Kenseth races to win at Richmond

Associated Press

RICHMOND, VA.

Jamie McMurray and Paul Menard both clinched their first career berths in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship Saturday night at Richmond.

McMurray only needed the green flag to drop to make it on points and become the 12th driver to make the 16-driver field.

Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman and Clint Bowyer held on to their spots and round out the field. All those drivers and McMurray are winless this season.

Gordon has one last chance to win his fifth championship before he retires.

Matt Kenseth won the race and finished in a tie with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch and six-time champion Jimmie Johnson for the top seeds in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

McMurray, who won the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in 2010, is only the second driver to make the Chase for team owner Chip Ganassi, following Juan Pablo Montoya in 2009.

“It’s gratifying to bring a group of people together and accomplish something like this, and to be a part of a team of guys that accomplished this,” Ganassi said. “Now that’s the first goal, the goal changes now. The goal post changes to winning races and advancing in the Chase.”

McMurray missed the cutoff for the Chase by one spot in 2004 and lost the final spot after a crash at Richmond in 2005. He also lost out on the final Chase spot at Richmond in 2014.

Ganassi won the IndyCar championship this season when driver Scott Dixon made a late charge and won on a tiebreaker after winning the finale in Sonoma.

Ganassi said the team could win titles in both series.

“It’s what we prepare to do,” Ganassi said. “I think we can give ourselves a shot here. The Final Four here looks like it be one team here.”

Ganassi’s left arm was in a sling after he broke his collarbone when he fell off his mountain bike last week. He tweeted a picture of his X-ray and had surgery last Sunday.

“It’s more of an inconvenience and uncomfortable thing as opposed to pain,” he said. “I had to ride back a couple of miles after I did it to get to my car. I’m starting to sweat just thinking about it.”