Matt Kenseth Wins at Darlington Raceway and Captures his Third Victory of 2013

Matt Kenseth won the 64th annual Bojangles’ Southern 500, taking the lead from Kyle Busch in the final moments of the event. It is his 27th victory in 483 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races and his third win this season. This is his first Sprint Cup win in 20 races at Darlington Raceway and one of special significance.

Kenseth radioed his crew after crossing the finish line and told them, “This is a dream come true.”

When asked to describe how he felt about winning at Darlington Raceway, he said, “I don’t know that I’ve had a win that feels bigger than this at this moment. This is just obviously a really historic racetrack. The Southern 500 is one of the most storied and historic races that there is anywhere. It’s pretty cool to be able to stand in victory lane in this place on the same spot where a lot of great drivers have stood. It’s a pretty neat race to win, for sure.”

Kyle Busch had the most dominant car during the race, leading a total of 265 laps. But late in the race, his car began fading. With only 13 laps to go, Kenseth swept past Busch for the lead and cruised to victory lane. Busch finished in sixth place.

Denny Hamlin finished second in his first full race since his back injury in March, scoring his second top-10 finish this season.

Jeff Gordon finished third in his 700th consecutive start.  This was his 300th top-five finish in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He is only the fourth driver to accomplish this and joins an elite club which includes David Pearson, Bobby Allison and Richard Petty.

Jimmie Johnson finished fourth increasing his lead in the standings to 44 points. Kevin Harvick placed in the fifth position.

Johnson leads the point standings followed by Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Clint Bowyer.

Unofficial Race Results
Bojangles’ Southern 500, Darlington
http://www.speedwaymedia.com/cup/race.php?race=11
=========================================
Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
=========================================
1 7 20 Matt Kenseth Toyota 47
2 6 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 42
3 8 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 42
4 2 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 40
5 10 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 39
6 3 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 40
7 17 99 Carl Edwards Ford 37
8 12 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Chevrolet 36
9 16 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 35
10 21 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 34
11 13 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 33
12 5 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 32
13 9 16 Greg Biffle Ford 31
14 1 78 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 31
15 20 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 29
16 25 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 28
17 4 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 27
18 14 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. # Ford 26
19 15 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 25
20 18 43 Aric Almirola Ford 24
21 11 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 23
22 30 22 Joey Logano Ford 22
23 28 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 21
24 27 51 Regan Smith(i) Chevrolet 0
25 22 55 Mark Martin Toyota 19
26 23 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 18
27 37 7 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 17
28 40 10 Danica Patrick # Chevrolet 16
29 29 38 David Gilliland Ford 15
30 32 33 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 14
31 43 87 Joe Nemechek(i) Toyota 0
32 26 2 Brad Keselowski Ford 12
33 41 32 Timmy Hill # Ford 11
34 24 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 10
35 42 36 JJ Yeley Chevrolet 9
36 33 83 David Reutimann Toyota 8
37 19 13 Casey Mears Ford 7
38 34 35 Josh Wise(i) Ford 0
39 31 34 David Ragan Ford 5
40 39 30 David Stremme Toyota 4
41 36 95 Scott Speed Ford 3
42 35 98 Michael McDowell Ford 2
43 38 19 Mike Bliss(i) Toyota 0

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

Angela Campbell
Angela Campbell
A native of Charlotte, NC, Angela (Angie) was first introduced to racing by her father. An avid fan of NASCAR, she found a way to combine her love of racing with her passion for writing. Angie is also an award-winning member of the National Motorsports Press Association. Follow her on Twitter @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

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