NASCAR: Penalty and missed black flag cost Kenseth

For much of the first half during NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta, Matt Kenseth looked like a likely candidate to win but a costly pit road penalty and his failure to adhere to a black flag cost him three laps and dashed his chances.

Kenseth, who led three times for 47 laps, had just given up the top spot when he came down pit road for a scheduled stop on lap 116.

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Shortly after returning to the track, the 2003 champion and his team was posted for improper fueling. Specifically, his gas man laid a wedge wrench on the back of the car while the fuel can was still engaged with the fuel cell.

This is prohibited according to the NASCAR rulebook and Kenseth was called back down pit road for a pass-through punishment. Making matters worse was that crew chief Jason Ratcliff was arguing his case to NASCAR officials while the black flag was displayed to his driver and Kenseth lost an extra lap when Race Control stopped scoring the No. 20 team on lap 123.

Kenseth ultimately finished 19th, two laps down, and said he still doesn't entirely understand what happened.

"I pitted the lap they told me to do the pass-through but I'm assuming they were black-flagging me before that," Kenseth said. "I never saw the flag or anything and I came when they told me to come. So they must have penalized me a couple of laps...

"No one has explained it to me. I've been on the racetrack for three hours and 45 minutes. I haven't talked to anyone about it."

Kenseth had reason to be extra frustrated given his last-lap defeat in the Daytona 500 last weekend. Two weeks in a row have seen Kenseth have arguably the best car on the grid but little to show for it.

"That's the way it's been going the past couple of months," Kenseth said, also citing his two-race suspension for intentionally crashing Joey Logano at Martinsville in October. "There's been a lot of disappointment but you just have to keep digging. The car was really fast and it was the best car I ever had at Atlanta and we were in the mix to win the race."

The Folds of Honor 500 was the second straight race that Kenseth had to work with a new spotter as veteran NASCAR driver Curtis Markam was named to the interim role while Chris Osborne continues to recover from an off-season car crash.

Lorin Rainer was the No. 20 spotter during the Daytona 500 but returned to his duties as a development team owner and marketing manager after Speedweeks. Kenseth was at times frustrated with the lapse in communication with both Ratcliff and Markham following the penalty.

Ratcliff declined comment after the race.