THREE VICTORIES AND A RECORDING SETTING POLE POSITION FOR FORD RACING
Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Fusion in the NASCAR Busch Series, won Saturday’s O’Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. Kenseth was also the top Fusion driver in Sunday’s Nextel Cup race by finishing in second place.
In the first race back for John Force Racing since the passing of teammate Eric Medlen, Robert Hight drover his AAA of Southern Cal. Mustang to victory in the SummitRacing.com Nationals in Las Vegas.
Tom Nastasi and Ian James, co-drivers of the No. 5 Mustang FR500C in the Grand-Am Koni Challenge Series, won Sunday’s Miami GS 400k at Homestead-Miami Speedway. This is the second victory in a row for the No. 5.
Valerie Limoges became the first female to earn a pole position in a Grand-Am race.
DEARBORN, Mich., April 15 – Ford Racing teams visited victory lane three times this weekend as wins came in the NASCAR Busch Series, Koni Challenge Series and in NHRA Funny Car racing.
Matt Kenseth snapped his teammate Carl Edwards’ win streak in the NASCAR Busch Series by racing to victory in Saturday’s O’Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. Kenseth and Edwards battled hard until the very end, but Kenseth said he didn’t expect any less from his teammate and series points leader.
“I’m not ever surprised Carl races you that hard,” said Kenseth. “Let’s be realistic: unless something happens, he’s probably going to win the championship.”
Kenseth’s win came in the first race since track officials made adjustments to a bump that previously appeared between turns one and two.
“They did a great job fixing it, said Kenseth. “I don’t know how the heck they did it, I don’t understand all that, but they did a great job fixing it – and that made a big difference for side-by-side racing.”
After battling Kenseth hard until the very end, Carl Edwards’ third place finish increased his lead in the points to 403.
“Matt’s an unbelievable guy, and obviously a great racer,” said Edwards. “That’s just fun. He came on my radio and talked to me a little bit about it, you know. He thought I pinched him a little tight. I told him if he thought that was tight, wait until you see what’s coming. He’s a good guy, and a lot of fun. I’m glad he won the race.”
Kenseth carried over his momentum from Saturday into Sunday’s Nextel Cup race. He was the top Fusion driver, finishing in second. Kenseth had the lead going into the final lap, but Jeff Burton was able to make the pass for the win. Kenseth’s finish moves him up to third in the standings, 125 points behind the leader.
“We were racing as hard as we could and still be clean, and so I really thought I had him, you know, I could pull away a little bit,” said Kenseth. “Jeff’s [Burton] smart, he had what he needed to, just got through one and two really good.”
Kenseth’s teammate Jamie McMurray, earned his fourth top-10 finish in the last five races by finishing in fifth place on Sunday.
“We were a lap down at one spot, and we struggled,” said McMurray. “We worked our way back and then made a good decision to only take two tires with about 80 to go, got track position, and then we just adjusted our car. We weren’t very good in the beginning, and we went the wrong way and came back and then we had it really good at the end, so I’m happy.”
In the first race back for the John Force Racing team since losing teammate Eric Medlen, Robert Hight drove his AAA of Southern Cal. Mustang to victory for the first time this season in Sunday’s SummitRacing.com Nationals in Las Vegas. Hight had qualified for the race in second and now sits in second place, 88 points behind points leader Ron Capps.
Hight said his run wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done. "I think I got it a little bit too far outside and it smoked the tires," Hight said of the final. "I never saw Capps, so I gave it a quick pedal (feathering of the throttle in an attempt to regain traction) and I saw the win light come on in my lane.”
Hight was excited about the chance to go to victory lane and win for Medlen. “It is amazing," said the six-time tour winner. "I hated to sit out Houston (but) it is nice to get back out here with friends and family. It is amazing how many lives Eric touched because he made everybody happy. It is just not the same coming to the races without your teammate and best friend.’
The Grand-Am Koni Challenge Series hit the track this weekend for the first time since the season-opener at Daytona. Ford Racing teams won the pole and the race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. After starting from the back of the field, Tom Nastasi and Ian James co-drove the No. 5 Mustang FR500C to victory, the second victory for Nastasi this season.
“The win was great,” Nastasi said. “That was hard coming from the back. I mean I worked my butt off. It was a great day. I knew Ian would do it. This win is for Brian Nott (Blackforest Motorsports owner), who’s not here. This is for him.”
This isn’t the first time Nastasi and James have visited victory lane. “Obviously, anytime you win one of these races it’s an amazing feeling,” James said. “I’ve done this before with Tom, and there’s no better way to do it than with a great friend. I’m really happy I could come in and help him out. We’ll be back next week and we’re going to try and make it three. Anytime you win it’s a privilege in this Grand-Am series, that’s for sure.”
In record breaking news, Valerie Limoges, Nastasi’s teammate and co-driver of the No. 4 Mustang FR500C, became the first female to earn an overall pole position for a Grand American race. She led a race-high 35 laps and finished the race in 14th.
“I’m really happy,” Limoges said of her record-breaking pole.
After the race, Limoges was satisfied with the finish, but plans to be on the podium as soon as possible. “I am happy with the race, no question. It isn’t as good a result as we were today and we didn’t get on the podium, but we will get it next time.”
The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series and the Busch Series head to Phoenix International Raceway next weekend, while NHRA and the Craftsman Truck Series have the weekend off and the Grand-Am Koni Challenge Series races at Iowa Speedway.
