Kenseth gets safely to Victory Lane

LOUDON, N.H. -- Sure, Matt Kenseth crossed the finish line first. And, yeah, he hoisted the Siemens 200 trophy on Victory Lane. But to say he won yesterday at New Hampshire International Speedway wouldn't be the best way to describe it. More aptly, Kenseth survived the Busch Series event.

The 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup champion grabbed his second Busch victory this year in a race in which 11 of the 43 drivers didn't finish and 49 laps were run under caution.

The race was so wild that the pace car probably needed to pit and change tires. And Kenseth, who started 21st, took advantage by laying low, avoiding the wrecks that brought out 10 yellow flags. By staying clear of the mess, he might have gotten back the winning feeling he enjoyed so much last season.

"It always can carry over a little bit," said Kenseth, who hasn't won a Nextel Cup (formerly Winston Cup) race since March 7. "Whenever you win, you always have a little more strut in your step and you have a little more confidence for either the next day or the next race."

Because the nature of the Busch and Nextel races is vastly different, Kenseth said, he won't be able to take yesterday's strategy into today's Siemens 300.

Too bad, because it worked perfectly. Kenseth utilized patience to perfection, focusing not so much on outracing his opponents as on outpositioning them.

"We just tried to pit before everybody," Kenseth said. "That's what I tried to do, pit a little early before my window. The first 10 or 15 laps, when the caution comes off, save some fuel. Then, when everybody pits, you're in front of them."

The strategy took some guts. Kenseth took his final pit stop with 95 laps left, slightly before his target, anticipating he'd be able to save fuel if a few yellow flags waved.

"If it went green to the end," Kenseth said, "we were going to run out of gas."

The gamble paid off, as the field saw more yellow than a taxi stand.

Kenseth didn't grab the lead until the 151st lap, but never trailed after that.

Still, Kenseth's lead wasn't totally secure.

After a caution brought on when, inexplicably, Kyle Busch spun out Jason Keller on a restart, Kenseth found Tim Fedewa, who finished in second place, breathing down his neck.

Fedewa made a strong move on the 186th lap, trying to go below Kenseth, and he almost did.

"My best shot to pass him was on the restart," Fedewa said.

In the end, though, Fedewa had no shot. Kenseth simply had the superior car. But Fedewa's clean, bold attempt to pass did win him some respect.

"It really was refreshing to race with someone like that," Kenseth said of Fedewa. "It was nice to race like we all grew up racing -- race hard, but not take advantage of someone. My hat's off to him."

Fedewa employed a similar game plan to Kenseth, hanging back and waiting for others to pit, in effect moving up by stagnating.

Ron Hornaday Jr. made an early run, stealing the lead from pole sitter Jamie McMurray on the first lap.

Hornaday led for the first 66 laps, more than any driver, but after he pitted on a yellow during the 66th lap, he never regained first and finished third after a late charge.

After Hornaday faded, six drivers passed the lead like a hot potato, highlighted by Greg Biffle's 25 laps in front.

Then Kenseth's patient strategy took over, as he jousted nose to tail with Casey Mears for two laps before passing him. Once he had the lead, Kenseth didn't relinquish it, despite Fedewa's momentary challenge.

Now that Kenseth knows how to get to Victory Lane at NHIS, he's hoping to find his way today, too, in the weekend's main event.

"It feels better to win a Nextel Cup race than a Busch race," Kenseth said. "But it's still tough to win a Busch race."