FONTANA, Calif. - At the track closest to Toyota Racing Development's headquarters in Costa Mesa, Calif., Toyota drivers Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin had their most promising runs of the season-until the promises were broken, that is.
In Kenseth's case, it was a broken axle. After NASCAR called a caution on lap 185 of a scheduled 200, Kenseth pitted from the lead for fuel and tires. But the rear axle broke as he was leaving his pit, dropping Kenseth to a 31st-place finish that belied the strength of his car.
"I let the clutch out to go and the axle broke," Kenseth said. "I don't know why. I didn't do anything different than we ever do, so it just broke. No, I don't think that's luck. An axle breaking is either a faulty part or not the right part or not the gear ratio or ... there's usually a reason.
"We busted one last year
Friday
May 9th, 2025
8:04PM
