The driver holds off Michael Waltrip at the finish to earn his first win in two years.
By Jim Utter
Knight Ridder Newspapers

FONTANA, Calif. – Matt Kenseth returned to familiar territory at California Speedway.

Kenseth overcame a missing lug nut on an early-race pit stop and held off Michael Waltrip by .882 seconds to win Saturday’s CaliforniaSpeedway.com 300 – his third NASCAR Busch series victory in six career starts at the 2-mile speedway.

It’s Kenseth’s 13th win and first since March 2001 at Bristol, Tenn. Kenseth’s win is the eighth by a Winston Cup driver in nine Busch races this season.

“We had a great handling car today,” Kenseth said. “Everything came together. It’s fun to drive a car when it goes that fast.”

Kenseth started 19th but moved into the lead for the first time on Lap 32 of 150.

He was about to retake the lead after exiting pit road first on Lap 42, but he was called back to pit road for a missing lug nut.

He remained on the lead lap and regained the lead on Lap 97.

Kenseth took the lead for the final time on Lap 119 and held off Waltrip in a seven-lap sprint to the finish.

“The key was being in the front,” Kenseth said.

“Michael’s car was real good up top (of the groove), and we were scared of him getting out there, but we were able to get away from him on the bottom.”

Kenseth’s competitors were awed by his ability to get quickly back to the front.

“He just drove back up through the field like we were all in a different race,” said pole winner Kevin Harvick, who finished third.

Kasey Kahne was fourth and series points leader Todd Bodine rallied to finish fifth. Bodine holds a 99-point lead over Ron Hornaday after nine of 34 races.

The race was slowed six times by caution for 30 laps. There were 10 lead changes among five drivers.

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(c) 2003, The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.).

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Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

AP-NY-04-26-03 2105EDT