Three-way battle at Martinsville? Not if Matt Kenseth has it his way
This weekend at Martinsville Speedway, I'm really looking for a big battle among all the Chase contenders who remain, especially Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick.
After the first two rounds of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the drivers all recognize how important it is to get a win as soon as possible. You don't want to wait until the final race of the round, like Brad Keselowski did this past week, to try and get yourself transferred into Homestead.
You've got to realize, this is the Eliminator Round and it's the last step to Homestead and one of four seats in the Championship Round. Win a race in this round and you advance to Homestead automatically. So I think you're going to see these guys who are extremely good at Martinsville trying hard to win.
Another guy on the outside that could possibly be a spoiler -- you've got to look at Matt Kenseth. He's run extremely well at Martinsville in recent years since joining Joe Gibbs Racing. He was second to Jeff Gordon this past fall and he really likes this racetrack.
I had a chance to talk to Matt on Monday night and he feels like this might be a great opportunity for the No. 20 car to get its first win of the year and, again, to punch his ticket to Homestead, so once again he would be vying for a championship like he did in 2003.
VIDEO: Matt Kenseth discusses the Chase for the Sprint Cup
