Kenseth grabs win at Charlotte to move up in Chase

Associated Press

CONCORD, N.H.

Matt Kenseth has staked his claim on NASCAR’s championship with a win Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Kenseth passed Kyle Busch with 25 laps to go then held Busch off on a restart to win his first race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

The victory was Kenseth’s third of the season, but first since NASCAR’s title-deciding series began five races ago.

The win pushed Kenseth from fifth to third in the standings. He trails leader Carl Edwards by seven points at the halfway point of the 10-race Chase.

Busch changed his engine before the race and started last in the 43-car field. But he rallied to finish second for his best finish in the Chase.

RATINGS PLEASE ESPN

An exciting start to NASCAR’s championship series has boosted ESPN’s ratings over the last month, a positive turnaround after a lengthy decline in television viewers.

The first four races of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship are up 11 percent compared to the first four races of last season. The numbers don’t include the Chase opener at Chicago, which was rained out and held a day later. But an 18 percent boost at Dover and a 13 percent increase at Kansas have the overall numbers up.

Julie Sobieski, vice president of programming and acquisitions, said the on-track competition will be critical in keeping the ratings up through the Nov. 20 finale.

“The story lines are what drives it, and there has been great story lines all year,” she said. “There’s been great momentum, great competition and these tremendous story lines.”