The NASCAR driver celebrated his 41st birthday in grand style, winning the
2013 Kobalt Tools 400, at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 10.
“I showed them a fake ID when they hired me. Told them I was 28, going to be 29 this year,” joked
Kenseth. He joined Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2013 season after 14 years with Rousch racing. He said he knows he was hired “to climb in the car and win races,” something he didn’t take lightly.
“I am not a goal person, but my goal was to win and win early,” said Kenseth of the win. “Nobody put any pressure on me except for myself. It’s only Week 3, but I feel like this is the beginning.”
It was the 24th win of Kenseth’s Sprint-Cup career and his third in Las Vegas. His most successful year was in 2003 when he was Sprint-Cup champion.
Kasey Kahne finished the Las Vegas race second and Brad Keselowski was third. For the defending Sprint Cup Series champion, third place was a positive result, but he really would have preferred to win.
“I am not happy with top-fives. I want to win,” Keselowski said. “We’ve had a shot at winning all three races (so far this season) and came up short. I am sure, when I get home tonight, I’m going to throw around some pillows and punch some things. I wanted to win all three of these races and I’m not happy unless we can do that.”
Only two other drivers,
Cale Yarborough and
Kyle Busch, have won NASCAR races on their birthdays. Yarborough accomplished the feat twice. He first won on March 27, 1977, at North Wilksboro Speedway when he turned 38, and then again in 1983, at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, at the age of 44. Busch celebrated his 24th birthday with a win in Richmond on May 2, 2009.
Jimmie Johnson continues to lead the
Sprint Cup standings. Keselowski is second after finishing in the Top 5 in all three races this season. Dale Earnhardt Jr. dropped one place to third, 10 points behind Johnson.
After two weeks in the west, the
NASCAR schedule returns east to Bristol, Tennessee, for the Food City 500 on March 17, 2013.
