David Exum: Don't give Matt Kenseth the title just yet
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COMMENTARY
Matt Kenseth’s victories in the first two races of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season are a much-needed breath of fresh air after three years of dominance by three-time and defending champion Jimmie Johnson.
Is it going to last? Doubtful.
While I’m not counting Kenseth out – he’ll surely make the Chase For The Sprint Cup – he’s going to need a lot more than newly minted crew chief Drew Blickensderfer in order to stop the juggernaut that is Johnson’s No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team.
Take for instance this Sunday’s Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Did you know that Johnson has won three out of the last four races at Vegas? It doesn’t matter if Johnson’s currently 19th in the series standings. If there is any driver who can win Sunday’s Shelby 427, it’s Johnson.
Johnson isn’t the only driver that Kenseth has got to worry about. While Jeff Gordon’s winless streak has reached 43 races, the four-time Cup champion seems to be a man on a mission this season. Gordon is second in the point standings and could also win at Vegas, something he hasn’t done there since 2001.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch, who made history by winning both the NASCAR Camping World Truck and the Nationwide series races on the same day at Auto Club Speedway in Southern California last weekend, is also looking tough to beat. Although Busch has never won at Vegas, he rebounded nicely with a third-place finish in the Auto Club 500 after a disappointing DNF in the Daytona 500 a week earlier.
Sure, it’s way too early in the season to start talking about the Chase, but it’s just amazing how Johnson, as he has done previously, starts off slowly and gains momentum. Let’s take a peek at Johnson in 2008. While he went on to become only the second driver in the history of the sport to win three consecutive championships, his first victory of the season didn’t come until the eighth event at Phoenix International Raceway.
Another nemesis that Kenseth cannot ignore is Roush Fenway teammate Carl Edwards, who rolls into Vegas as the defending race winner. Edwards is another driver who is apparently off to a slow start, but it surely won’t last.
Not surprising at this early juncture of the season is Tony Stewart’s strong showing in fourth in the series standings. It still amazes me to think that people wouldn’t consider Stewart a threat just because the two-time Cup champion is now co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing.
So while Kenseth is off to a strong start, there are still plenty of challengers, and it’s still too early to award him a second crown to go with his 2003 title.
