Ross Kenseth Wins Rain Shortened All American 400

Kenseth wins the rain shortened All American 400.

Ross Kenseth didn’t worry about his midterms at Clemson this week. The college sophomore stayed focused Saturday and rode a mistake-free race to win the rain-shortened All American 400 at Fairgrounds Speedway.

“People usually don’t seem to be too into (my racing) at Clemson,” said Kenseth, an engineering major and the son of 2003 Sprint Cup champion Matt Kenseth. “I have to go back and hit the books again. I have (Sunday) and all week to do that.”

Because of rain, the drivers in the Super Late Model race completed just 220 of the scheduled 400 laps. Kenseth was declared the winner because the race made it past the halfway point of 200 laps with him in the lead. He had started seventh.

Bubba Pollard was second, and DJ Shaw was third.

With rain in the area, the race became a sprint to 200 laps, and slightly beyond.

“It was kind of a dogfight to see who got the lead before the rain came,” Kenseth said.

Pollard believed his car had a little more left at the time the race was called.

“We had a good car. Congratulations to Ross. We would have liked to race for it there (at the end), but it was a good race the last couple of laps,” Pollard said.

NASCAR star Kyle Busch was denied a chance at the win. After a 35-minute caution brought on by a rain shower, Busch spun on the final turn of lap 206 at the 0.635-mile track. He had the lead at the time, but his spin enabled Kenseth to take over the top spot.

“We came into (the third turn) there, and (the track) was a little bit damp,” Kenseth said. “(Busch) drove into it a little harder than I did, and he got loose and never lifted, and kind of spun it out.”

Two-time Daytona 500 winner Sterling Marlin exited the race on lap 58 and finished 37th. It appeared Marlin brushed the wall on lap 53.

The “green flag lap” format plus the weather created a slow race. The 220 laps completed were the equivalent of 139.7 miles and took four hours with rain delays. The large number of caution laps were not counted.

The race started at 6 p.m. and was called at 10 p.m.

The race featured four 14-year-olds, some of whom had a difficult night. Kyle Benjamin, who was the race’s fastest qualifier, crashed on lap 68. Gray Gaulding, another 14-year-old, was given a penalty for putting Mason Mingus sideways. Gaulding also crashed on the 106th lap of the race.

UNOFFICIAL PASS SLM RESULTS
All American 400
Fairgrounds Speedway - 10/6/12

1) 25 - Ross Kenseth - 220 laps
2) 26p - Bubba Pollard - 220
3) 60 - DJ Shaw - 220
4) 54 - Johnny Clark - 220
5) 98 - Daniel Hemric - 220
6) 26a -Willie Allen - 220
7) 41 - TJ Reid - 220
8) 62 - Brandon Ward - 220
9) 19 - Nate Caruth - 220
10) 4n - Ben Rowe - 220
11) 129 - Spencer Davis - 220
12) 8 - Eddie Hoffman - 220
13) 09 - Randy Gentry - 220
14) 811 - Mason Mingus -220
15) 43 - Dennis Shoendeld - 220
16) 26 - Preston Peltier -220
17) 171 - Johnny Brazier -220
18) 4s - Jay Fogleman - 220
19) 33 - Dillon Oliver - 218
20) 31 - Kyle Grissom - 217
21) R2 - Clay Rogers - 215
22) 47 - Trey Mitchell - 213
23) 81 - Mark Day - 212
24) 1 - Mike Garvey - 211
25) 2w - Donnie Wilson - 211
26) ak47 - Alan Karnes - 210
27) 51 - Kyle Busch - 205
28) 2n - Matt Matheson - 185
29) 64 - Garrett Evans - 169
30) 48 - John Batten - 168
31) 2 - Gary Gaulding - 105
32) 77 - Cassius Clark - 104
33) 29 - Landon Cling - 82
34) 44 - Rick Brown - 80
35) 71 - Kyle Benjamin - 67
36) 84 - Caly Alexander - 65
37) 40 - Sterling Marlin - 52
38) 84n - Tony Ricci - 41
39) 27 - Michael House - 25