Both Kenseth and Elliott have been very fast in all three races. They just haven't had the results to show for it.
Matt Kenseth, Chase Elliott, Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch crash in Vegas
On a restart on Lap 224 of Sunday's Kobalt 400, the field got a little too aggressive, jockeying for position with the race on the line and heavy winds at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
After the green came out, it appeared that Ryan Blaney took the air off Matt Kenseth in Turn 1, sending the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota spinning and into the wall, where he collided with rookie Chase Elliott. Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards made contact as well.
It was third straight frustrating run for Kenseth, who has been fast all year, but as been unable to translate that speed into a race victory.
"I just turned off in there and it just spun out before I knew what happened," said Kenseth.
"I'm just disappointed," added Elliott. "What a fast race car."
Matt Kenseth, Chase Elliott, Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch crash in Vegas
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Las Vegas the Latest Round of Trouble for Matt Kenseth
By Jordan Burnett
Matt Kenseth’s bad luck continued at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday for the third straight race of his 2016 Sprint Cup season.
With 43 laps remaining in the Kobalt Tools 400, Kenseth was caught up in a crash that also ended rookie Chase Elliott’s day. Both Carl Edwards and polesitter Kurt Busch were involved but continued with minimal damage. Busch rebounded to finish ninth and Edwards ended up 18th.
Following a late restart, Kenseth’s No. 20 Toyota broke loose underneath Martin Truex Jr. going into Turn 2. Kenseth saved his car from spinning out but traveled up the track where Elliott’s No. 24 Chevrolet slammed into the back of him.
The wind was an issue all day long, but Kenseth said the wind gusts and dust became harder to manage after that restart.
“I went into Turn 1, and I wasn’t really hardly turning yet and just spun out before I had any idea what happened,” Kenseth explained. “I don’t know, after that I was just trying to save our DeWalt Toyota and got ran into from behind.”
Elliott, who ran solidly in the top 10 most of the day, blamed himself for getting caught up in the wreck.
“I feel like we made a lot of gains this weekend. Just a terrible job on my behalf,” Elliott said. “That is pitiful.”
Both Kenseth and Elliott were forced to the garage and retired from the race, finishing 37th and 38th, respectively.
The No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team was trying to rebound from a 19th-place finish in Atlanta last week, where a communication error caused Kenseth to lose two laps for failing to serve a black flag penalty.
In the Daytona 500, Kenseth had the lead going into Turn 4 on the final lap when he got loose trying to block his JGR teammate, and eventual winner, Denny Hamlin. Kenseth finished 14th.
Elliott crashed early in the Daytona 500 and began his rookie season with a 37th-place finish. He rebounded by finishing 8th in Atlanta and was on pace to have another top-10 finish on Sunday before the crash on Lap 225.
“We have run three races and finished one,” Elliott said. “Just a bad job on my end. I ought to know better to miss a wreck like that.”
Las Vegas the Latest Round of Trouble for Matt Kenseth – POPULAR SPEED
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