Chevrolet contingent impresses Kenseth

Like death and taxes, it seems Matt Kenseth’s earning a spot in NASCAR’s Chase for the Nextel Cup championship field is one of life’s certainties.

A year ago, the Roush Fenway Racing driver made a late-season charge to qualify for the Chase. That made him four for four in qualifying for the 10-race stock car playoff that began the year after Kenseth won the 2003 series title under the old points system.

He is almost a sure thing to again make the field for the Chase, which has been expanded to 12 drivers. Kenseth is third in the points heading into today’s road race at Watkins Glen.

But, as one of only two Ford drivers in the top 12 -- and facing a phalanx of powerful Chevrolets -- Kenseth has expressed doubts about his team’s ability to win another title.

“I didn’t say we weren’t good enough to win a championship,” Kenseth said. “I said, at the moment, right now, I don’t feel like we’re performing good enough to win a championship. But, certainly, my team is good enough, our equipment is good enough and reliable enough.

“We finish races and we do all of those things, so I think it’s certainly a possibility we can do that. But, just right now on performance, I don’t feel like our performance is as good as the 24 (Jeff Gordon), the 48 (Jimmie Johnson), the 20 (Tony Stewart), the 11 (Denny Hamlin) -- a bunch of those [Chevrolet] guys up front.”