Matt Kenseth held off Kasey Kahne during their final duel to earn a hard fought best birthday gift.
Under the stopping power of Raybestos brakes, Kenseth drove his No. 20 Dollar General Toyota to victory lane at Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This victory marked Toyota’s 50th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win and JGR’s 101st.
Kenseth started in the 18th position but made his way into the top ten, driving his way to eighth by lap 20. Kenseth battled loose conditions but managed to remain inside the top ten through much of the race’s first half… working his way into sixth on lap 140. He restarted fourth with just over 100 laps remaining and then settled into the fifth position on the next green flag run.
A caution on lap 195 brought Kenseth down pit road, and crew chief Jason Ratcliff would call for a two-tire change. He lined up fifth for the restart on lap 200 and he soon climbed into third. With just over 40 laps remaining, he made the call for fuel only during the caution… allowing him to restart first on lap 230. He took the lead on the restart and held off a hard charging Kahne during the final 20 laps to get the win.
Teammate Kyle Busch (who also ran the Raybestos brake package) had one of the fastest cars on the track. He lead several times and earned a fourth-place finish.
“The Raybestos brakes performed well for both Matt and Kyle all race long,” said Jason Ratcliff, Crew Chief of Kenseth’s No. 20 Dollar General Toyota. “The Raybestos package has been a winner for us over the past few seasons, and the JGR team is looking forward to another victory next week at Bristol.”
