Kenseth says he still feels bad about Harvick wreck

Associated Press

FORT WORTH, Texas

Matt Kenseth feels terrible about the wreck that left Kevin Harvick last among the eight drivers still eligible in NASCAR’s championship chase.

And Kenseth would be just as frustrated as Harvick, who seemed to promise retaliation after last week’s race at Martinsville.

“I couldn’t feel any worse about it, and I hope he has a really good week this week or next week and wins one of these races,” Kenseth said Friday. “I know he doesn’t want to be taken out of it for something he had nothing to do with it, and I certainly don’t want to be the guy to take him out of it.”

Kenseth is fourth in the standings going into Sunday at Texas, one of two races remaining before the determination of the final four drivers who will compete for the season title in the finale at Homestead.

After speaking with reporters Friday, Kenseth was seen in the garage with Harvick.

That was the first time the two had spoken since Martinsville and the response there by Harvick that “(Kenseth) won’t win this championship. If we don’t, he won’t.”

Kenseth said he can’t be worried about the possibility of Harvick retaliating on the track.

“He knows it was a mistake, I’ve tried to make it as right as I can possibly make it, and move on from there,” Kenseth said. “I can only control my own car, and what I do, and all that stuff, and obviously I did a poor job of that last weekend, so we’ll just go from there.”

Johnson: New title format ‘has seemed bizarre’

Jimmie Johnson says NASCAR’s new championship format has “seemed bizarre,” but the eliminated six-time champion knows he has to think about the big picture for racing.

Johnson was among 16 drivers who initially made the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. He’s already out of contention for his seventh season title even with three wins and 1,119 laps led this year. Four-time race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. also can’t win the title after the first two championship rounds cut the field to eight drivers.

“It has seemed bizarre since the onset. I, though, feel that I need to take a different approach and think of it differently and think of what is good for the sport,” Johnson said Friday.

Among the eight drivers still in contention are Ryan Newman and Matt Kenseth, neither of whom has won a race this season. Newman, who has led only 41 laps all season, was in 16th place when the chase started — two spots ahead of Kenseth.

After Texas and then Phoenix next week, only the top four drivers in the standings will be eligible to win the season title in the finale at Homestead.