Matt Kenseth thrilled with fast start after runnerup finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway
Matt Kenseth (right) shares a laugh with Kasey Kahne after the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta.
// LaDon George, NASCAR Illuustrated
HAMPTON, Ga. – Matt Kenseth made the most of the second green-white-checkered restart in the Kobalt Tools 500 to finish second at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The Roush Fenway Racing driver was sixth after the first green-white-checkered restart but moved up to the runnerup spot on the final restart and finished 0.482 second behind race winner Kurt Busch.
“We got out there and finished second, but we had a good top‑five car all day,” Kenseth said. “Feels good to go to four different race tracks and be pretty competitive at all of them. It feels good.”
With two top-five finishes in the first four races, Kenseth heads into the off week before the next race at Bristol Motor Speedway second in the point standings behind Kevin Harvick.
Kenseth and his team made a crew chief change following the Daytona 500, with veteran Todd Parrott replacing Drew Blickensderfer. Kenseth has two top-five and three top-10 finishes with Parrott.
“Honestly, the season couldn’t have started any better for us,” Kenseth said. “I said that last week, too. It sounds silly since we won the first couple races last year.
“It’s been really good. The last three weeks have been a lot of fun. We’ve been learning a lot, our cars have been faster, we’ve been able to make some adjustments, and the pit crew has been on the money.”
