Monster often has gobbled up Kenseth's title hopes

Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth are the only two drivers to have qualified for all five Chase fields since the new scoring format was introduced in 2004. But while Johnson has gone on to win the title in each of the last two seasons, Kenseth -- who won the last "classic" championship in 2003 -- has finished no better than runner-up.

And Dover has played a huge factor in Kenseth's inability to add a second title to his resume. With the exception of last week's 40th-place finish, Kenseth has come out of New Hampshire with a top-10 finish, only to suffer misfortune at the Monster Mile.

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The 2004 MBNA America 400 was the first -- and perhaps strangest -- example.

After finishing second at Loudon and sitting fourth in the points, Kenseth qualified a solid eighth and immediately went to the front, taking the lead from Ryan Newman on Lap 33 and holding it for 58 of the next 60 laps. But on Lap 120, Kenseth made an error that he called "the dumbest thing I've ever done in a racecar."

Thinking he had a tire going down, Kenseth tried to make a quick move for the pits under green. What happened next was almost unfathomable.

"I was out on the track and kind of at the last minute decided to pit," Kenseth said. "I was on the brakes plenty early and when I got on the apron it was real sandy. I should have known that because that other car blew up and it was still pretty slick down there and nobody's pit under green yet.

"I just lost control of it and it wouldn't stop."

Kenseth slammed into a tire barrier, causing major damage to the front end of the No. 17 Ford. Having to be towed to the garage, he could only sit and watch as his crew worked frantically to get the car repaired. He was able to return, but finished 81 laps down in 32nd place.

Tires were the trouble in the 2005 MBNA NASCAR RacePoints 400. Coming off a third-place finish at New Hampshire, Kenseth started 11th and was running among the leaders for much of the early portion of the race before a cut left-rear tire forced him to pit under green on Lap 217.

Kenseth then battled back from one lap down only to see his rally cut short when he had a tire go down on Lap 367. Hard contact with Dover's concrete wall in Turn 1 left the No. 17 Ford 35th.

Kenseth remained confident in his team's ability to bounce back from yet another Dover disappointment.

"There's a lot of racing to do," he said. "Eight races is a lot of racing to do. We ran good. I'm happy about that, and if it's meant to be, it's meant to be."

In the 2006 Dover 400, Kenseth thought he had finally licked his Dover demons, only to find fuel to be a factor.

After taking the lead from Greg Biffle on Lap 264, Kenseth set sail and seemingly had things under control. But a decision to gamble on fuel economy backfired when Kenseth was forced to battle Jeff Burton for the lead late.

The two ran nose-to-tail for nearly 20 laps before Burton finally acquired the top spot with six laps remaining. And while Burton went on to win, Kenseth ran out of gas on the final lap and coasted to the line a disappointing 10th.

At the time, Kenseth felt the decision was too risky.

"We gambled on fuel, but there was really no reason to because we had the best car," Kenseth said. "Even if we would have lost two or three spots, we had the car to beat so I don't understand how we can run out of fuel on the last lap.

"Right now, do I agree with it? No. At the time, I thought more people would have stayed out. I don't care if you're racing for points or not, you still should call the race to win. And we just didn't get that done."

How much did one gallon of fuel hurt Kenseth's title hopes? The difference between winning and finishing 10th at Dover was 61 points. And Kenseth wound up 56 points behind eventual champion Johnson after Homestead.

Disaster struck Kenseth at Dover again in the 2007 Dodge Dealers 400. Despite an early alternator issue, Kenseth was easily the quickest car on the track, grabbing the lead from Kurt Busch on Lap 98 and holding it for the next 268 laps.

He traded the top spot with teammate Carl Edwards over the final 80 laps, only to have a possible victory snatched from his grasp when a valve broke in the engine of the No. 17 Ford, leaving him hoping to salvage at least a decent finish.

And that hope turned to despair with 27 laps left, when the power plant expired in a puff of steam and smoke, leaving Kenseth 35th.

"We were in a good spot to win the race and we were in a good spot to gain some points for the championship," Kenseth said.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.