06/03/2018
Kenseth Drives to 13th-Place Finish at Pocono
LONG POND, Pa. (June 3, 2018) – Matt Kenseth gained 15 positions in the final stage to earn a 13th-place finish in his Ford Performance Ford in Sunday’s race at Pocono Raceway; his best finish since returning to the seat of the No. 6 Fusion.
“It was a struggle all day for us,” Kenseth said. “I felt like we got fortunate at the end with some pit strategy by Matt (Puccia) and some cautions that got us back in position to finish 13th but we didn’t run that well. I feel like we made a small amount of headway today but we still have a bunch of work to do.”
The 2003 NASCAR Cup champion rolled off the grid 26th and finished one spot better, 25th, at the end of stage one due to an ill-handling machine. After multiple cars took the wave around at the stage break, Kenseth restarted 32nd, but eventually got his lap back as stage two came to a close.
The 2015 Pocono winner maneuvered his Ford through the field picking up five positions just 18 laps into the final stage before the yellow flag was displayed on lap 124. When the green flag waved on lap 129, Kenseth restarted in the 21st position and was scored in the 17th position when once again the yellow was displayed on lap 146.
With 10 laps remaining, Kenseth was right outside the top-10 but a few cars with fresher tires got around forcing him to settle for a 13th-place finish.
Kenseth returns in the No. 6 next weekend at Michigan International Speedway. Race coverage begins Sunday, June 10, at 2 p.m. ET on FOX and MRN.
