BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Matt Kenseth is only a year younger than Jeff Gordon, who already has said he'll retire at the end of this season.
The 43-year-old former Sprint Cup champion won't use Gordon's exit as a reason to consider his own future in NASCAR. He has no plans to get out of the race car anytime soon and hopes his pole-winning run at Bristol Motor Speedway will lead to the end of a 51-race winless streak.
Asked if Gordon's decision has led him to think about retirement, Kenseth said he hasn't given the subject any thought.
"I feel as good as I did 10 years ago, and I'd like to say that I do as good or a better job behind the wheel than I did then," said Kenseth, who will start on the pole for today's race. "Jeff got to that point where he knew that it was time to go do something else, and it doesn't seem like he has any doubts about that.
"The fortunate few who can keep jobs and keep running, and don't just fade out because they can't get a competitive job anymore, can decide when that happens. I hope I'm fortunate enough to be one of those guys."
Kenseth, a two-time Daytona 500 winner and the 2003 Cup champion, had a resurgence with his 2013 move to Joe Gibbs Racing. He won seven races that year and took Jimmie Johnson down to the wire before losing the championship race.
He went winless last year, but he has been inching toward victory lane this season. Kenseth was likely headed to a victory last month at California until a late debris caution ruined his chances.
But qualifying has been much improved, and his pole-winning run at Bristol marked the fourth time in eight races that Kenseth has qualified ninth or better. He said he was discouraged by an off day last weekend at Texas but is hoping he can earn his fourth career Bristol victory today.
Kenseth should be buoyed by the speed from Joe Gibbs Racing, which advanced all four of its cars into the final round of qualifying for the first time Friday. Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin will all start inside the top five, while David Ragan, the replacement driver for Kyle Busch, will start 11th.
Luke Lambert also was back at the track Saturday at Bristol as crew chief for Ryan Newman. He's allowed to work because Richard Childress Racing is asking NASCAR's final appeals officer to take another look at penalties levied against the team for allegedly bleeding tires last month at California.
Among the sanctions the team received were six-week suspensions for Lambert and two other crew members, but with Friday's decision to go to final appeal the suspensions have been deferred. Lambert arrived at the track after missing one practice session and qualifying.
Newman qualified 18th with interim crew chief Todd Parrott. He was 20th in Saturday's first practice and 14th in the final session.
In Saturday's final practice session, Kurt Busch prevented Kasey Kahne from closing out all three Bristol practice sessions as the fastest driver. Busch ran 100 laps in Saturday's final practice and topped the leaderboard with a lap at 127.554 mph early in the session. No one bumped him during the practice session.
Since returning from a three-race suspension a month ago, Busch has been good. He won two poles, grabbed two top-fives, hasn't finished lower than 14th in his four races back and has led 131 laps. A five-time Bristol winner, he's tied with Jeff Gordon and brother Kyle for most victories among active drivers at the track. But Busch's last victory at Bristol was in 2006.
Kahne will try for his first victory of the season today when he starts eighth. The 2013 spring race winner at Bristol, Kahne led his first laps of the season in the past two races and has not finished lower than 17th this year.
Sports on 04/19/2015