Kenseth not first, but first out

Matt Kenseth’s chance to make NASCAR history ended only seven laps into the Shelby 427 when his Roush Fenway Racing Ford engine failed.

Kenseth was bidding Sunday to become the first driver to win the first three races in a Cup Series season. He arrived at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after winning the season-opening Daytona 500 and last week at Fontana, Calif.

"Winning the third race, seriously, was the farthest thing from my mind," Kenseth said. "I’m very, very thankful for the first two weeks of the season that we had and for the opportunity to drive this car.

"You’re going to break stuff once in a while. I think it’s the first engine we broke in two years."

The race was a tough trip all the way around for Kenseth, who put himself in a hole by qualifying 40th. He finished in last place, 43rd, for only the second time in 331 Sprint Cup starts.

Kenseth, who also has been ill, dropped to third in the points standings behind Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer.

"It’s a pretty long weekend for nothing," he said.

• HARDLY ALONE — Kenseth wasn’t the only one to experience engine problems. Three other drivers were forced out with that issue.

The problems began Friday when five Toyota teams had to change engines.

"In four years at Roush Fenway, this is the first time I’ve had an engine failure," said David Ragan, who lasted 72 laps. "Things like this happen when you’re always trying to get the most out of things, and I’m just disappointed it had to happen this early in the race."

• THE OTHER BROTHER — Kurt Busch celebrated in Victory Lane after his brother Kyle’s victory, but otherwise it wasn’t a great day for him. The elder Busch sibling finished 23rd after starting second.

"We’ll take it, being on seven cylinders most of the race," Busch said. "I felt like I had a car capable of winning the race. We just ran into a tough break that didn’t allow us to run the entire race on full power."

• THE WAITING GAME — There were 14 cautions, three more than the record set last year, and the 66 laps under the yellow flag were 20 more than the previous high in 2005.

It was that kind of weekend at the speedway. The Nationwide Series Sam’s Town 300 on Saturday had 12 cautions for a race-record 60 laps.

• WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN — Bowyer led after 267 laps. Why is that a big deal? Because that was the race length until this year.

His crew chief is former Las Vegas resident Shane Wilson.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914.