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Kenseth overcomes obstacles to triumph

DARLINGTON, S.C. - Matt Kenseth has rarely been more pleased in victory than he was this weekend at Darlington Raceway. Maybe that's because of what he overcame to achieve the win.

DARLINGTON, S.C. - Matt Kenseth has rarely been more pleased in victory than he was this weekend at Darlington Raceway. Maybe that's because of what he overcame to achieve the win.

Kenseth has long been one of NASCAR's stars, a past champion with two Daytona 500 titles. But the 41-year-old racer has found a new gear in his first season at Joe Gibbs Racing.

Kenseth passed JGR teammate Kyle Busch with 13 laps left Saturday night to win for the first time at Darlington and third time this season. The latest win came with replacement crew chief Wally Brown, pressed into service because of the suspension of Jason Ratcliff.

"To be able to win a race at a track like this, especially the Southern 500, man, it's big," Kenseth said. "In my mind, it's one of the biggest races we have of the year, really."

And it did not come easily.

Kenseth's team dealt with a NASCAR appeals decision earlier in the week that lessened the penalties levied on the No. 20 car for using an illegal part in a win at Kansas Speedway last month. Ratcliff's suspension was reduced from six races to one, meaning Kenseth still had to hear a different voice in his headset at difficult Darlington.

Formula One

BARCELONA, Spain - Fernando Alonso won the Spanish Grand Prix with a commanding performance.

He used an aggressive start to take control and beat Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus by nearly 10 seconds, with Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa 26 seconds behind.