Wisconsin Radio Network

Wisconsin News and Sports

You are here: Home / Archives for auto racing

Kenseth wins at Dover

By

Wisconsin NASCAR driver Matt Kenseth captured his first Sprint Cup race of 2016, holding off Kyle Larson to take the Triple “A” 400 in Dover, Delaware.

The Cambridge native led for 48 of the 400 laps to win his third career race at the one-mile Dover track and his 37th overall in NASCAR’s top circuit.

Kenseth is also on the verge of clinching a berth in this fall’s Chase for the Sprint Cup title series, as he moved up two spots to 12th in the season point standings.

Paul Menard of Eau Claire placed eleventh at Dover, moving up one spot for the year to 22nd.

Kenseth lands spot in the “Chase” field

By

Kasey Kahne grabbed the lead on a restart following a caution with 23 laps to go and held off Matt Kenseth in a two-lap shootout to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday night.

It’s Kahne’s first win of the season and earned him a spot in the Chase for the Sprint cup.  Kenseth also qualified for the Chase on points.

Tony Stewart’s much-anticipated return to racing ended a little more than halfway through the race.  He hit the wall for the second time after his right front tire blew out on Lap 172, ending his night with a 41st place finish.

Kenseth began the night fifth in the points race, but not yet locked into the Chase because he had no wins.  Kenseth needed to finish seventh or better to secure his place in the playoffs.

Kvapil facing assault charges

By

Janesville, Wisconsin NASCAR driver Travis Kvapil, who captured the 2003 truck series title, was arrested on domestic violence charges on Tuesday.

According to reports, Kvapil was charged with assault on his wife and false imprisonment.  He appeared in court on Wednesday and is free on bond.

Kvapil has raced in the NASCAR National series since 2001.  He’s been a regular in the Sprint Cup Division almost every year since 2005.

Johnson wins at Dover, Kenseth maintains point lead

By

Jimmie Johnson held off teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. down the stretch to win for a record eighth time at Dover International Speedway.

The entire top 10 Sunday was made up of Chase for the Sprint Cup championship drivers.

Joey Logano, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch rounded out the top five.  Cambridge native Matt Kenseth, who won the first two Chase races, finished seventh.  He kept his points lead even as he fell short in trying to become the first driver to win the first three Chase races.

Kenseth gets 5th Sprint Cup win of the season

By

Matt Kenseth captured his Sprint Cup Series leading fifth win of the season, holding off Kasey Kahne for the checkered flag to win Saturday’s Sprint Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway.  It’s the third time this season that Kahne has finished second to Kenseth.

With the victory, Kenseth clinched at least a wild card berth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.  There’s two races to go to set the 12 driver field.

 

Racing world loses one of its Legends

By

One of auto racing’s legends took his own life on Thursday.  Dick Trickle passed away at

Dick Trickle

Dick Trickle

the age of 71.

The Wisconsin Rapids native never won on Nascar’s biggest stage, but he won more than 1,000 races across the U.S. and Canada, 67 features in 1972 alone.  Trickle claimed 9 championships in the 70’s and 80’s on the regional ARTGO and American Speed Association Tours.

Trickle died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound about noon on Thursday at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Boger City, North Carolina.

Trickle was considered a mentor in the racing world.  If he isn’t the most popular driver in the sport, Trickle is right near the top.  Drivers around the world say he’ll never be forgotten.

Kenseth gets a reprieve from Nascar

By

Not to often, does a professional race car driver fail inspection and draw heavy penalties and then see some relief.  That’s exactly what happened with Cambridge native Matt Kenseth.

Kenseth won in Kansas last month, but he was hit with severe penalties after his car failed a post race inspection.  Kenseth appealed that ruling and yesterday found out that the loss of points has been decreased from 50 to 12.  All other components of the penalty were eliminated.  That means Kenseth gets his bonus points back and he moves from 12th to 4th in the Nascar point standings.

The only thing that stood up from the original penalties, was the $200,000 fine imposed upon crew chief Jason Ratcliff.  But Ratcliff’s suspension was reduced from six point races to one, plus probation for the three events following his reinstatement.

Kenseth said via Twitter: “Glad to have today behind us so we can get our focus back on racing.  I respect NASCAR and the appeals process, I feel like they got it right.”

Kenseth wins again at Kansas

By

Matt Kenseth won the Sprint Cup STP 400 on Sunday, his 2nd straight win at Kansas Motor Speedway.

Kenseth started from the pole and won, becoming the 3rd straight driver to do so.

The Cambridge, Wis. native took the lead with 52 laps to go and held off Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kasey Kahne and Jimmy Johnson, who finished 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Kenseth’s win is his 2nd this season and 26th of his career.  He’s currently 8th in the point standings.

AUDIO: Matt Kenseth says they’ve had great runs all season :14