Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Kenseth’s Winston Cup lead down to 259 points

Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2003 | 9:21 a.m.

In the span of two weeks, the race for the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup championship suddenly has become more than a one-man show.

After building what seemed to be an insurmountable 436-point lead going into the race at Talladega Superspeedway two weeks ago, Matt Kenseth has had finishes of 33rd and 36th in the past two races and has seen his lead over second-place Kevin Harvick shrink to 259 points with six races remaining.

Lest anyone forget, the late Alan Kulwicki overcame a 278-point deficit with six races remaining and won the 1992 Winston Cup championship by 10 points over Bill Elliott.

Kenseth, for one, hasn't forgotten Kulwicki's late-season surge.

"I've been saying all along that the thing is not over and you could have bad luck at anytime and things could go wrong at anytime," Kenseth said. "I realize how fast everything can change on you in this sport and we just have to keep our chin up and do the best we can.

"We still are in pretty good position for the rest of the year; we just have to go and run hard."

Kenseth's recent struggles come on the heels of a remarkable stretch that saw him running at the end of the first 28 races this season. He had an engine failure at Talladega -- his first DNF of the season -- and wrecked his car early in Sunday's race at Kansas Speedway. His Roush Racing crew was able to get him back on the track but he completed only 220 of the 267 laps.

"We've had a couple tough weeks, that's for sure," said Kenseth, who has been the series points leader since the fourth race of the season. "A lot of times you create your own luck. Last week, breaking an engine wasn't bad luck, it was poor decisions.

"This week, it wasn't really bad luck, it was poor driving by me and poor decisions with the car so I can't really blame it on luck. We're doing it to ourselves."

Kenseth wrecked his primary car for Sunday's race during the first practice session on Friday and had to go to his backup car -- which wasn't set up for the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway.

Barring any such trouble in the final six races of the season, Kenseth can clinch the championship by finishing eighth or better in each remaining race.

Harvick, who like Kenseth has only one victory this season, was sixth Sunday and has eight top-10 finishes in his past 10 races -- including his victory in the Brickyard 400 on Aug. 3.

"We're digging and they (Kenseth's team) are having trouble, but if we keep knocking it off eighty or a hundred points at a time, we're going to be in good shape in a couple of weeks," Harvick said.

"You just go out and do everything you can every week. We have to keep doing what we're doing week in and week out, and the biggest thing is that you race a little harder when you have something that big to shoot for."

The winner of the 2003 Winston Cup championship will earn a minimum of $4.25 million from the $17 million prize fund.

Busch is expected to join fellow Winston Cup stars Michael Waltrip, Sterling Marlin and Kenny Wallace in an autograph session, Q&A session with fans and the exhibition race, which will precede a 99-lap Mechanix Wear Speed Truck race on the 3/8-mile paved oval.

Tickets for the event can be purchased online at www.driventorock.com.

Lynch, whose car is prepared and crewed by the Las Vegas-based Orleans Racing, earned his third victory of the season and leads Steve Portenga of Sparks by 23 points with two races remaining.