In The Fast Lane: Kenseth's quick start has his Cup critics eating dust

Last year, some people claimed Kenseth didn't win enough to deserve his NASCAR Nextel Cup championship trophy. This year, they say he's winning too much.

"I've learned, it's always something," Kenseth said with a laugh.

The joke certainly appears to be on his critics.

With two wins in three starts, Kenseth has reclaimed the top spot in the Nextel Cup standings by a lofty 88 points. No. 1 is a familiar spot -- he held it a record 33 consecutive weeks en route to the 2003 championship -- but this is a markedly different arrival.

Kenseth won only one time a year ago and clinched the title on consistency rather than visits to victory circle. In part because of the public outcry that a champion should be a prolific race winner, NASCAR altered its points-format for the first time in four decades.

Now, wins are weighted more heavily and the championship will have a "playoff" feel with a 10-race season-ending shootout for the top drivers.

OK. Kenseth is proving he can play that game, too.

"Some of that stuff people said last year irritated me," Kenseth said this week, "and I think it's actually been channeled into positive energy.

"It has our guys fired up and it has me fired up to go out and show the few naysayers ... to prove them wrong and show them we can go and win races -- that we can try to win a championship under whatever system they give us."

Had the current points format been in place last year, Kenseth wouldn't have won the title, runner-up Jimmie Johnson would have -- even though his three wins weren't series tops either.

Ryan Newman held that distinction with eight victories, but he failed to finish seven races while Kenseth suffered only two DNFs and finished among the top 10 a series-high 25 times.

It's got to be worrisome to Kenseth's competitors to know he ran up front last year with what he considered substandard equipment. With a better engine program and a new Ford body template, Kenseth says he's driving "the best stuff I've sat in in my life."

"Last year, there was a lot said about if we won the championship in style or if we backed into it," said Jack Roush, Kenseth's team owner. "We didn't have much to work with last year. Toward the end of the year, we were dead meat.

"We took the abuse we got for looking like we weren't racing hard and just waited for a new set of templates that would give us a chance to catch up (with the Chevrolets and Dodges)."

It's safe to say they have caught up.

As for Kenseth, a shy, Wisconsin-bred racer, he's just as quiet as ever off the track. His noise is coming on the track.

Pit notes

Kasey Kahne, 24, of Enumclaw freely admits he's coming off the best racing weekend of his young career.

Kahne won his first career Nextel Cup pole last Friday, setting a Las Vegas Motor Speedway track record. He finished second in the Busch Grand National race Saturday and capped the weekend with his second runner-up finish in a row in Sunday's Cup race.

The effort propelled him into eighth place in the Nextel Cup standings and moved him atop the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings.

"We did a lot of good things this weekend and I think that's going to keep boosting our confidence," said Kahne, who drives the No. 9 Dodge Dealers Dodge Intrepid.

"This is fun."

The future of Portland International Raceway's G.I. Joe's 200 Champ Car race appears to be a little brighter. The Champ Car Series listed the June 20 Portland date on its official calendar earlier this week, but failed to mention it in press releases highlighting the upcoming season.

Last week Portland promoter Mike Neeley said the contract had not been finalized. In past schedule releases from the series, PIR's event had an asterisk next to it.

Brandon Bernstein, 31, collected his first NHRA Top Fuel victory Sunday since suffering a season-ending back injury last May. The 2003 Rookie of the Year, son of six-time NHRA champion Kenny Bernstein, defeated Doug Kalitta to remain unbeaten in four final-round appearances. He drove the Budweiser dragster to three wins last season before his injury.

Dave Villwock of Auburn, driver of the world champion Miss Budweiser hydroplane, will try to break the world speed record for a kilometer run this weekend outside Sacramento, Calif.

The current unlimited hydroplane kilometer record of 198.17 mph has stood for 42 years.

Robby Gordon confirmed this week he will attempt his fourth consecutive "double" -- competing in the Indy 500 and NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, N.C., on May 30.

Four-time Trans Am champion Tommy Kendall will return to the series this season with Rocketsports Racing. Kendall is only four wins shy of eclipsing Mark Donohue's all-time victory mark of 29.

NASCAR has reminded Nextel Cup rookie Johnny Sauter it is serious about cleaning up its broadcast image. Two weeks ago NASCAR president Mike Helton told drivers he wouldn't tolerate bad language during radio or television interviews.

Sauter apparently got caught up in his emotions following Saturday's Busch race and violated Helton's rule.

He was fined $10,000 and penalized 25 championship points -- enough to drop him from second to fourth place in the standings.