NASCAR Las Vegas 2013 results: Kenseth celebrates 41st birthday with win at Las Vegas

Happy birthday, Matt Kenseth!

Kenseth held off Kasey Kahne in a 26-lap green-flag run to the finish Sunday to win the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

In winning the 25th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race of his career, Kenseth, who turned 41 Sunday, became the third driver in series history to win on his birthday, joining Cale Yarborough and Kyle Busch in that exclusive club.

Kenseth crossed the finish line .594 seconds ahead of Kahne, who led a race-high 114 laps. Defending series champion Brad Keselowski ran third, followed by Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards. Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick and Paul Menard completed the top 10.

Johnson leaves Las Vegas as the series leader, five points ahead of Keselowski and 10 ahead of third-place Earnhardt.

Kahne had opened a lead of more than two seconds over Johnson when the engine in Travis Kvapil’s Toyota exploded in Turn 4, trailing smoke and dropping oil on the track.

During pit stops under caution on Lap 226 of 267, Kenseth and Keselowski opted for fuel only and left pit road 1-2, with Johnson, Edwards, Earnhardt and Kahne-all of whom took two tires-trailing behind them.

Kahne lost five spots in the pits after his egress from his pit stall was blocked by Tony Stewart, who had to slow down on the way to his pit box to avoid Kenseth, who was leaving after the fuel-only stop.

Kahne got two spots back after a restart on Lap 231, but his progress was interrupted on Lap 235 when Ryan Newman’s Chevrolet blew its engine on Lap 235.

After the subsequent yellow, Kahne restarted fourth on Lap 242. Kenseth kept the No. 5 Chevrolet at bay the rest of the way.

Kobalt Tools 400 Race Results:

1. (18) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 267, $403466.

2. (4) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 267, $279340.

3. (1) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 267, $248956.

4. (13) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 267, $208698.

5. (16) Carl Edwards, Ford, 267, $180590.

6. (3) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 267, $173526.

7. (12) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 267, $137690.

8. (11) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 267, $153215.

9. (8) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 267, $160576.

10. (17) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 267, $146206.

11. (9) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 267, $155930.

12. (21) Joey Logano, Ford, 267, $139588.

13. (23) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 267, $136925.

14. (15) Mark Martin, Toyota, 267, $117430.

15. (6) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 267, $125780.

16. (22) Aric Almirola, Ford, 267, $144166.

17. (5) Greg Biffle, Ford, 267, $120230.

18. (7) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #, Ford, 267, $151066.

19. (25) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 267, $131244.

20. (24) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 266, $129275.

21. (27) Austin Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 266, $129188.

22. (19) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 266, $127944.

23. (36) Trevor Bayne(i), Ford, 266, $99630.

24. (33) Dave Blaney, Chevrolet, 266, $114663.

25. (10) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 266, $141141.

26. (20) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 266, $104955.

27. (2) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 265, $134838.

28. (31) David Gilliland, Ford, 265, $108463.

29. (30) Casey Mears, Ford, 265, $113638.

30. (26) Bobby Labonte, Toyota, 263, $111752.

31. (29) David Ragan, Ford, 263, $102005.

32. (38) David Stremme, Toyota, 261, $90305.

33. (37) Danica Patrick #, Chevrolet, 261, $90105.

34. (32) David Reutimann, Toyota, 261, $89905.

35. (43) Josh Wise(i), Ford, 260, $89680.

36. (35) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, 259, $89480.

37. (34) Ken Schrader, Ford, 258, $89252.

38. (14) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, Engine, 234, $118143.

39. (28) Travis Kvapil, Toyota, Engine, 217, $87985.

40. (42) Joe Nemechek(i), Toyota, 216, $75985.

41. (40) Scott Speed, Ford, Transmission, 143, $71985.

42. (41) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, Vibration, 66, $67985.

43. (39) Michael McDowell, Ford, Vibration, 21, $64485.