” Kenseth said in Tuesday’s national teleconference. “I’m real proud of my team for being able to accomplish that.”
Kenseth, the final champion of the former format, finished eighth, seventh and second in the Chase before the playoff cut was increased from 10 to 12 this year. Johnson was runner-up when Kenseth won the 2003 crown.
Kenseth, who is seventh after the first of 10 Chase races, doesn’t care which format is used to decide the champion. But growing up in football-crazy Wisconsin, he knows NASCAR needed something extra to compete with the pigskin.
“I think the Chase format has certainly made it more exciting for the fans,” Kenseth said. “I think (it) re-energizes everybody. Once football starts, we’ve already been racing for 28 weeks. It kind of gets everybody jacked up about racing, gives them something to watch and follow and kind of see who the champion is.”
Junior to add an eight
Christmas shopping comes early for Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans today. Junior will announce his 2008 car number and sponsorship package in Dallas, and you can bet the package will be soon sold in a variety of forms across the country.
The worst-kept secret in the Cup is NASCAR’s most popular driver will go from No. 8 to No. 88, and have Mountain Dew and the Amp energy drink insignias on his new Hendrick Motorsports Chevy.
Lazier to race trucks
Vail’s Buddy Lazier, the 1996 Indianapolis 500 champion and one-time IROC winner, will make his NASCAR debut Saturday in the Craftsman Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Lazier will drive the No. 15 Chevrolet for Billy Ballew Motorsports. Lazier, the 2000 Indy Racing League champion, has competed in the past 13 Indy 500s but hasn’t been a IndyCar Series regular since 2003.
“IROC really was an eye- opener for me into the world of stock-car racing,” Lazier said in a release. “It was probably the most fun racing experience for me in my 20 years of professional motorsports, (and) I’ve been trying to find the right opportunity since then.”
Former CART and Formula One star Jacques Villeneuve also will make his NASCAR debut in Saturday’s truck race.
The new Bud Man
First, Teresa Earnhardt lost her stepson for next year. Now, the president of Dale Earnhardt Inc. has lost Junior’s sponsor, Budweiser.
Kasey Kahne of Gillett Evernham Motorsports is the new Bud Man. The 2004 rookie of the year will debut his new No. 9 Bud Dodge at the Daytona 500 in February.
Footnotes
Earnhardt has had five blown engines in 27 races this season, just three fewer than what he had in his first seven seasons. … Team owner Roger Penske, who has won a record 14 Indy 500s, on the Indy drivers switching to NASCAR: “People who have been able to execute and win the championship in the 500, to have them now have a chance to come over and get a good NASCAR ride is very tempting for these drivers. That’s what they do as a living, (and) at the moment there is probably more commercial opportunity in NASCAR.”
SPOTLIGHT: DARIO FRANCHITTI
IndyCar defections
There could be more Indianapolis 500 winners competing at the 2008 Daytona 500, NASCAR’s season-opening race, than at the Indy Racing League’s premier event in May. Franchitti, the reigning Indy 500 champion, is expected to switch to NASCAR along with 2006 Indy winner Sam Hornish Jr. Franchitti will drive for Chip Ganassi Racing, teaming with Juan Pablo Montoya, the 2000 Indy champion; and Hornish is thinking of making a lateral move with Penske Racing. Jacques Villeneuve, also a Indy 500 winner, plans to run with Bill Davis Racing. Franchitti, like the rest of the Indy champions, wants to prove himself with the ability to make a lot more money in North America’s top series, but the Italian-born Franchitti has another motive: his health. He has survived two horrific accidents in the IRL this season, and word is that wife Ashley Judd has seen enough of open-cockpit, high-speed oval racing.
ON THE MOVE: CLINT BOWYER
Fine time to get first win
Bowyer’s first Cup victory was well-timed, as he won the first Chase race Sunday at New Hampshire. He led the most laps to gain the maximum 185 points and went from 12th to fourth in the standings. His Richard Childress Racing teammates — and fellow Chase drivers — Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton weren’t as fortunate, finishing 17th and 18th, respectively.
THIS WEEK’S RACE: DOVER 400
Chase race No. 2 at Monster Mile
11 a.m. Sunday, KMGH-7 Where: Dover (Del.) International Speedway (1-mile oval, 24 degrees banking in corners, nine degrees straightaways) Distance: 400 laps (400 miles) Qualifying: 1 p.m. Friday, ESPN2 Last year: Jeff Burton won a year ago; Martin Truex Jr. captured the June race.
Points standings
(Driver Pts. Wins Top 5s Top 10s Winnings)
1. Jimmie Johnson 5,210 6 14 17 $5,468,120
2. Jeff Gordon 5,210 4 16 22 5,550,850
3. Tony Stewart 5,200 3 10 19 5,195,380
4. Clint Bowyer 5,195 1 3 13 3,141,520
5. Kyle Busch 5,175 1 7 15 3,602,370
6. Martin Truex Jr. 5,170 1 6 11 3,853,350
7. Matt Kenseth 5,156 1 8 17 4,779,110
8. Carl Edwards 5,147 2 7 11 3,447,810
9. Denny Hamlin 5,128 1 10 15 3,918,340
10. Kevin Harvick 5,122 1 4 11 6,283,620
11. Jeff Burton 5,119 1 7 12 4,811,520
12. Kurt Busch 5,108 2 5 10 4,034,120
Staff writer Mike Chambers can be reached at 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com.
