At end of year, Kenseth likely done at Joe Gibbs Racing
SPARTA, KY. » NASCAR driver Matt Kenseth said Friday he has no job lined up next year and likely has no future at Joe Gibbs Racing.
“I’m not really worried about it but as of today, I do not have a job for next year. Hope to still be racing,” Kenseth said at Kentucky Speedway. “I think I got some wins left in me and hopefully race for championships. Right now, I’m focusing on finishing up this year.”
Kenseth is the 2003 champion and two-time Daytona 500 winner. He is in his fifth season driving for Gibbs and his 18th overall. But, he does not believe returning to the No. 20 Toyota is an option for 2018. Erik Jones is likely going to be moved into that car from Furniture Row Racing, Gibbs’ sister team.
“I do not think I will have the option to return to race at JGR next year. Unfortunately,” he said.
One possibility is replacing Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Hendrick Motorsports — or even sliding into the No. 5 should Rick Hendrick decide to release Kasey Kahne. But, a slot at Hendrick may not be a slam-dunk. Kenseth is 45 and would likely be a placefiller until a younger driver is ready and that could be sooner rather than later.
Xfinity Series driver William Byron has back-to-back wins, and along with Alex Bowman — who filled in for Earnhardt last year — the duo could be positioning themselves for early promotions into Hendrick’s top rides.
Kenseth could also swap positions with Jones, a development driver for JGR who is really just being stashed at Furniture Row until Gibbs has a Cup seat for him.
Beyond saying JGR wasn’t an option, Kenseth wouldn’t tip his hand.
“I probably already said too much about what I’m not doing next year, so I don’t really have anything to talk about what I am doing at this point,” he said. “At this point, I don’t have anything going on next year and trying to get focused on running better and winning races.”
Kenseth is 11th in points with six top-10 finishes in 17 starts. All four Gibbs drivers are winless in the Cup Series this season.
Kyle Busch earns Kentucky pole
SPARTA, KY. » Kyle Busch set a track record to earn his first Kentucky Speedway pole before thunderstorms shortened NASCAR Cup Series qualifying on Friday.
Busch, a two-time winner of Saturday night’s 400-mile race, clocked 190.282 mph in the No. 18 Toyota for his third pole this season and 22nd of his career. Third in points, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver seeks his first Cup victory since last summer at Indianapolis.
Martin Truex Jr. will start second with Busch’s JGR teammate Matt Kenseth third as Toyotas claimed four of the top five spots in the 40-car field. Jamie McMurray (189.713) starts fourth in a Chevy with JGR’s Denny Hamlin (189.687) next.
The pole was the second of two Busch claimed on Friday; he also earned the top spot for the Xfinity Series race.
F1: Hamilton confident
SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA » Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton feels confident of a repeat pole position after posting the fastest time in both practice sessions for the Austrian Grand Prix.
The British driver, who won here from the front last year, was 0.147 seconds faster than championship leader Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari in the afternoon and 0.19 ahead of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull in the morning.
“The car feels fantastically fast here. There’s already a nice balance,” Hamilton said. “This car is so quick in comparison to what we raced here last year. The team is in good spirits and we’re all up for another exciting fight with the Ferraris.”