Ross Kenseth spins, recovers well at Chicagoland Speedway
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JOLIET, Ill. – Midway through the opening NASCAR XFINITY Series practice session at Chicagoland Speedway on Friday afternoon, the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota got loose off Turn 4, swerved left, then right, then left, then right, then left again before spinning sideways and finally straightening out at a slowed pace.
The incident brought out a caution flag, but it was one of the most impressive no-damage saves we’ve seen across any series in 2015; the type of skilled maneuver we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from the likes of 2003 Sprint Cup Series champion Matt Kenseth.
There’s only one thing. It wasn’t Matt behind the wheel – it was his son, Ross, fittingly making his series debut this Father’s Day weekend.
“We worked on (our car) quite a bit; we were pretty free there for most of the session on the throttle, so we spent a lot of time working on that,” Ross said in between practice sessions. “I just kind of got in the gas pretty hard off (Turn) 4 there and started stepping out. I got to the point I thought I had it then I just got real loose and from there it was just hanging on, not trying to hit the wall or get in the grass and knock the front end off it.”
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Fresh off a win last weekend at Michigan International Speedway in just his third career ARCA Racing Series start, the 22-year-old Kenseth is already exhibiting shades of dad, pulling into the garage 13th in the opening session with a best speed of 173.589 mph in the final session.
One thing Ross still has to fine-tune, however, is that famous Kenseth sarcasm. Luckily Matt, watching practice from on top of the No. 20 hauler, gave him a free lesson in it after the younger Kenseth climbed from his ride after the session.
“(My dad) asked if it was all out of my system or not. Hopefully it is,” Ross said. “I think it’s just, you’ve got to know where that edge is at. I think right there I got a little bit too far on the wrong side of that line. We were kind of fighting free the whole session there and between that and getting used to these cars for the first time, used to this track for the first time and knowing where all the bumps are at and kind of the line to make as much speed as possible, I think all that (rolled) kind of into one and I just got kind of a bad off on 4 there and kind of hit it the wrong way and just got free.”
Still, to come away from such an incident with a fully intact Toyota Camry without a scratch on it after such a potentially devastating spin is nothing to downplay, like he’s doing.
Perhaps it’s because the advice Pop, who opened the 2013 Chase for the Sprint Cup with a Joliet victory, has been giving him has been paying dividends already.
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“We talked quite a bit about different lines here and kind of what you’re going to feel through a tire run and through practice versus the race and being around other cars and where you need to be and where not to be and where the seams go. It’s been really helpful.
“He’s been real fast at a lot of these tracks and I think he’s one of the better ones at these mile and half-type race tracks and that kind of racing. Having him there for questions and advice and all that is obviously a huge help.”
Huge help, sure.
But it’s clear talent runs in the family.