Happy Birthday: Kenseth wins at Las Vegas - MotorSportsTalk

Matt Kenseth gave himself a nice present for his 41st birthday, turning back Kasey Kahne to win the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Kenseth, who became the third driver in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history to win on his birthday (Kyle Busch and Cale Yarborough, who did it twice), took the lead under yellow on pit road with 42 laps to go after he and his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team elected not to take any tires. The 2003 Cup champion then had to battle Kahne, who drew within striking distance in the final laps but was unable to get by for a winning pass.

“I was real nervous all day,” Kenseth told Fox Sports in Victory Lane about Kahne stalking him in the late stages. “[Kahne] had the best car, and I told [crew chief] Jason [Ratcliff] with about 12 to go, I apologized to him like ‘Sorry, man, I’m gonna get beat.’ I was being too tight and I was killing the right front. I just had to make sure I stayed in front of [Kahne].

“We didn’t have quite the fastest car there in the end, but we had it where we needed it to be. Great pit stops, great pit strategy — we were in the right place at the right time and we took advantage of it today.”

Kahne led the most laps of any driver with 114 circuits paced, but had to settle for second place. Brad Keselowski posted a third-place result, with Las Vegas’ own Kyle Busch and last week’s winner Carl Edwards coming home fourth and fifth respectively.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series – Kobalt Tools 400

Top 10 Finishers

1. Matt Kenseth, Toyota, led 42 laps

2. Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, led 114 laps

3. Brad Keselowski, Ford, led 12 laps

4. Kyle Busch, Toyota, led 27 laps

5. Carl Edwards, Ford

6. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, led 66 laps

7. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet

8. Martin Truex Jr., Toyota

9. Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet

10. Paul Menard, Chevrolet

With three multiple winners now vying for the championship, the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series heads to Round 11 at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington.

Chase Sexton earned his second victory of the season in Detroit when Aaron Plessinger fell on the final lap. Though he was penalized seven points for disobeying a flag, Sexton is third in the championship race. The Honda rider trails leader Cooper Webb (two victories) by 17 points, and defending series champion Eli Tomac (five wins) is three points behind Webb in second with seven races remaining.

Tomac won last year in Seattle on the way to his second season title.

Honda riders have a Supercross-leading 20 victories in the Seattle event but none at Lumen Field since Justin Barcia in 2013. Tomac and Barcia are the only past 450 Seattke winners entered in Saturday’s event.

Here are the pertinent details for watching Round 11 of the 2023 Supercross season in Seattle:

(All times are ET)

BROADCAST/STREAMING SCHEDULE: TV coverage of Round 11 will begin Saturday at 10 p.m. ET streaming on Peacock with a re-air Monday at 1 a.m. ET on CNBC. The Race Day Live show (including qualifying) will begin on Peacock at 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday.

NBC Sports will have exclusive live coverage of races, qualifiers and heats for the record 31 events in SuperMotocross. The main events will be presented on Peacock, NBC, USA Network, CNBC, and NBC Sports digital platforms.

Peacock will become the home of the SuperMotocross World Championship series in 2023 with live coverage of all races, qualifying, and heats from January to October. There will be 23 races livestreamed exclusively on Peacock, including a SuperMotocross World Championship Playoff event. The platform also will provide on-demand replays of every race. Click here for the full schedule.

POINTS STANDINGS: 450 division l 250 division

ENTRY LISTS: 450 division l 250 division

EVENT SCHEDULE (all times ET):

Here are the start times for Saturday’s Supercross Round 11 in Seattle, according to the Monster Energy Supercross schedule from the AMA:

4:50 p.m.: 250SX Group B Qualifying 1
5:05 p.m.: 250SX Group A Qualifying 1
5:20 p.m.: 450SX Group A Qualifying 1
5:35 p.m.: 450SX Group B Qualifying 1
6:25 p.m.: 250SX Group B Qualifying 2
6:40 p.m.: 250SX Group A Qualifying 2
7:55 p.m.: 450SX Group A Qualifying 2
8:10 p.m.: 450SX Group B Qualifying 2
10:06 p.m.: 250SX Heat 1
10:20 p.m.: 250SX Heat 2
10:34 p.m.: 450SX Heat 1
10:48 p.m.: 450SX Heat 2
11:22 p.m.: 250SX Last Chance Qualifier
11:34 p.m.: 450SX Last Chance Qualifier
11:54 p.m.: 250SX Main Event
12:28 a.m.: 450SX Main Event