Matt Kenseth edges Kasey Kahne at Bristol
Kasey Kahne was fed up with all of Joe Gibbs Racing by the time contact with Matt Kenseth ended his race at Watkins Glen earlier this month.
It was the fourth time a JGR driver had wrecked him, and he took to Twitter to voice his displeasure, posting: “Headed to Joe Gibbs Racing to talk to whoever will come out front.â€
But when he had his chance Saturday night to right all of those wrongs, Kahne passed.
A clean racer to his core, he trailed Kenseth for a dozen laps around Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee, trying every which way possible to pass him without wrecking him and failing miserably. The result was Kenseth grabbing his Sprint Cup Series leading fifth win of the season, while Kahne settled for a disappointing second.
“I don’t know,†sighed Kahne. “I just … I think at the end of the day, I just don’t wreck people.â€
It’s the third time this season Kahne has finished second behind Kenseth, who on Saturday night clinched at least a wild card berth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
Kahne, meanwhile, is still hoping just to make it into the Chase. With two wins on the year he’s in pretty good shape, but he’s only eighth in the standings with two races remaining to set the 12 driver field.
After Kahne passed Juan Pablo Montoya for second he set his sights on Kenseth and tried numerous times over the final dozen laps to make the pass, but never could make it stick. He went for the bump and run on the last lap and missed, and has to settle for second.
Montoya, who learned two weeks ago he won’t be brought back to Chip Ganassi Racing next season, was third.
Brian Vickers was fourth, followed by Joey Logano, Paul Menard and Jeff Gordon.
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Will Take Charge wins Travers
Will Take Charge waited until the final stride to get a nose past Moreno and pull off a surprise win in the $1-million Travers Stakes on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course in New York.
The thrilling finish gave 77-year-old Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas his third win in racing’s Midsummer Derby, with the 9-1 Will Take Charge also beating Kentucky Derby winner Orb and Belmont Stakes winner Palace Malice, who finished third and fourth, respectively.
Will Take Charge ran in all three Triple Crown races, but never hit the board. The huge 3-year-old colt ran second to Palace Malice in the Jim Dandy last month, and Lukas said his horse was ready for a big race.
Will Take Charge, with Luis Saez aboard for the first time, ran 11/4 miles in 2:02.68, and paid $21.20, $8.60 and $5.20.
Austria’s Jurgen Melzer won the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Open title after Frenchman Gael Monfils retired because of an injury.
Melzer led, 6-3, 2-1, after breaking Monfils’ serve in the second set. During the changeover, Monfils received treatment on his left abdominal muscle and hip before opting to retire at the Wake Forest Tennis Center.
Simona Halep upset defending champion Petra Kvitova, 6-2, 6-2 to win the New Haven (Conn.) Open, the final WTA tuneup for next week’s U.S. Open.
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