Two to go: why Matt Kenseth Can win this championship
11/08/2013
Kevin Abraham
Many articles I have read this week have ruled Matt Kenseth out of the championship, and given this year’s championship to Jimmie Johnson, even though Kenseth is only seven points out of the points lead. Some writers are saying that Johnson has the title wrapped up, and that he is not going to look back as he cruises to the 2013 Sprint Cup title. It is true that Johnson can win the next two races, but Kenseth can also, or Johnson could have issues as well, which could open the door up for Matt Kenseth, and possibly an outside shot for Kevin Harvick if circumstances fall the right way. This week, I want to look at three reasons why Johnson’s name should not be carved into the 2013 Sprint Cup trophy before the end of the Homestead race.
The first reason is that Kenseth has had a career year in his first season with Joe Gibbs racing. When Kenseth raced for Roush Fenway
racing, he struggled at certain tracks, especially the short tracks. This year at JGR, Kenseth showed that he can win often, with a career high of seven wins. Kenseth also has led more laps this season than in any other year while racing in Sprint Cup. Kenseth has the right people behind him, and has a team that has won two championships before with Tony Stewart, and one with Bobby Labonte.
Joe Gibbs Racing knows what it takes to win a championship, and is going to support Kenseth in this title endeavor. JGR has one of the best flat track drivers in NASCAR on the team with Denny Hamlin, which will help Kenseth with
the race at Phoenix. JGR also has been very strong at 1.5 mile tracks this year, and has a win at Homestead in
2007, the last race for the Gen-4 cars.
The next reason Kenseth has a shot is due to the fact Superman has a track that is Kryptonite to him. This track is called Homestead Motor Speedway. Johnson has never won at this track, and has lost more than one championship at this track. In 2005, Johnson had a shot at winning his first Title, but lost control and wrecked as he was about to be lapped by teammate Jeff Gordon.
The second meltdown occurred in 2012, when the rear gear melted out of the car as he was trying to play catch-up to Brad Keselowski. Both times Johnson had a shot at the championship, but had the title slip through his fingers. Johnson also had a shot to win the title in 2004, but came up eight points short with the pre-2011 point system. If Johnson would have been able to pass Greg Biffle for the win in that race, Johnson would be a six-time champion instead of five-time.
The final reason Kenseth still has a shot at the 2013 Sprint Cup, is due to the fact Kenseth is behind Johnson by the same amount of points as Keselowski was in 2012, which was seven points. Over the next two races last year Keselowski outpointed Johnson by 47 points. Keep in mind that Johnson had a tire failure at Phoenix and the rear end
issue at Homestead last fall, which shows that sometimes things occur that are out of a driver’s control. Another interesting fact is that in the last two years, Johnson won two races in the Chase, including both fall races at
Texas. What does this mean for the Chase this year? It means that anything can still happen and that Johnson might be the favorite to win, but there are still two races to settle who will be the champion this year. Will Kenseth have what it takes to overtake Johnson and win the Sprint Cup? Or will Johnson win his sixth championship in nine years? Will both have issues and allow Kevin Harvick to sneak in and steal the championship? Keep watching as this title fight goes down to the wire. My thoughts are that Phoenix will set the picture for Homestead, and if Kenseth can stay within striking distance that he has a good shot at winning his second Sprint Cup title.
What are YOUR thoughts on this year’s championship battle? Do you think Johnson has the Sprint Cup sewn up? Does Kenseth have a chance? Will Kevin Harvick be ‘Mr. WhereDidHeComeFrom’ and steal this championship from the top two contenders? Please share your thoughts below.
I am on Twitter @kevdogg329
[email protected]
Kevin Abraham
Many articles I have read this week have ruled Matt Kenseth out of the championship, and given this year’s championship to Jimmie Johnson, even though Kenseth is only seven points out of the points lead. Some writers are saying that Johnson has the title wrapped up, and that he is not going to look back as he cruises to the 2013 Sprint Cup title. It is true that Johnson can win the next two races, but Kenseth can also, or Johnson could have issues as well, which could open the door up for Matt Kenseth, and possibly an outside shot for Kevin Harvick if circumstances fall the right way. This week, I want to look at three reasons why Johnson’s name should not be carved into the 2013 Sprint Cup trophy before the end of the Homestead race.
The first reason is that Kenseth has had a career year in his first season with Joe Gibbs racing. When Kenseth raced for Roush Fenway
racing, he struggled at certain tracks, especially the short tracks. This year at JGR, Kenseth showed that he can win often, with a career high of seven wins. Kenseth also has led more laps this season than in any other year while racing in Sprint Cup. Kenseth has the right people behind him, and has a team that has won two championships before with Tony Stewart, and one with Bobby Labonte.
Joe Gibbs Racing knows what it takes to win a championship, and is going to support Kenseth in this title endeavor. JGR has one of the best flat track drivers in NASCAR on the team with Denny Hamlin, which will help Kenseth with
the race at Phoenix. JGR also has been very strong at 1.5 mile tracks this year, and has a win at Homestead in
2007, the last race for the Gen-4 cars.
The next reason Kenseth has a shot is due to the fact Superman has a track that is Kryptonite to him. This track is called Homestead Motor Speedway. Johnson has never won at this track, and has lost more than one championship at this track. In 2005, Johnson had a shot at winning his first Title, but lost control and wrecked as he was about to be lapped by teammate Jeff Gordon.
The second meltdown occurred in 2012, when the rear gear melted out of the car as he was trying to play catch-up to Brad Keselowski. Both times Johnson had a shot at the championship, but had the title slip through his fingers. Johnson also had a shot to win the title in 2004, but came up eight points short with the pre-2011 point system. If Johnson would have been able to pass Greg Biffle for the win in that race, Johnson would be a six-time champion instead of five-time.
The final reason Kenseth still has a shot at the 2013 Sprint Cup, is due to the fact Kenseth is behind Johnson by the same amount of points as Keselowski was in 2012, which was seven points. Over the next two races last year Keselowski outpointed Johnson by 47 points. Keep in mind that Johnson had a tire failure at Phoenix and the rear end
issue at Homestead last fall, which shows that sometimes things occur that are out of a driver’s control. Another interesting fact is that in the last two years, Johnson won two races in the Chase, including both fall races at
Texas. What does this mean for the Chase this year? It means that anything can still happen and that Johnson might be the favorite to win, but there are still two races to settle who will be the champion this year. Will Kenseth have what it takes to overtake Johnson and win the Sprint Cup? Or will Johnson win his sixth championship in nine years? Will both have issues and allow Kevin Harvick to sneak in and steal the championship? Keep watching as this title fight goes down to the wire. My thoughts are that Phoenix will set the picture for Homestead, and if Kenseth can stay within striking distance that he has a good shot at winning his second Sprint Cup title.
What are YOUR thoughts on this year’s championship battle? Do you think Johnson has the Sprint Cup sewn up? Does Kenseth have a chance? Will Kevin Harvick be ‘Mr. WhereDidHeComeFrom’ and steal this championship from the top two contenders? Please share your thoughts below.
I am on Twitter @kevdogg329
[email protected]
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