Matt Kenseth comes in for service after tearing up his right front fender early in Saturday night's UAW-GM Quality 500. Credit: Autostock

Kenseth's championship hopes go flat at Lowe's

CONCORD, N.C. -- Matt Kenseth was one frustrated Chaser. The only consolation is that he was hardly alone.

UAW-GM Quality 500 Unofficial Results Pos. Driver Pts/Bonus 1. J. Johnson 185/5 2. Ku. Busch 175/5 3. G. Biffle 170/5 4. J. Nemechek 165/5 5. M. Martin 155/0 Complete Results: click here Unofficial Standings: click here Inside the Chase Point standings after Lowe's Pos. Driver Points Behind 1. T. Stewart 5777 -- 2. J. Johnson 5777 -- 3. G. Biffle 5766 -11 4. R. Newman 5760 -17 5. M. Martin 5726 -51 6. C. Edwards 5723 -54 7. R. Wallace 5685 -92 8. J. Mayfield 5662 -115 9. M. Kenseth 5653 -124 10. Ku. Busch 5635 -142 Victory LaneJimmie Johnson celebrates his fourth consecutive LMS victory Down and outPoints leader Tony Stewart cuts a tire and hits the wall Trouble for twoA season of bad luck continues for Jeff Gordon and Dale Jr. Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

On night where a handful of Chase drivers had tire problems, Matt Kenseth was arguably the biggest victim.

Kenseth was already in a points hole heading into Charlotte -- he was 116 points back -- but after finishing 26th, he is all but eliminated in his bid for a second NASCAR title.

Even with all the mayhem, Kenseth's finish was the lowest of the 10 Chase for the Nextel Cup contenders, turning an already bad finish into a disastrous one.

Other Chasers had tire problems, but Kenseth's was the most severe. He first had problems on Lap 63 when he cut a right front tire.

Equally angering for Kenseth was that the blown tire occurred when he was moving to the front. After starting 18th, Kenseth cracked the top five before the problem happened.

Kenseth's crew patched up his right front fender, but he was never threat to get back on the lead lap. He finished 10 laps down.

"We just blew a couple tires and tore the right front fender up," said Kenseth. "Just rode around all day."

Kenseth was picked as a favorite to win the title after an outstanding summer rally propelled him into a Chase spot, but he hasn't been unable to avoid tire problems. His Ford was as fast as anyone at Dover, but a cut tire there sent him to a 35th-place finish.

Now this. Can he pull off another rally and get back in contention?

"No idea right now," Kenseth said. "We'll just have to race and find out."