Notebook: Luck runs out for Kenseth

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Matt Kenseth figured Roush Racing's restrictor-plate program would be a weak link in the Winston Cup title chain.

He was right.

	Matt Kenseth now has a 354-point lead over Kevin Harvick. Credit: Autostock

Kenseth's engine expired at Talladega while racing for the lead with 30 to go, sending him to his first DNF of 2003.

Kenseth, who had failed to complete just two laps all season, finished 33rd. It was his first finish outside the top 25 all year.

Jeff Burton, Kenseth's teammate, blew his engine 10 laps after Kenseth. He finished 29th.

"This is the fourth motor this year," Burton said. "That is too many."

"This restrictor-plate stuff has always been our weakness," said Kenseth, who had to use a provisional to make the field. "We've just got to do more work on this program."

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Kenseth entered the event with a 436-point lead. Kevin Harvick finished seventh and cut Kenseth's points lead to 354 points with seven races to go.

The lead is still formidable -- Kenseth will have to average just a ninth-place finish the rest of the way to clinch the title.

Ganassi has engine trouble, too

Sterling Marlin was standing in the garage -- the victim of overheating -- when the call came in.

His teammate, Casey Mears, was headed to the garage too.

Both cars overheated, exploding the radiators.

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"When we got in that big pack of cars, (the engine temperature) got up over 250," said Marlin, who finished 39th and dropped to 18th in the standings. "At about 260, we split the radiator."

"I haven't seen Sterling's car yet, but we had a similar problem," said Mears, who ended up 37th. "It's a pressurized system, and it built up a lot of pressure and it just blew the radiator apart."

Marlin is still without a top-five finish in 29 races in 2003. Marlin scored eight top-fives in 29 races in 2002 before his season was ended by a neck injury.

Newman rallies for top-five finish

	Ryan Newman Credit: Autostock

Ryan Newman finished fourth Sunday for his series-leading 12th top-five finish. Entering Talladega, he had finished no better than 22th in the three restrictor-plate races in 2003.

Newman flipped in the grass in the Daytona 500, finishing last, and crashed early in the spring Talladega event.

Sunday's race was shaping up to be another restrictor-plate disaster for Newman. He had to pit early after blowing a tire, and he later got a lap back when the caution came out.

But he's still not a big fan of plate racing.

"I've got a smile on my face just because we finished the race," Newman said. "It's really no fun out there. We've got cars that are torn up just like they are at Bristol and Martinsville."