Kenseth spins, Biffle wins at LMS
By Marty Smith, Turner Sports Interactive
October 8, 2001
10:56 AM EDT (1456 GMT)
CONCORD, N.C. -- Following a dominant performance, Matt Kenseth spun in Turn 4 with two laps remaining Saturday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, handing Greg Biffle a win in the rain-delayed Little Trees 300 NASCAR Busch Series race and the rookie record for victories in a season.
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Kenseth dominated most of the race, bust lost the lead at the last minute.
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On the strength of a quick pit stop, Kenseth took the lead at the race’s halfway point and appeared poised to run away with the contest. However, following the day’s final caution for Kenny Wallace’s spin with 30 laps remaining, Kenseth’s car got steadily worse, enabling Biffle to slowly make up ground with each passing lap. By lap 195 of 200, he was all over Kenseth’s rear decklid.
As the two entered Turn 4 of lap 198, Kenseth’s No. 17 Chevrolet got loose and spun in front of Biffle, who somehow managed to slam the brakes and avoid contact. The race ended under caution, sending Biffle to Victory Lane for a record fourth time this season and making him the first Busch Series rookie to win more than $1 million.
“That was just a heckuva run,” Biffle said. “I could only catch (Kenseth) in the corners, so I tried the high groove for the first time all day and when Matt got loose he spun right in front of me. Thank God I didn’t touch him.”
Kenseth was virtually untouchable all day long. He took the lead from Joe Nemechek on lap 101, leading a race-high 97 laps before the Turn 4 miscue cost him a second-straight fall win at Charlotte.
“I just lost it,” said a dejected Kenseth. “I just did a terrible job driving. My guys did a great job on pit stops. We had a good car on long runs. Greg was good on that last run, I was just overdriving the car to try and get a win.”
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With four wins, Biffle now holds the record for rookie victories in the Busch Series.
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Kenseth is no stranger to late-race drama at Charlotte. In the spring, Kenseth and Jeff Green engaged in a fierce door-to-door battle in the late stages of the CarQuest Auto Parts 300 that Green managed to win by .055-second.
Following his accident, Kenseth ventured home in 16th place Saturday, marking the first time in the past five races he’s failed to post a top-10 finish.
Jason Keller finished second, followed by pole-sitter Jeff Burton in third. Series points leader Kevin Harvick finished fourth, but actually lost ground in the championship chase to Keller. Heading in, Harvick held a 187-point lead over Green. Leaving Charlotte, he led Keller by 186 points, with Green dropping to third, 213 points out.
Biffle is fourth on the points chart, far surpassing his aspirations for rookie output.
“My goal at the beginning of the year was get a couple of wins and finish in the top-10 in points,” Biffle said. “Here we are fourth in points with four wins. Amazing.”
The win was sweet vindication for Biffle, who led 154 laps here in the spring before fading to a sixth-place finish. He quickly surged the front again Saturday, but nearly lost it all early on when Buckshot Jones hit him in the rear, washing the No. 60 Ford up the track and nearly into the wall.
Biffle saved it, and in the process saved a trip to Victory Lane.
“I left him a groove on the bottom, but the characteristic of getting in that corner is the car pushes and he probably just pushed up into my right-rear quarterpanel and turned me a little bit,” Biffle said. “I don’t think it was intentional. I gathered it back up and everything was fine.”
Following the win, Biffle dedicated his fortunate day to an unfortunate friend.
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