Kenseth started last and passed every other driver in the Samsung/Radio Shack 500 - some more than once - to win the rain-delayed race in front of 125,000 diehard fans who sat through two days of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes that pushed the start of the race back a day.

Passing was indeed difficult, but it didn't seem to bother Kenseth. He started last because his Jack Roush-owned team changed an engine before Friday's qualifying session. But he set a steady pace once the race started and methodically worked his way to the front.

"I was pretty nervous about it because I didn't know how wide the track was going to get or how easy or hard it was going to be to pass," Kenseth said. "It worried me before the race started, then I knew we were going to be in pretty good shape (after he passed 28 cars in the first 35 laps). I knew we were in pretty good position to go from there."

His DeWalt Ford Taurus had little trouble working against the slower cars in the back of the pack. Once the other leaders started falling off the pace with an assortment of problems, Kenseth used a couple of quick pit stops to make up the rest of the ground.

From there, he sped away to a 25-yard victory over Jeff Gordon.

Not bad for a car that had only five laps of practice before the race.

"When you have a fast car, sometimes you don't want to practice too much and start making changes that might slow you down," he said. "Clean air was a big deal. If you were up front and had clean air, you were in pretty good shape. We were up front when it counted."

Kenseth blew an engine after just five laps of practice Friday. By the time his crew made the change, he was allowed to run two laps of qualifying. Rain at the massive Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday and Sunday, however, meant the team wasn't allowed to test any of their ideas for the new granite-based pavement that was installed late last year.

"I never thought we'd have a shot at winning it today," Kenseth said after earning $418,275. "We were all worried about it being a one-groove track with the repaving. But really it wasn't. I was really surprised how fast it came in. You could run side-by-side."

Dale Jarrett and Ricky Rudd threatened to make the race a blowout in the first 200 miles. Together they led 163 of the first 195 circuits, but both wound up running out of gas and falling off the pace.

Jarrett, who led a race-best 134 laps, also got stuck behind Gordon's car on pit road during a stop. By the time they got his car started and pushed it clear of Gordon he was two laps down and out of contention.

Rudd's problem cost him a lap, but he worked his way back to a fourth-place finish.

"We basically ran out of gas, there's not much more to say," Jarrett said. "We had a good race car. I don't know if we had a fuel pickup problem or what, but it kind of ruined our day."

Jarrett finished 24th.

With Jarrett and Rudd out of the way, Kenseth got more help from Rusty Wallace and Tony Stewart down the stretch. Stewart lost six positions in a final pit stop and Wallace, who led 35 laps, had suspension problems to drop him out of the top 10.

Once Kenseth got out front, he made sure he stayed there. The leaders all pitted on lap 308 during a final caution period after Robby Gordon brushed the fourth turn wall. Kenseth changed only two tires during the stop to maintain his track position, while the other leaders took four.

"I think they were voting down there," Kenseth said of the two-tire gamble. "I wanted to get two. We always go the safe way. Our rookie year, we lost California that way. We led all day, led the most laps, and I got four at the end and got beat by two tires. I knew if we got four (tires), three or four of those guys were going to take two. And if we got behind, it was going to be hard to pass them again."

Kenseth, who averaged 142.455 mph, led 80 of the last 81 laps, including the final 25.

Gordon was second for his first top-five finish of the year, while Mark Martin was third. Rudd was fourth, followed by Tony Stewart in fifth, Jimmie Johnson in sixth, Sterling Marlin in seventh, Jimmy Spencer in eighth, Bill Elliott in ninth and Terry Labonte in 10th.

There were seven caution periods that lasted 41 laps. Ward Burton and Dale Earnhardt Jr. both suffered hard crashes in the first turn; although their cars were destroyed, neither was hurt.

The series moves from the fastest track on the circuit to the slowest next Sunday - the half-mile Martinsville Speedway for the Virginia 500.

Reach Don Coble at doncoble@bellsouth.net.