Auto Racing: Kenseth's victory secures spot in Nextel Cup Chase

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Matt Kenseth needed a Bristol win last year to maintain any chance of making the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

His repeat win this year locked him into NASCAR's playoffs, and possibly made him the driver to beat.

Kenseth continued his momentum-building run toward the Chase on Saturday night by winning the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway — his third consecutive NASCAR victory.

"If we can go into the Chase like this, we'll have a shot at the championship," he said.

Kenseth's fourth win of the season clinched him a spot in the 10-race playoff format, which begins Sept. 17 in New Hampshire.

It also showed he is peaking at the perfect time. Tony Stewart got hot midway through the summer last year and streaked to his second Nextel Cup title.

Kenseth is the first driver since the late Dale Earnhardt in 1987-88 to win the Bristol night race in back-to-back seasons.

Kyle Busch was second and Dale Earnhardt Jr. was third.

Kasey Kahne of Enumclaw finished 12th, and Vancouver, Wash., native Greg Biffle was 19th. Derrike Cope of Spanaway was last in the field of 43.

Kahne stayed in 11th place in the standings. He is 90 points behind 10th-place Mark Martin and 161 points ahead of 12th-place Biffle with two races to go before the Chase field is set.

"There are so many good race teams right now," Kahne said. "We've got to figure out how to be better than them."

Kenseth won last week's Nextel Cup event in Michigan and Friday night's NASCAR Busch Series race at Bristol. He is second in the Cup points race, seven behind leader Jimmie Johnson.

The top 10 drivers after 26 races — and any others no more than 400 points behind the leader — qualify for the Chase. Kahne is 540 points behind Johnson.

Earnhardt moved up a spot to ninth in the points race.

"I feel a whole lot better now as far as trying to get in," he said of the Chase.

Bourdais captures

Montreal GP pole

MONTREAL — Sebastien Bourdais captured his third straight pole at the Montreal Grand Prix in his bid to become the first driver in 58 years to win three consecutive American open-wheel championships.

The Frenchman outdueled A.J. Allmendinger to win his seventh pole in 11 attempts this season and the 25th of his career. Bourdais' car had to be repaired after a broken front wing sent him into a tire barrier during morning practice.

By leading both qualifying sessions, Bourdais added two points to his lead entering today's race. He is 34 points ahead of Allmendinger and 37 in front of Justin Wilson in the Champ Car standings with four races remaining.

Notes

• The orders from boss Roger Penske to Marlboro Team Penske are simple: Finish 1-2 and don't take each other out.

Going into today's Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma in California, Sam Hornish Jr. leads teammate Helio Castroneves by seven points in the IndyCar Series standings. Four other drivers are bunched behind them with two races left in the season.

Hornish tops the chart with 418 points to Castroneves' 411. Dan Wheldon of Target Chip Ganassi Racing has 394 points, and teammate Scott Dixon has 385. Dixon landed the pole in qualifying with a speed of 107.484 mph.

• Two Ferraris will be on the front row for today's Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul, and this time the pole-sitter will be Felipe Massa — not teammate Michael Schumacher, a seven-time world champion.

Massa gained his first Formula One pole, finishing in 1 minute, 26.907 seconds on the 3.32-mile circuit. Schumacher, who has won three of the last four F1 races, was timed in 1:27.284.