Brickyard 400 Again A Key Stop On Road To Winston Cup Title

Runner-up Finish At Indy Helps Kenseth Claim First Championship

By Dick Mittman
indianapolismotorspeedway.com
Tuesday, November 11, 2003

Matt Kenseth won five races, more than any other driver in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series in 2002, yet finished eighth in the final point standings.

Payback is so grand.

Kenseth clinched the 2003 Winston Cup title Nov. 9, with one race remaining, even though eight drivers have won more races than his single victory at Las Vegas back in March. He placed fourth at Rockingham, N.C., to wrap up his first title.

A second place - 2.758 seconds behind winner Kevin Harvick - in the 10th annual Brickyard 400 on Aug. 3 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was among his 25 top-10 finishes in 35 races.

Jimmie Johnson leap-frogged Dale Earnhardt Jr. into second at Rockingham, but he trails Kenseth by 226 points. That's more points than he can make up in the final race, even if Kenseth didn't start.

The second place at Indianapolis expanded Kenseth's points lead to 286 and started a string where he finished ninth or better in six of the next seven races. He was 14th in the other, at Darlington. This pushed his lead to where he could weather back-to-back finishes of 33rd and 36th at Talladega and Kansas, respectively, and only three top-10 results in his last six races.

Kenseth, a native of Cambridge, Wis., now has the freedom to go full-bore for a second victory in the season finale Nov. 16 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He also can become the first driver to score 5,000 points in a season since Cale Yarborough, who won the 1977 title with 5,000 points even. Kenseth can match that total with a 17th-place finish.

Performing well in the Brickyard 400 has been a precursor to success at the end of the season.

Of the nine Winston Cup champions crowned before Kenseth and since the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994, eight of them finished sixth or better at Indy the same year they won the title. The only champion to slip out of the top 10 was the 2002 king, Tony Stewart. He came home 12th in the 2002 Brickyard 400 and headed out of Indy in seventh place in the standings.

Sterling Marlin led by 106 points over Mark Martin after the 2002 Brickyard 400. Marlin was injured later in the season, and Martin faded. Stewart, the only driver to have started from the pole in the Brickyard 400 and Indianapolis 500, rallied down the stretch to hold off Martin, 4,800-4,762.

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Martin has placed in the top eight in the standings in 13 of the last 14 seasons but always has been a bridesmaid driving for Jack Roush with runner-up finishes in 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002. Martin co-owns Kenseth's No. 17 DeWalt Ford.

Oddly, the first Brickyard in 1994 saw Dale Earnhardt, who won a record-tying seventh championship at the end of that season, fall out of the points lead despite finishing fifth at Indy. He led Ernie Irvan by 27 points going in and departed trailing Irvan by 16.

Jeff Gordon won the race that year, and the victory catapulted him to the championship the following season. In 1995, Gordon led Sterling Marlin by 78 points going into the Brickyard 400, finished sixth and departed with an 88-point edge. Earnhardt won the race.

Terry Labonte won his second championship in 1996. He motored home fifth in the Brickyard 400 behind winner Dale Jarrett and snatched the lead from Gordon by 61 points after being nine points behind going in.

Gordon finished fourth in the 1997 Brickyard 400 and increased his lead over Martin from 64 to 93 points on the way to his second title. Ricky Rudd won the race that year. Gordon won the Brickyard 400 in 1998, pushing his lead to 72 over Martin en route to title No. 3.

It was Dale Jarrett's turn to dominate the Winston Cup series in 1999 as he won the Brickyard 400 to increase his lead over Martin from 254 to 274 points. Jarrett won his first championship at year's end.

Bobby Labonte then pulled off the same achievement in 2000, winning at Indianapolis and extending his margin over Jarrett from 53 points to 87 points. Labonte went on to win his first Winston Cup title that year.

Gordon nailed down championship No. 4 in 2001. He won his third Brickyard 400 on the way, departing Indianapolis with a 60-point edge over Jarrett.

The Brickyard 400 not only has provided big payoffs to the winners but also has played a key role in determining the champion each year. Kenseth is the latest beneficiary. ***

2004 race tickets: Brickyard 400 fans are encouraged to send their ticket renewals, upgrades and orders for the 2004 race, scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 8, to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as soon as possible.

To purchase tickets, camping or parking, contact the IMS ticket office at (800) 822-INDY or log on to www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com.


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