For the first time in the history of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition, two drivers are tied atop the championship standings with three races remaining in the season. Championship contenders Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) and Matt Kenseth (No. 20 Home Depot/Dollar General Toyota) are embroiled in the closest championship battle since the current points system was instituted by NASCAR in 1975.
The tie atop the standings with three races remaining also marks the closest points battle in the history of the Chase, besting last year’s two-point margin that Johnson held over eventual champion Brad Keselowski. Sunday’s AAA Texas 500, historically the most pivotal race in the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup, will once again provide a shootout at a track where both drivers have statistically dominated during their championship careers.
Texas Motor Speedway has statistically been Kenseth’s most dominant track in the series where he has made more than three starts. Kenseth is the career leader at Texas Motor Speedway in Sprint Cup competition for laps led (772), top-five finishes (12) and finishing average (8.5).
His stats are buoyed by two Sprint Cup Series victories at “The Great American Speedway!” with his most recent victory coming in the 2011 Samsung Mobile 500. The other came in the same spring event in 2002.
Kenseth has finished among the top 10 in 11 of the previous 13 races at Texas Motor Speedway and has finished in the top 10 in seven of his eight AAA Texas 500 appearances.
“I feel decent about all the races coming up,” Kenseth said of this weekend’s AAA Texas 500. “You never know what’s going to happen. Every week is different. All the tracks are very unique. It’s a great race track. I’ve always loved coming here and looking forward to it.”
Johnson, the defending winner of the AAA Texas 500, also has garnered success at Texas Motor Speedway and is right on the heels of Kenseth in the record books. Texas Motor Speedway is Johnson’s ninth-best track statistically where he has made more than three starts, but many would envy his success on this 1.5-mile oval.
He ranks second for top-five finishes (9), starting
average (8.75) and finishing average (9.10), and is tied with Kenseth for most top-10 finishes (15). Both of Johnson’s Texas victories have come in the eighth race in the Chase, winning the 2007 Dickies 500 and 2011 AAA Texas 500. Johnson also owns five runner-up finishes overall at Texas, which are the most by a Sprint Cup Series driver.
“It does bring confidence,” Johnson said of his past success at Texas. “It makes the weeks leading into that race easier and less stressful. You still have to go get on the track and get it done. You still have to work through the practice sessions and find speed. There will be challenges thrown at you regardless of past history at a track.
“And in the race there are plenty of opportunities to make mistakes and get in trouble that you got to be on your toes with. In all honesty, it makes the week leading up – Monday through Friday morning – much more enjoyable, but then the pressure starts up as if you haven’t run good here before. It kind of all goes out the window.”
Kenseth, in the midst of a banner season with a career-high seven wins in his first year of competition with Joe Gibbs Racing, remains upbeat about his opportunity in capturing his first championship under the Chase format.
“I feel like when my team is at its best and we do everything right, I feel like we can race anybody at these next three tracks,” said Kenseth, who won his Cup championship in 2003 prior to the Chase era. “I feel good about that. Anything can happen, but man, we’re in it and we’re going to three really good tracks, so hopefully we can perform here the next three weeks and have a race.”
For Johnson, a winner of five consecutive Sprint Cup Series championships under the Chase format (2006-10), he has experience on his side. Having been in this position before, he appreciates the battle he is in with Kenseth.
“It’s going to be a dogfight to the end,” Johnson said. “The way that I would want to go racing for a championship, and I know that’s exactly what the fans want to see. We’ll keep digging hard.”
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