Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional
stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...
driver. He drives the No. 8 car in the
Superstar Racing Experience
Superstar Racing Experience (SRX), officially known as the Camping World SRX Series, is an American stock car racing series founded by Tony Stewart, Ray Evernham, Sandy Montag and George Pyne. The formation of the series was announced on July 13, ...
. (SRX)
Kenseth started racing on several short tracks in
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
and won track championships at
Madison International Speedway
The Madison International Speedway (MIS) is a half-mile paved oval racetrack in the Town of Rutland near Oregon, Wisconsin, United States. With 18-degree banked turns, the track is billed as "The Track of Champions" and "Wisconsin's Fastest H ...
,
Slinger Super Speedway
The Slinger Speedway (also known as Slinger Super Speedway) is a quarter mile paved oval automobile race track with 33-degree banked corners located in Slinger, Wisconsin. The track is billed as the "World's Fastest Quarter Mile Oval." The curre ...
and
Wisconsin International Raceway
The Wisconsin International Raceway (abbreviated WIR) is an asphalt stock car racing oval and dragstrip in the Town of Buchanan, in Outagamie County, just outside Kaukauna, Wisconsin, USA.
History
Wisconsin International Raceway originally o ...
. He moved to the
ARTGO
The ARTGO Challenge Series was a late model short track racing series that ran in the Midwestern United States from 1975 until 1998. Many race car drivers have used the ARTGO series as a stepping stone to get into ASA, ARCA, and NASCAR.
Art Fr ...
,
American Speed Association
The American Speed Association (ASA) is a sanctioning body of motorsports in the United States formed in 1968. The Association was based in Pendleton, Indiana, Pendleton, Indiana, and later in Daytona Beach, Florida. The ASA sanctioned asphalt a ...
, and Hooters Late Model touring series before getting a full-time ride in the NASCAR Busch Series (now
Xfinity Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
) for his former Wisconsin short track rival
Robbie Reiser
Robert Reiser (born June 27, 1963) is a former crew chief and a general manager for RFK Racing. Reiser is the son of Alice and John Reiser, who served as general manager for Roush Racing's Busch and Craftsman Truck series race shops.
Career
R ...
, finishing second and third in the standings.
Kenseth moved up to the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. He won the series'
Rookie of the Year title in 2000 and the final Winston Cup championship in 2003. The
International Race of Champions
International Race of Champions (IROC) was a North American auto racing competition, created by Les Richter, Roger Penske and Mike Phelps, promoted as an equivalent of an American motorsports All-Star Game. Despite its name, the IROC was primar ...
invited Kenseth to race in their
2004 season as the reigning champion and he won the season championship. In 2009, he won a rain-shortened
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
and won a second Daytona 500 in
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
. As of 2022, he is the last driver to compete in at least one NASCAR Cup Series race in four consecutive decades (1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s). He is the father of
Ross Kenseth
Ross Kenseth (born May 25, 1993) is an American stock car racing driver who currently competes part-time in the Blizzard Series. He is the son of 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion Matt Kenseth. He has competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity ...
.
Early life and career
![Matt Kenseth Sportsman Columbus 151 Speedway](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Matt_Kenseth_Sportsman_Columbus_151_Speedway.jpg)
Kenseth was born in
Cambridge, Wisconsin
Cambridge is a village in Dane (mostly) and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 1,638 at the 2020 census. Of this, 1,539 were in Dane County, and 99 were in Jefferson County.
The Dane County portion of Cambridge ...
. He made an agreement with his father, Roy, that Roy should buy a car and race, and Matt would work on the car until he was old enough to race.
Kenseth began
stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...
in 1988 at the age of 16 at
Madison International Speedway
The Madison International Speedway (MIS) is a half-mile paved oval racetrack in the Town of Rutland near Oregon, Wisconsin, United States. With 18-degree banked turns, the track is billed as "The Track of Champions" and "Wisconsin's Fastest H ...
.
"My dad bought a car when I was 13 and raced it at Madison," Kenseth said. "Neither of us knew much and it was a learning experience," He continued to race in 1988 and 1989. "My first car – what might be considered a sportsman – was a 1981 Camaro that Todd Kropf had driven to championships at Madison and Columbus 151 Speedway. On the third night out I won a feature. I ran 15 features in 1983 and won two of them."
"The first night out in the Kropf car Matt won a heat race," said Kenseth's father Roy. "The third night he won the feature by holding off two of the best drivers at the track, Pete Moore and Dave Phillips, for 20 laps. Matt was smooth. I knew then he was going to be a racer."
He ran for the points title on Saturday nights at
Wisconsin Dells in 1989. He finished second in points and won eight features.
On Friday nights, he ran about half of the races at Golden Sands Speedway and half at Columbus 151 Speedway.
In 1990, he bought a late model from
Rich Bickle
Rich may refer to:
Common uses
* Rich, an entity possessing wealth
* Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling
** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting
Places United States
* Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated commun ...
.
In the season-opening race at
Slinger Super Speedway
The Slinger Speedway (also known as Slinger Super Speedway) is a quarter mile paved oval automobile race track with 33-degree banked corners located in Slinger, Wisconsin. The track is billed as the "World's Fastest Quarter Mile Oval." The curre ...
, Kenseth inherited the lead and won his only race of the season when track champion Tony Strupp had a flat tire.
He finished sixth in season points and won the track's rookie of the year award.
Kenseth entered fifteen
ARTGO
The ARTGO Challenge Series was a late model short track racing series that ran in the Midwestern United States from 1975 until 1998. Many race car drivers have used the ARTGO series as a stepping stone to get into ASA, ARCA, and NASCAR.
Art Fr ...
events that season and raced in 40 features that year.
After graduating from
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
High School that summer, Kenseth worked for four years selling and shipping parts for Left-hander Chassis, a
late model
A late model car is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. (An early model car or classic car is a car old enough to be of historical interest; there is no usual intermediate term.)
The precise definition ...
racecar chassis manufacturer just south of the Wisconsin-Illinois border.
In 1991 he won the ARTGO race at
La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway
The La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway is a semi-banked asphalt oval racetrack in West Salem, Wisconsin. The outer track is 5/8 mile and the inner track is a 1/4 mile. The speedway has progressive banking in the corners, from 5 degrees on the bottom t ...
to become the youngest winner in the series' history.
He passed
Joe Shear
Joe Shear, Sr. (May 8, 1943 – March 6, 1998) was an American stock car racing driver from Clinton, Wisconsin. He won an estimated 350 races in his career, including four of his last five races. Fred Nielsen, Shear's car owner from 1975 to ...
and Steve Holzhausen, and held off Steve and Tom Carlson for the win.
1992 was a difficult year for Kenseth. He won three races and blew up more engines than he could count.
He was ready to quit racing after the season.
"I felt we were at a standstill,” he said. "I wasn't gaining. My dad and I had some major discussions at the end of the year. We had to find the dollars for a good program or I told him I would rather not race."
Kipley Performance loaned a motor to Kenseth for the season-final race at La Crosse and the team ran better.
Kenseth built a new car for 1993 using a Kipley engine.
He used the car at Madison to win eight features and finished second in the points.
Mike Butz offered Kenseth the chance to race his late model, and it took some time for the combination to stop struggling before they started winning features.
At the end of the season, they won the final short track series race at Madison, La Crosse, and
I-70 Speedway
I-70 Motorsports Park, formally known as I-70 Speedway, is a multi-purpose motorsports facility near Interstate 70 east of Odessa, Missouri, USA. The track, first opened in 1969, was open yearly until its closure in 2008.
After more than a decade ...
.
He finished third in the points Butz's car at
Wisconsin International Raceway
The Wisconsin International Raceway (abbreviated WIR) is an asphalt stock car racing oval and dragstrip in the Town of Buchanan, in Outagamie County, just outside Kaukauna, Wisconsin, USA.
History
Wisconsin International Raceway originally o ...
.
The 1994 and 1995 seasons established Kenseth as a short track star.
Kenseth made a name for himself while driving at several Wisconsin tracks, beating nationally known drivers such as
Dick Trickle
Richard Leroy Trickle (October 27, 1941 – May 16, 2013) was an American race car driver. He raced for decades around the short tracks of Wisconsin, winning many championships along the way. Trickle competed in the ASA, ARTGO, ARCA, All ...
and
Robbie Reiser
Robert Reiser (born June 27, 1963) is a former crew chief and a general manager for RFK Racing. Reiser is the son of Alice and John Reiser, who served as general manager for Roush Racing's Busch and Craftsman Truck series race shops.
Career
R ...
. He raced 60 times in three different cars in 1994, winning track championships at both
Wisconsin International Raceway
The Wisconsin International Raceway (abbreviated WIR) is an asphalt stock car racing oval and dragstrip in the Town of Buchanan, in Outagamie County, just outside Kaukauna, Wisconsin, USA.
History
Wisconsin International Raceway originally o ...
(WIR) on Thursday nights and Madison on Friday nights.
Kenseth competed against Reiser at Madison, and won 12 of 17 features at the track.
He won the 1994
Slinger Nationals
The Slinger Speedway (also known as Slinger Super Speedway) is a quarter mile paved oval automobile race track with 33-degree banked corners located in Slinger, Wisconsin. The track is billed as the "World's Fastest Quarter Mile Oval." The curre ...
at
Slinger Super Speedway
The Slinger Speedway (also known as Slinger Super Speedway) is a quarter mile paved oval automobile race track with 33-degree banked corners located in Slinger, Wisconsin. The track is billed as the "World's Fastest Quarter Mile Oval." The curre ...
.
In 1995, he repeated with back-to-back championships at WIR and Runner-Up at Madison, plus he won the Red, White, and Blue state championship series at WIR on three Saturday nights.
Butz's wife Patty Butz said "We knew by 1995 that Matt had too much talent to be with us for very long."
Kenseth decided to move across the country in 1996 to the
Southern United States
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
to race for engine builder Carl Wegner in the Hooters Series Late Model championship.
The plan was to run the Hooters Series, five NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...
races, and five
Busch Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
before moving full-time into the Busch Series in 1997.
He finished third in the Hooters Series, nearly winning the series championship as a rookie.
In 1996, Kenseth made his Busch Series debut at the spring race at
Lowe's Motor Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including th ...
for Wegner, finishing 22nd after starting 30th in a car rented from
Bobby Dotter
Bobby Dotter (born July 11, 1960) is a former professional stock car racing driver. His father, Bob Dotter, is a three-time champion of the Automobile Racing Club of America. Dotter has made 209 starts in the NASCAR Busch Series, posting 42 top-te ...
.
Kenseth was disappointed because they were unable to attract major sponsorship.
"It was just like 1992,” Kenseth said. "Plans just didn't work. I thought things would be different. Personally, I had moved and was adjusting to being a thousand miles from home."
At the end of the season, the Wegner/Kenseth team closed, and Kenseth found a ride for Gerry Gunderman's
American Speed Association
The American Speed Association (ASA) is a sanctioning body of motorsports in the United States formed in 1968. The Association was based in Pendleton, Indiana, Pendleton, Indiana, and later in Daytona Beach, Florida. The ASA sanctioned asphalt a ...
team, who was also
Alan Kulwicki
Alan Dennis Kulwicki (December 14, 1954 – April 1, 1993), nicknamed "Special K" and the "Polish Prince", was an American auto racing driver and team owner. He started racing at local short tracks in Wisconsin before moving up to regional ...
's last shop in Wisconsin before moving to NASCAR.
The team raced together for two races in 1997 before Kenseth received a telephone call from a former competitor.
Busch Series
![Matt Kenseth 1998 Busch First Victory Monte Carlo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Matt_Kenseth_1998_Busch_First_Victory_Monte_Carlo.jpg)
In 1997, racer
Tim Bender was injured, and Bender's crew chief/car owner Robbie Reiser hired his former competitor and rival Kenseth to race for him despite having only one Busch start.
Reiser said "Matt and I used to have some fierce races against each other. I needed someone who understood race cars the way I understood them. I knew he could drive and he could talk to me in a manner I could understand."
Kenseth qualified third for the new team's first race. He was racing in third place in the final laps when he spun and finished eleventh.
Kenseth qualified in 20th place for the next race at
Talladega in his second time at a track big enough to have a significant
draft
Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to:
Watercraft dimensions
* Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel
* Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail
* Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...
.
He passed thirteen cars to finish seventh.
Kenseth had two Top 5 finishes during the partial season.
The following year he raced full-time all season. He won his first Busch Series race on February 22, 1998, when he nudged leader
Tony Stewart
Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is a ...
's car entering the final turn of the final lap,
culmulating in a second- and third-place finishes in the Busch points. Kenseth drove the No. 17 Chevy.
Kenseth won the last two races of the Busch season in 2006 driving the No. 17 Ford Fusion, at Phoenix and Homestead.
In 2007, Kenseth planned to run 23 Busch race. Kenseth won the
Stater Brothers 300
Stock car racing events in the NASCAR Xfinity Series has been held at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California since the track's inauguration in 1997. The 300-mile (480 km) event is currently named Production Alliance Group 300 for spon ...
at
California Speedway
Auto Club Speedway, originally opened as California Speedway, is a , low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, near Fontana. It has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. It was also previ ...
in February and the
O'Reilly 300
The SRS Distribution 250 is a NASCAR Xfinity Series race that has taken place each spring at Texas Motor Speedway since 1997. Since 2005, this has been one of two races for the series at the track, the other being the Andy's Frozen Custard 300 i ...
at
Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24° ...
in April.
Kenseth broke an 18 race winless streak as he won the 2008
Nicorette 300
The RAPTOR King of Tough 250 is a NASCAR Xfinity Series stock car racing, stock car race held at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, a few miles south of Atlanta. This race had been Atlanta's lone Busch/Nationwide/Xfinity Series date unti ...
at the
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly known Atlanta International Raceway from 1960 to 1990) is a 1.54-mile entertainment facility in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Cup Series ...
. Kenseth's 23rd career series victory came after the series was renamed the
Nationwide Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
. On lap 104 at the 2009 Aaron 312 on April 25, Kenseth took a wild ride flipping over 3.5 times, sliding on his roof, then completed a fourth flip. The car burst into flames, and Kenseth walked away.
Kenseth won the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 at Darlington Raceway in 2009. Kenseth led only the last four laps of the race – three of them under caution – after Busch had to pull into the pits due to a flat right-rear tire during the penultimate caution period and just as the race was about to get into a green-white-checkered finish.
On May 28, 2011, Kenseth won the Top Gear 300 at Charlotte. Kenseth, filling in for Trevor Bayne, passed Roush Fenway teammate Carl Edwards with two laps to go to win his only Nationwide Start of the 2011 season.
In 2013, Kenseth returned to the Nationwide Series for 16 races driving
Joe Gibbs Racing
Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization owned and operated by former Washington Redskins (today the Washington Commanders) coach Joe Gibbs, which first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991. His s ...
's No. 18 Toyota. Kenseth finished with 7 top-five and 14 top-ten finishes. He won the summer race in Daytona and the fall race in Kansas.
In 2014, Kenseth drove in 19 races in the No. 20, with 10 top-five and 15 top-ten finishes. He won the last race of the year at Homestead, his 29th and final career victory in the Series.
Cup Series
1998–1999
![Kenseth and Irwin at Dover 1998](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Kenseth_and_Irwin_at_Dover_1998.jpg)
Kenseth's first
Winston Cup series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. ...
race attempt came at Talladega in May 1998. Jack Roush of
Roush Racing Roush is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Politics
*Glenn Roush (1934–2020), American politician in Montana
* J. Edward Roush (1920–2004), United States Representative for Indiana, namesake of:
** J. Edward Roush Lake, a re ...
was interested in hiring Kenseth and the rest of the Reiser team, so he had Kenseth attempt Talladega in the No. 60 Ford. However this was a sixth entry for Roush in the race, and did not have a powerful enough engine to make the field.
Kenseth's next attempt was at Dover in 1998, when he filled in for
Bill Elliott
William Clyde Elliott (born October 8, 1955), also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville, Million Dollar Bill, or Wild Bill is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He competes full time in the Camping World Superstar Racing ...
in his No. 94 Ford for
Elliott-Marino Racing. Elliott was attending his father's funeral on the day of the race. He finished sixth, the third best debut of any driver. The last driver before Kenseth to debut with a top-ten finish had been
Rusty Wallace
Russell William "Rusty" Wallace Jr. (born August 14, 1956) is an American former NASCAR racing driver. He has won the 1984 NASCAR Cup series Rookie of the Year and the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Championship. Over the course of his successful care ...
in 1980 with a second-place finish in Atlanta.
Kenseth and the No. 17 Reiser Racing team were hired for several Cup Series races in 1999 by Roush Racing.
2000–02
In 2000, Roush hired the No. 17 team full-time for Cup Series racing with sponsorship from
DeWalt
DeWalt Industrial Tool Company (stylized as DᴇWALT) is an American worldwide manufacturer of power tools and hand tools for the construction, manufacturing and woodworking industries, as well as home craftspeople. DeWalt is a registered trad ...
. Kenseth beat out
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, team owner, author, and an analyst for ''NASCAR on NBC''. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving t ...
to win the Raybestos Rookie of the Year. He won the
Coca-Cola 600
The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960, was also the first on ...
at
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
, and is the only rookie to win the famed 600 mile event. He went on to finish 14th in points with four Top 5s and eleven Top 10s, and an average finish of 18.9.
In 2001, Kenseth didn't win but improved to 13th in points with four Top 5s and nine Top 10 finishes. Robbie Reiser and Kenseth's pit crew won the Unocal 76 World Pit Crew Competition.
In 2002, Kenseth won the most races—five total—and one pole, but inconsistency caused him to finish 8th in the final points. His wins came at Rockingham, Texas, Michigan, Richmond, and Phoenix. Kenseth's pit crew won a second
Unocal 76 World Pit Crew Competition.
2003
![Matt Kenseth 2003 Championship Car Clincher Rockingham](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Matt_Kenseth_2003_Championship_Car_Clincher_Rockingham.jpg)
In 2003, he dominated in the points standings and leading the last 33 of 36 races and became the 2003 NASCAR
Winston Cup champion, the last driver to ever hold that title. Kenseth also had a series best twenty-five Top 10 finishes in the 2003 season.
*2003 began with a 20th-place finish in the
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
, but quickly sped to the front. Fresh off his only win of the season at Las Vegas, Kenseth took the point standings lead after a 4th-place finish at Atlanta in the season's fourth week. He never relinquished the top spot, remaining No. 1 for 33 consecutive weeks, and setting a new modern-era record for most weeks at No. 1. The previous mark was 30 weeks, set by Dale Earnhardt during his first title season of 1980.
*With one race remaining, he clinched the 2003 series crown with a 4th-place finish at Rockingham on Nov. 9, in the season's penultimate event. He finished with a 90-point margin over runner-up Jimmie Johnson.
*He displayed amazing consistency during his title run, spending 35 of 36 weeks in the NASCAR Top 10. Only week outside that elite group came after a 20th-place finish in the season-opening Daytona 500. He finished with one win, eleven Top 5s, and a series-high twenty-five Top 10 finishes.
*He became the fifth different champion in five years, and the third consecutive former Raybestos Rookie of the Year to win the series title.
At Charlotte, Kenseth won his second pole of the year. He was battling a loose/tight car. On a late caution, Kenseth took a gamble with a few other drivers and stayed out on the track during the last caution of the race. It paid off and he finished in 4th place.
Championship controversy
After the 2003 season, Kenseth's championship became a source of controversy and criticism. Critics of the Winston Cup points system, most notably
Roger Penske
Roger Searle Penske (born February 20, 1937) is an American businessman and entrepreneur involved in professional auto racing and a retired professional auto racing driver. He is most famous for his ownership of Team Penske, DJR Team Penske, t ...
, questioned how a driver could win a season championship despite winning only one race out of 36 during the season. Additionally, the fact that Kenseth led the points standings for 33 weeks despite only having the one victory, as well as already having clinched the
Winston Cup
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...
title with one week to go in the season (rendering the final race in essence a non-event) led to discussions on how to prevent Kenseth's feat from happening again (by comparison, in 2000, under the same points system,
Bobby Labonte
Robert Allen Labonte (born May 8, 1964) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and current analyst for ''NASCAR on Fox''. He also currently competes full-time in the Superstar Racing Experience, driving the No. 18 car. ...
had won the Winston Cup championship after leading in points for 31 of the 34 races, but unlike Kenseth, Labonte won four races in his championship year and also clinched the championship one race early). Kenseth finished that year with 11 top-five finishes and 25 top-ten finishes.
As a result, 2004 saw the implementation of a new points and playoffs system titled "
The Chase for the Nextel Cup" after Winston was replaced as primary sponsor of NASCAR's top series by
Nextel Communications
Nextel Communications, Inc. was an American wireless service operator that merged with and ceased to exist as a subsidiary of Sprint Corporation, which would later be bought by T-Mobile US and folded into that company. Nextel in Brazil, and forme ...
. In essence, the system created a 10 race playoff, with only the top-ten drivers in points after the first 26 races competing for the championship. Moreover, the system placed an emphasis, and a points premium, on wins. As a result, the term "The Matt Kenseth Rule" was coined to describe NASCAR's adoption of the current points system. NASCAR acknowledged that the 2003 championship outcome was not the driving factor in establishment of The Chase, as it had been researching methods to adjust the points system to put more emphasis on winning races since 2000. However, the coincidence of the commencement of the new format in 2004 and Kenseth's 2003 championship linked the issues, and were even referred to by NASCAR officials in the interviews and press releases following the announcement of the new format.
2004–05
In 2004, Kenseth won the
International Race of Champions
International Race of Champions (IROC) was a North American auto racing competition, created by Les Richter, Roger Penske and Mike Phelps, promoted as an equivalent of an American motorsports All-Star Game. Despite its name, the IROC was primar ...
(IROC) championship. He qualified for the inaugural Nextel Cup, finished 8th in the final NASCAR point standings. Kenseth finished with two wins, those coming back-to-back early in the year at Rockingham and Las Vegas. His win in the
Subway 400
The Subway 400 was the second race of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series season until 2004, held a week after the Daytona 500. This 400-mile (644 km) annual race was sponsored by Subway and was held at North Carolina Speedway (''The Rock'') sinc ...
at Rockingham was a photo finish with eventual Raybestos Rookie of the Year
Kasey Kahne
Kasey Kenneth Kahne (; born April 10, 1980) is an American dirt track racing driver and former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2018, driving the No. 95 Dumont Jets/Procore, Procore ...
. He also won the All-Star Race. Began the 10-race Chase in 5th place and finished 8th, and is of only four drivers to be ranked in the Top 10 all season.
Kenseth started the 2005 season with relatively poor finishes but had a strong mid-season run. He rose from the 24th place in championship points after fourteen races to 8th after twenty six races, and he qualified for the Chase for the Cup. He finished 7th in the final points standings with one win coming at Bristol. Kenseth made his 200th career start. His totals after his first 200 starts were: one championship, 10 wins, forty Top 5s, 85 Top 10s, one pole position, and more than $28.5 million earnings. He also led a career high 1,001 laps.
2006–10
![NASCAR and the NFL](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/NASCAR_and_the_NFL.jpg)
Kenseth began the 2006 season by leading early in the
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
before spinning his car after contact with
Tony Stewart
Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is a ...
. He fell two laps down to the leaders, but rallied back to a 15th-place finish. He won the following race at
California Speedway
Auto Club Speedway, originally opened as California Speedway, is a , low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, near Fontana. It has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. It was also previ ...
, and became the points leader after the eighth race at
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
. In the Dover spring race, he won his second race of the season after recovering from the sixth position with sixty laps to reclaim the lead from
Jamie McMurray
James Christopher McMurray (born June 3, 1976), nicknamed Jamie Mac, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and currently an analyst for ''Fox NASCAR''. He raced in the NASCAR Cup Series on a full-time basis from 2003 to 2018 b ...
on lap 397. With twelve races remaining in the season, Kenseth won the Sharpie 500 at the Bristol Motor Speedway, securing his position in the Chase for the Nextel Cup. He finished the year with winnings of $9,524,966, his take for second place in the Driver's Championship. During the season, he was either first or second in points for 27 of the 36 weeks, and led 1,132 laps, which ranked second among all drivers.
In the second race of the
2007 season, Kenseth won the
Auto Club 500
The Pala Casino 400 is a 400-mile (643.737 km) NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. It is the second race of the Cup Series season (after the Daytona 500) and has been since 2022 as well ...
at
California Speedway
Auto Club Speedway, originally opened as California Speedway, is a , low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, near Fontana. It has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. It was also previ ...
. After
Jeff Gordon
Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...
wrecked out of the Coca-Cola 600, Kenseth was left as the only driver to complete every lap of the season until he was wrecked out of the Citizens Bank 400 at Michigan where
Ryan Newman was trying to get one of his 3 laps back. The wreck also ended Kenseth's streak of 13 consecutive Top 15s that season. At Watkins Glen, Kenseth while running 7th during a red flag period, saw a shirtless fan run up to his car and request an autograph to his white baseball cap. Kenseth politely declined and security escorted the fan out of the track. Kenseth later expressed regret for not signing the cap.
Kenseth won the
Ford 400
The Dixie Vodka 400 is a NASCAR Cup Series race held at Homestead–Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida. The inaugural race was held in 1999 and was the final race in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2002 until 2019, as well as the final race of the ...
at
Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2007. The race was the final event under series title sponsor
Nextel
Nextel Communications, Inc. was an American wireless service operator that merged with and ceased to exist as a subsidiary of Sprint Corporation, which would later be bought by T-Mobile, T-Mobile US and folded into that company. Nextel in Brazil, ...
, and the final race using the
templates
Template may refer to:
Tools
* Die (manufacturing), used to cut or shape material
* Mold, in a molding process
* Stencil, a pattern or overlay used in graphic arts (drawing, painting, etc.) and sewing to replicate letters, shapes or designs
Co ...
originally based on the 1964
Holman Moody
Holman-Moody is an American racecar manufacturer, marine engine manufacturer and former auto racing team. The company currently operates out of Charlotte, North Carolina, but is no longer a race team. Holman-Moody continues to manufacture racing ...
Ford Fairlane template. Kenseth finished 4th in series points, and as a result, finished in the Top 10 in the standings for six consecutive seasons, tied with Jimmie Johnson for the most. He earned $6,485,630 in winnings. He also won an additional $100,000 dollars from his sponsor, Safeway.
![NYC NASCAR 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/NYC_NASCAR_01.jpg)
In 2008, Kenseth was winless and fell to 11th in the points standings. His best finish was second at the fall race at Dover. He had five Top 10 finishes during the Chase. This ended his streak of winning at least one race in six consecutive seasons and finishing in the Top 10 in the standings in six consecutive seasons.
Kenseth started toward the back for the
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
and worked his way to the lead and led 2 laps, but soon after his own teammate,
David Ragan
David Lee Ragan (born December 24, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 15 Ford Mustang for Rick Ware Racing, and is also an analyst for NASCAR on Fox ...
, squeezed him into the wall, knocking both out of contention and resulting in a finish of 36th.
In the
Goody's Cool Orange 500
The Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 is an annual 400-lap NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. It had no name from 1950 to 1955, before taking the name Virginia 500 in 1956. It is the first o ...
, Kenseth started 28th but finished 31st. He was held a lap for pitting outside of his box early, but later was spun out by
David Gilliland
David Leonard Gilliland (born April 1, 1976) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. Since 2017, he has operated David Gilliland Racing, a team that races in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series, ...
and was held for 2 laps for intentionally wrecking him back. Despite that, Gilliland finished 24th.
Kenseth won the rain shortened
2009 Daytona 500
The 2009 Daytona 500, the 51st running of the event, was held on February 15, 2009, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida as the first points-paying race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and the last 500 of the 2000s de ...
, passing
Elliott Sadler
Elliott William Barnes Sadler (born April 30, 1975) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing. Sadler is one of 36 dr ...
mere moments before the caution came out on lap 146 as the result of an accident on the backstretch between
Aric Almirola
Aric Michael Almirola (born March 14, 1984) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 10 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. A graduate of Hillsborough High School in T ...
and
Sam Hornish Jr.
Samuel Jon Hornish Jr. (born July 2, 1979) is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske in 2017.
He began his top-tier raci ...
The red flag was later waved and subsequent end of the race, 152 laps in, followed, giving Kenseth his first Daytona 500 victory, and the first Daytona 500 victory for his owner
Jack Roush
Jack Roush (born Jackson Earnest Roush on April 19, 1942) is the founder, CEO, and co-owner of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, a NASCAR team headquartered in Concord, North Carolina, and is chairman of Roush Enterprises.
Roush Enterprises is the ...
after 20 years as a car owner. He led only 1 green flag lap (of 7 laps led), after starting the race at the rear of the field. It was Kenseth's tenth attempt at "The Great American Race".
Kenseth won the second race of the season, the (
Auto Club 500
The Pala Casino 400 is a 400-mile (643.737 km) NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. It is the second race of the Cup Series season (after the Daytona 500) and has been since 2022 as well ...
), to become the fourth driver in NASCAR history to follow up a win at the Daytona 500 with another win the following race. Kenseth's bids for a third straight victory went south after engine failure at
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is ...
. He finished 43rd.
Kenseth flipped his car during the April Nationwide Series race at Talladega. Kenseth won in the Nationwide series for his 24th win at
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...
. He also won the
pole
Pole may refer to:
Astronomy
*Celestial pole, the projection of the planet Earth's axis of rotation onto the celestial sphere; also applies to the axis of rotation of other planets
*Pole star, a visible star that is approximately aligned with the ...
at Darlington in the
Sprint Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971 ...
, setting a new track record in the process.
After finishing 25th at the
Chevy Rock and Roll 400
The Federated Auto Parts 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia, being the second of two races at the track with the first one being the Toyota Owners 400 in the spring. As of 2020 ...
at Richmond, Kenseth was bumped out of the Chase by
Brian Vickers
Brian Lee Vickers (born October 24, 1983) is an American professional stock car and sports car racing driver. He last drove the No. 14 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing as an interim driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the injured Tony ...
. This left
Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, ...
as the only driver to have made the Chase every time since its inception from 2004 up until he failed to make the field in
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
. As a result, Kenseth finished 14th in points.
In 2010, following the Daytona 500, Drew Blickenderfer was released from his duties as crew chief of the No. 17 team. Todd Parrott was announced as his replacement. Later in the year, Parrott was replaced by
Jimmy Fennig
Jimmy Fennig (born September 15, 1953 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is a longtime NASCAR crew chief. He was the crew chief for Kurt Busch's 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series' championships. Fennig has collected 40 Cup wins as crew chief.
Biography
Fenn ...
. Despite not winning a race, Kenseth made the Chase through his consistency and finished 5th in the final standings.
2011
![Matt Kenseth - 2012 Kobalt Tools 400 in Las Vegas](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Matt_Kenseth_-_2012_Kobalt_Tools_400_in_Las_Vegas.jpg)
During the third race of the
2011 season, Kenseth captured his fifth pole of his career by setting a new track record at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. A few races later, Kenseth snapped a 76-race winless streak at
Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24° ...
by winning the race on April 9, 2011. Kenseth also won the FedEx 400 benefitting
Autism Speaks
Autism Speaks Inc. is a controversial autism advocacy organization and the largest autism research organization in the United States. It sponsors autism research and conducts awareness and outreach activities aimed at families, governments, an ...
at
Dover International Speedway
Dover Motor Speedway (formerly Dover Downs International Speedway and later Dover International Speedway) is a race track in Dover, Delaware. The track has hosted at least one NASCAR Cup Series race each year since 1969, including two per yea ...
. On a late caution, Kenseth and crew chief Jimmy Fennig called an audible in the pits and decided to go with two tires instead of four. That proved to be all the difference as Kenseth won for the second time in 5 races. Once he made the Chase for the Sprint Cup, he won the Bank of America 500 at
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including th ...
for his third win of the season. Kenseth's second championship hopes went south after several altercations with
Brian Vickers
Brian Lee Vickers (born October 24, 1983) is an American professional stock car and sports car racing driver. He last drove the No. 14 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing as an interim driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the injured Tony ...
.
2012: Final Season At Roush
Kenseth's
2012 season started with him winning his second Daytona 500. On June 26, 2012, it was announced that Kenseth would leave
Roush Fenway Racing Roush is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Politics
*Glenn Roush (1934–2020), American politician in Montana
*J. Edward Roush (1920–2004), United States Representative for Indiana, namesake of:
** J. Edward Roush Lake, a rese ...
after the 2012 season. Kenseth did not discuss the details of where he would be racing in 2013 and beyond. When he was asked by reporters if he would give them a hint as to what team he would be with after the 2012 season, where he was in contention for his second championship, Kenseth wryly responded, "No." On August 25, while leading the
2012 Irwin Tools Night Race
The 2012 Irwin Tools Night Race was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on August 25, 2012 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. Contested over 500 laps, it was the twenty-fourth race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, 201 ...
at Bristol on lap 332, Kenseth collided with Tony Stewart when neither driver would lift in the entrance to Turn 1. Stewart threw his helmet at Kenseth's car as he left pit road. Kenseth and Stewart had overcome being a lap down earlier in the race before the crash took them out of contention for a win at Bristol.
On October 7, 2012, Kenseth won his second race of the year, winning the fall
race
Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to:
* Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species
* Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
at Talladega as a crash unfolded behind him. He led the second-most laps of the race with 33.
On October 21, 2012, Kenseth won his third race of the year and second during the 2012 Chase at a freshly paved Kansas Speedway in
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...
. The repaving created a slick track that brought out a record 14 cautions for 66 laps during the Hollywood
Casino 400 Sprint Cup race. This was Kenseth's first win at the Kansas track and the 24th of his career, and his last with Roush Fenway Racing.
2013: First Season At JGR
![Matt Kenseth Martinsville 2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Matt_Kenseth_Martinsville_2013.jpg)
On September 4, 2012, it was officially announced that Kenseth would be joining
Joe Gibbs Racing
Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization owned and operated by former Washington Redskins (today the Washington Commanders) coach Joe Gibbs, which first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991. His s ...
for the
2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
The 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 65th season of NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 42nd modern-era Cup season. The season began on February 16, 2013, at Daytona International Speedway, with the Sprint Unl ...
season, driving the No. 20 Toyota, replacing
Joey Logano
Joseph Thomas Logano (born May 24, 1990), is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske, and part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Seri ...
with the team.
In the
2013 Daytona 500, Kenseth had a strong car, leading the most laps at 86. However, on lap 149, his day ended with engine failure. He finished 37th.
At Las Vegas, Kenseth won his first race in the No. 20 and became the third driver after
Kyle Busch
Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-t ...
and
Cale Yarborough
William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough (born March 27, 1939) is an American former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner, businessman, and farmer. He is one of only two drivers in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships, winning in 1 ...
to win on their birthday after holding off Kasey Kahne.
At Kansas, Kenseth won the pole, led the most laps, and won the race after holding off another furious charge from Kasey Kahne. However, afterwards, he was penalized 50 points after his engine failed post-race inspection. One of the eight connector rods was 3 grams under the legal limit. His pole award was revoked and his win no longer counted towards the Chase points. Crew chief
Jason Ratcliff
Jason M. Ratcliff (born December 8, 1967) is an American NASCAR crew chief, who is employed by Joe Gibbs Racing and is the crew chief for their No. 19 Toyota Supra in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driven by multiple drivers. He has worked for JGR si ...
was penalized $200,000.00 and suspended for one race. Car owner
Joe Gibbs
Joe Jackson Gibbs (born November 25, 1940) is an American auto racing team owner and former professional football coach. In football, he was head coach for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) from 1981 to 1992, and a ...
would not receive any owner points for 6 races. The engine builder, Toyota, would not receive any manufacturer points for 5 races.
Joe Gibbs
Joe Jackson Gibbs (born November 25, 1940) is an American auto racing team owner and former professional football coach. In football, he was head coach for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) from 1981 to 1992, and a ...
appealed the penalties.
Two weeks later, car owner Joe Gibbs met with the appeals board. The appeals board, feeling that the penalties were too harsh because Kenseth won the race, reversed a variety of penalties. Kenseth was awarded 38 Chase points back, leaving his penalty at just 12 points. He moved up 7 spots to 4th place. Kenseth's pole award and win were reinstated, giving him 2 poles and 2 official wins. Gibbs' owner points suspension was lowered to 1 race, but the $200,000.00 fine stood, and crew chief
Jason Ratcliff
Jason M. Ratcliff (born December 8, 1967) is an American NASCAR crew chief, who is employed by Joe Gibbs Racing and is the crew chief for their No. 19 Toyota Supra in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driven by multiple drivers. He has worked for JGR si ...
was suspended for one race.
The Toyota manufacturer's points suspension was increased to 7 races.
At Darlington for the Southern 500, Kenseth passed his teammate
Kyle Busch
Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-t ...
with ten laps remaining to win his third race of the season and his first Sprint Cup Series win at the track.
At Kentucky, Kenseth took the lead after Johnson spun out, and held off
Jamie McMurray
James Christopher McMurray (born June 3, 1976), nicknamed Jamie Mac, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and currently an analyst for ''Fox NASCAR''. He raced in the NASCAR Cup Series on a full-time basis from 2003 to 2018 b ...
to take his fourth win of the season.
After struggling a few weeks, Kenseth had better success when the series returned to Bristol. He held off
Kasey Kahne
Kasey Kenneth Kahne (; born April 10, 1980) is an American dirt track racing driver and former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2018, driving the No. 95 Dumont Jets/Procore, Procore ...
for a third time to win his fifth race of the year.
With five wins in the regular season, Kenseth was the top seed in the Chase. He opened by holding off
Kyle Busch
Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-t ...
to win the opening two Chase races at Chicagoland and at Loudon, his first wins on both of those tracks. With the win at Loudon, Kenseth joined
Richard Petty
Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "The King", is an American former stock car racing driver who raced from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notabl ...
as the only two drivers to win in their 500th race start. It also moved him into 22nd place, passing
Rex White
Rex White (born August 17, 1929) is a retired auto racer and NASCAR champion. White was one of the drivers who competed for the original Chevrolet racing team. He began racing in 1956, grabbing fourteen top-ten finishes. After a part-time run in ...
, on the all-time wins list.
Going into the last race of the season at Homestead, only three drivers could win the Chase. Kenseth trailed
Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, ...
by 28 points and led
Kevin Harvick
Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing.
Harvick is the 2014 Cup Series champio ...
by 5 points for second. Kenseth won the pole. Harvick started in 6th and Johnson in 7th positions. At the start, Kenseth had the dominant car. He led a race-high 144 laps to get the bonus point. The only trouble that Kenseth had was on the restart after a caution with 74 laps remaining. He was behind
Jeff Gordon
Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...
, who spun his tires causing an accordion effect. Cars scattered everywhere. Kenseth and Johnson bumped each other causing Kenseth to drop to 12th and Johnson down to 26th. Kenseth made his way back up to finish in 2nd behind his teammate
Denny Hamlin
James Dennis Alan Hamlin (born November 18, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver and NASCAR team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He co-owns and oper ...
. Johnson finished in 9th place to win the 2013 championship, beating Kenseth by 19 points. Kenseth finished second in the final points standings also.
With seven wins, Kenseth had given the No. 20 more wins in a single season than the car ever had in an individual season being driven by
Tony Stewart
Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is a ...
or
Joey Logano
Joseph Thomas Logano (born May 24, 1990), is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske, and part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Seri ...
. It was also a career best for Kenseth, outdoing his five race wins in 2002. But had the current format been introduced, Kenseth would've lost his 2003 title to
Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, ...
but would end up being 2013 champion beating Johnson.
2014
![Matt Kenseth-RSR Photo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Matt_Kenseth-RSR_Photo.jpg)
At Daytona, for the
2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
The 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 66th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 43rd modern-era Cup season. The season began at Daytona International Speedway, with the Sprint Unlimited, followed by the Da ...
, in the first of two
Budweiser Duels, Kenseth held off
Kevin Harvick
Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing.
Harvick is the 2014 Cup Series champio ...
(whose race was later disqualified) and
Kasey Kahne
Kasey Kenneth Kahne (; born April 10, 1980) is an American dirt track racing driver and former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2018, driving the No. 95 Dumont Jets/Procore, Procore ...
for the win in a three-wide finish. With the win, he started in the 3rd position in the
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
. Kenseth did not lead a lap, but finished in 6th position.
With the new Chase format, Kenseth won no races, but still advances. His best finish was a 2nd-place at Atlanta after
Kasey Kahne
Kasey Kenneth Kahne (; born April 10, 1980) is an American dirt track racing driver and former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2018, driving the No. 95 Dumont Jets/Procore, Procore ...
passed him for the lead with fresh tires on the second Green-White-Checkered attempt. He led all drivers that had no wins in points.
Still with no wins, Kenseth made it past the first two elimination rounds.
During the second round at Charlotte, after a caution with 70 laps remaining,
Brad Keselowski
Bradley Aaron Keselowski (; born February 12, 1984) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and entrepreneur. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang for RFK Racing, a team he also ...
restarted 2nd and Kenseth did so 4th. Kenseth forced a three-wide situation, trying to pass Keselowski on the outside. Keselowski moved up to cause Kenseth to tap Keselowski's right-rear bumper which caused Kenseth to hit the wall. Kenseth fell back to 18th and went a lap down due to the damage he received. He made the lap back with being the lucky dog after another caution. While under caution, Kenseth slammed into Keselowski's right-front and damaged Keselowski's car due to being upset over their previous contact. On a restart with 2 laps remaining, Keselowski gave Kenseth's teammate,
Denny Hamlin
James Dennis Alan Hamlin (born November 18, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver and NASCAR team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He co-owns and oper ...
a push to get him going. Kenseth finished 19th and Keselowski did 16th. After the race, Hamlin brake-checked Keselowski, causing contact. Keselowski drove around Hamlin and went after Kenseth while he was entering pit road. Kenseth turned a little causing Keselowski to miss doing major damage to Kenseth's car. Keselowski hit Kenseth's door slightly trying to get retaliation for their earlier incident. After making contact with Kenseth, Keselowski's car unintentional bumped
Tony Stewart
Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is a ...
. Stewart then put his car in reverse and rammed Keselowski's car hard. After getting out of the cars, Hamlin tried to go after Keselowski, but was held back. Keselowski then walked away between two haulers when Kenseth charged between the haulers and physically attacked Keselowski. Keselowski's crew chief
Paul Wolfe
Paul Stuart Wolfe (born April 24, 1977) is an American NASCAR crew chief and former driver. The second son of Charles F. Wolfe, Jr. and Susan M. (Farmer) Wolfe. Wolfe graduated from Milford Central School in 1995. He competed in the NASCAR Bus ...
grabbed Kenseth to restrain him. When Kenseth's crew came over they pulled Wolfe off to restrain him and Kenseth. Kenseth's mechanic, Jesse Sanders, and crew chief, Jason Ratcliff, were called to the NASCAR hauler. Kenseth and Hamlin both were not penalized for the incident since no punches were thrown. Keselowski and Stewart were penalized by NASCAR because of the contact that they made on pit road. Both were fined and placed on probation for this incident.
The next week at Talladega, Kenseth tied a season's best finish of 2nd and moved on to the eliminator round while his current rival Brad Keselowski won the race.
In the third and last round of elimination, eight drivers remain.
At Martinsville, Kenseth came into a turn going very fast, causing his car to wheel-hop. He hit
Kevin Harvick
Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing.
Harvick is the 2014 Cup Series champio ...
hard, who's still in the Chase, causing Harvick to spin. Harvick hit the wall hard and fell 42 laps back. After hitting Harvick, a sideways Kenseth was bumped by
Tony Stewart
Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is a ...
and straightened Kenseth out of his spin with no more damage. Laps later, after Harvick had returned to the track, he saw Kenseth coming behind him. Harvick, purposely checked-up trying to smash up Kenseth's radiator. Kenseth saw what Harvick was doing and checked-up enough to avoid serious damage. Kenseth still finished in 6th place and is in 4th place of the Chase. Harvick finished in 33rd putting Kenseth 28 points down and swore that if this race is the cause of him not making it further into the Chase, that he was going to cause Kenseth not to make it either.
At Texas, Kenseth won his second pole of the year, but finished 25th.
At Phoenix, Kenseth started 5th. He led no laps and finished 3rd and was eliminated from the Chase, trailing 4th place by three points.
At
Homestead
Homestead may refer to:
*Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses
*Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres
*Homestead principle, a legal concept th ...
, the last race of the season, Kenseth still led no laps and finished 6th. He finished 7th place in the standings. However, the same weekend, Kenseth was able to salvage his year by winning the
2014 Ford EcoBoost 300 for his final Xfinity Series win of his career.
2015
![Matt Kenseth burns down the house at Thunder Valley](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Matt_Kenseth_burns_down_the_house_at_Thunder_Valley.JPG)
Kenseth started the
2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
The 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 67th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 44th modern-era Cup season. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Sprint Unlimited exhibition race, th ...
season by winning the
Sprint Unlimited
The Busch Light Clash is an annual pre-season NASCAR Cup Series exhibition event held in February before the season-opening Daytona 500. The event was held each year at Daytona International Speedway since the race's inception in 1979 until 2022, ...
for the first time in his career, the first win by the newly redesigned 2015 Camry. He started the race in 16th, led 21 laps and held off
Martin Truex Jr.
Martin Lee Truex Jr. (born June 29, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He is the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Serie ...
for the victory. During the
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
he started and finished thirty-fifth after being involved in an accident on lap 41. Over the next few weeks, he had his ups and downs. Kenseth won the pole position and returned to victory lane at
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
to end a 51-race winless streak. Several races later, Kenseth won his second pole of the year in the
Coca-Cola 600
The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960, was also the first on ...
. On a late caution, Kenseth refused to pit during the final caution of the race, which helped him record a fourth-place finish. In the
Toyota/Save Mart 350
The Toyota/Save Mart 350 is a stock car racing event in the NASCAR Cup Series that has been held annually at Sonoma Raceway at Sears Point in Sonoma, California since 1989. The race has been known as the Toyota/Save Mart 350 since 2007.
The ra ...
, Kenseth qualified third, his best starting position on a road course.
At
Pocono Raceway
Pocono Raceway (formerly Pocono International Raceway), also known as ''The Tricky Triangle'', is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. It is the site of three NASCAR national series races and an ARCA M ...
, Kenseth qualified seventh and took the lead on the final lap after several drivers ran out of fuel to win his first race at the track and his second win of the season. He qualified twenty-sixth and finished in fourth at
Watkins Glen International
Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track located in the town of Dix just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the hom ...
, his first top-five finish at the track. In the
Pure Michigan 400
The NASCAR Cup Series has held stock car racing, stock car races annually at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan since 1969. Traditionally, the track held two Cup Series races, one in June, around Father's Day weekend and anothe ...
, Kenseth won his third pole and third race of the year. The win moved him to twentieth on the all-time wins list, passing
Dale Jarrett
Dale Arnold Jarrett (born November 26, 1956) is a former American race car driver and current commentator for NBC. He is best known for winning the Daytona 500 three times (in 1993, 1996, and 2000) and winning the NASCAR Winston Cup Series champio ...
,
Fireball Roberts
Edward Glenn "Fireball" Roberts Jr. (January 20, 1929July 2, 1964) was an American stock car racer.
Background
Roberts was born in Tavares, Florida, and raised in Apopka, Florida, where he was interested in both auto racing and baseball. He was ...
and
Kyle Busch
Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-t ...
with 34 career wins. During the final race of the regular season, Kenseth started second and led 352 of 400 laps to win his fourth race of the season. The win tied Kenseth with Kyle Busch and
Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, ...
for the most wins entering the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
In the first race of the Chase at Chicago, Kenseth started 12th. He led one lap to receive a bonus point with a fifth-place finish. During the second race of the Chase at New Hampshire, race leader
Kevin Harvick
Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing.
Harvick is the 2014 Cup Series champio ...
ran out of fuel with 3 laps to go which allowed Kenseth to take the lead. He would go on to win his fifth race of the year and advances to the second round of the Chase. In the next race at Dover, because of rain, Kenseth was given the pole position for being the points leader. Kenseth led twenty-five laps and finished seventh to retain the points lead. During the
Hollywood Casino 400
The Hollywood Casino 400 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. This race is the second of ten races in the Cup Series playoffs; since 2022, it is the second race of the Round of 16.
NBC has the ...
, he led the most laps, but with five laps to go he was unable to keep
Joey Logano
Joseph Thomas Logano (born May 24, 1990), is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske, and part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Seri ...
behind him. Logano purposely made contact with Kenseth, causing him to spin out, knocking him out of a position in the Eliminator Round, that Logano was already qualified for. At
Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed “'Dega”, and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base ...
, Kenseth started in the second row of the grid. However, on the final green-white-checkered finish Kenseth crashed and finished twenty-sixth, prompting his elimination in the Contender Round.
Feud with Joey Logano
At Martinsville, Kenseth was suspended for two races after a controversial wreck during the race.
Kenseth, who spent most of the race in the top ten, was involved in a crash, where
Brad Keselowski
Bradley Aaron Keselowski (; born February 12, 1984) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and entrepreneur. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang for RFK Racing, a team he also ...
hit him after breaking a tie rod midway through the race. Kenseth lost nine laps for repairs. When he came back on to the track, he intentionally wrecked race leader Logano in retaliation for Logano spinning him out of the lead two weeks earlier at Kansas. The fans went wild with applause and cheers in reaction. Kenseth was immediately disqualified for his actions. After the race, he was summoned to the NASCAR hauler. He was later suspended for two races with probation for six months. Car owner
Joe Gibbs
Joe Jackson Gibbs (born November 25, 1940) is an American auto racing team owner and former professional football coach. In football, he was head coach for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) from 1981 to 1992, and a ...
appealed, citing an unprecedented and unfair penalty. On appeal, the probation period was reduced from six months to December 31, but the two race suspension was upheld by both the appeals panel and the Final Appeals officer Bryan Moss.
After the suspension was over, NASCAR president
Brian France
Brian Zachary France (born August 2, 1962) is an American businessman and the former CEO and chairman of NASCAR. He served in the post from 2003 to 2018, following his grandfather (and NASCAR co-founder) Bill France Sr. and father Bill Jr., in ...
summoned Kenseth and Logano for a meeting to resolve any further issues. Kenseth's original explanation was that a tire went down and caused him to crash into Logano, but he later admitted following his suspension that it was deliberate and had no remorse for his actions. Kenseth's actions had ultimately caused Logano to miss the final round of the Chase, due to Logano finishing badly at Texas and not winning the rain-shortened
Quicken Loans Race For Heroes 500 at Phoenix.
Return to Homestead
![Kenseth 20 (23519875065)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Kenseth_20_%2823519875065%29.jpg)
During his suspension, Kenseth was substituted by young hotshot
Erik Jones
Erik Benjamin Jones (born May 30, 1996) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Petty GMS. His nicknames are EJ, his initials, and That Jo ...
who recorded commendable finishes for a rookie, 12th and 19th. In both races the fans erupted with applause in support for Kenseth when, at Texas,
Joey Logano
Joseph Thomas Logano (born May 24, 1990), is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske, and part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Seri ...
cut a tire and spun out to finish 40th. At Phoenix, he finished 3rd knocking himself out of the Chase.
During his return at
Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kenseth started nineteenth and finished seventh to record his twentieth top-ten finish of the season. His teammate
Kyle Busch
Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-t ...
went on to win the championship for 2015. Kenseth ended up finishing 15th in the standings.
2016
Kenseth started out his season with a promising race in the
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
. He led 40 laps in the waning stages in the race. He took the white flag to start the final lap, but was passed by teammate
Denny Hamlin
James Dennis Alan Hamlin (born November 18, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver and NASCAR team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He co-owns and oper ...
and
Martin Truex Jr.
Martin Lee Truex Jr. (born June 29, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He is the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Serie ...
Kenseth's attempt at blocking backfired as he went sideways and lost several positions. Kenseth finished 14th while Hamlin edged Truex to the stripe to win the closest finish in the race's history. One week later in the Atlanta race, he was tagged for "improper fueling" during a green flag pit stop and was forced to serve a pass-through penalty.
He was given the black flag with the white cross marks for not pitting within three laps.
After serving that penalty, he ended up in 31st two-laps down.
After the race, he said "I got black-flagged for some type of pit road penalty and I didn’t know it and pitted the lap they told me to do a pass through – I'm assuming they were black flagging us before that and they pulled our card. I never heard anything about it or at least saw the flag or anything, so I came when they told me to come and I guess they must have penalized us a couple laps or something. I don’t really know. I haven’t really seen it.”
However, Kenseth did go on to finish 19th. He finished 37th at Las Vegas after being involved in a multi-car wreck with
Chase Elliott
William Clyde "Chase" Elliott II (born November 28, 1995) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. He won the 2014 NAS ...
,
Kurt Busch
Kurt Thomas Busch (born August 4, 1978) is an American professional auto racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry TRD for 23XI Racing. He is the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion and the ...
, and
Carl Edwards
Carl Michael Edwards II (born August 15, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. Prior to that, he drove the No. 9 ...
late in the race.
At Talladega, Kenseth started 4th and led 39 of the first 71 laps and got caught up in a late-race wreck with
Joey Logano
Joseph Thomas Logano (born May 24, 1990), is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske, and part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Seri ...
and
Danica Patrick
Danica Sue Patrick (; born March 25, 1982) is an American former professional racing driver. She is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel car racing—her victory in the 2008 Indy Japan 300 is the only win by a woman ...
causing Kenseth to barrel-roll onto his roof. Kenseth exchanged words with Logano after the race, accusing Logano of shoving him off the track just before the wreck happened. In a post-race interview, Kenseth warned Logano that "You're going to race me right before I'm finished racing." However, a week later, both sides would settle their disputes with a phone call.
At the restart of a caution at Dover, Kenseth started on the inside front row next to
Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, ...
. Johnson looked to have gotten a great start but couldn't shift into 4th gear, causing an 18-car wreck. Kenseth made it through, then the red flag came out. With 10 laps remaining, Kenseth was having a hard time holding off
Kyle Larson
Kyle Miyata Larson (born July 31, 1992) is an American professional auto racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. Larson is the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champ ...
. But when 3rd position driver
Chase Elliott
William Clyde "Chase" Elliott II (born November 28, 1995) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. He won the 2014 NAS ...
challenged Larson, Kenseth then had no trouble winning the race to end a 17-race winless streak.
At the first New Hampshire race of the season, Kenseth held off Tony Stewart for his second win of the season, and his 38th career win. This win also makes it 2 wins in a row at New Hampshire. The win moves Kenseth into 19th place on the all-times wins list passing
Bobby Isaac
Robert Vance Isaac (August 1, 1932 – August 14, 1977) was an American stock car racing driver. Isaac made his first NASCAR appearance in 1961, and quickly forged a reputation of one of the toughest competitors of the 1960s and 1970s. He was most ...
and teammate
Kyle Busch
Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-t ...
.
After the race, Joe Gibbs Racing was docked 15 owner and driver points Wednesday for failing postrace inspection at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. His car failed the Laser Inspection Station (LIS). NASCAR assessed a P3 penalty that included the loss of 15 points, which drops Kenseth from eighth to ninth in the point standings. Crew chief Jason Ratcliff was also fined $25,000.
In the Chase race at Phoenix, Kenseth was leading late in the race, but on a late-race restart, Kenseth wrecked with
Alex Bowman
Alex Michael Bowman (born April 25, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports, part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Seri ...
, ending his championship hopes. Kenseth would go on to finish 5th in points.
2017: Final Season At JGR
![Matt Kenseth New Hampshire 2017](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Matt_Kenseth_New_Hampshire_2017.jpg)
Kenseth lost sponsor
Dollar General
Dollar General Corporation is an American chain of variety stores headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. As of April 11, 2022, Dollar General operates 18,216 stores in the continental United States.
The company began in 1939 as a family-own ...
prior to the season, leading Dewalt to up their number of races to a 15-race primary sponsor.
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravity, gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another.
Tide t ...
also came on board for 3 races starting at the spring Phoenix race, though they sponsored an extra race at Martinsville in the spring because the team had no other sponsor for the race. Peak and BlueDef joined the team for Las Vegas and Auto Club.
Circle K
Circle K Stores, Inc. is a Canadian chain of convenience stores headquartered in Laval, Quebec, Canada. It is owned by the multinational company Couche-Tard. Founded in 1951 in El Paso, Texas, the company filed for bankruptcy protection in 1 ...
joined the team mid season to sponsor 6 races during the season starting at the spring Richmond race, where Kenseth was able to get his first pole and first stage win of the season, though Circle K ended up sponsoring an extra race due to the team having no other sponsor. Despite these deals, the 20 team still had to use Toyotacare as a fill-in sponsor at the spring Texas race and the spring Dover race. After a slow start to the season, Kenseth picked up his performance and came back to contend with
Clint Bowyer
Clinton Edward Bowyer (born May 30, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and commentator for ''NASCAR on Fox''.
He competed in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2005 to 2020, driving for Richard Childress Racing for eight yea ...
and
Joey Logano
Joseph Thomas Logano (born May 24, 1990), is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske, and part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Seri ...
for a spot in the playoffs starting with a second-place finish at
Watkins Glen, the highest finish of his career on a road course. He won the pole for the regular-season finale at the
2017 Federated Auto Parts 400 and made his 13th Career appearance in the Playoffs despite finishing 38th. Kenseth led most of stage 1 until he locked up the brakes and brought out a caution. During the final stage,
Danica Patrick
Danica Sue Patrick (; born March 25, 1982) is an American former professional racing driver. She is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel car racing—her victory in the 2008 Indy Japan 300 is the only win by a woman ...
spun after contact with
Austin Dillon
Austin Reed Dillon (born April 27, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver and reality TV show actor. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing. ...
. While under caution, Kenseth got into Clint Bowyer as the field stacked up due an ambulance at the entry of pit road. Still, he managed to beat out Bowyer, Erik Jones, and Joey Logano for the last Playoff spot. Had Logano (who finished 2nd) beaten
Kyle Larson
Kyle Miyata Larson (born July 31, 1992) is an American professional auto racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. Larson is the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champ ...
(who won) on the final restart, Kenseth would've missed the Playoffs for the first time since 2009.
On July 11, 2017, JGR announced that Kenseth would be replaced in the No. 20 by
Erik Jones
Erik Benjamin Jones (born May 30, 1996) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Petty GMS. His nicknames are EJ, his initials, and That Jo ...
in 2018, leaving Kenseth with no 2018 ride. As a result, Kenseth eventually announced plans "to take some time off" from the sport on November 4, 2017.
With two races remaining for 2017 season, Kenseth had yet to win a race. He was knocked out of the playoffs when an 8th pitcrew member came over the wall to help fix his car that was involved in a wreck. He was disqualified from the race and knocked out of the playoffs. He was still without a ride for the 2018 season. Offers did come to him, but from lower unknown owners to drive for them. He turned them down.
At Phoenix, Kenseth passed
Chase Elliott
William Clyde "Chase" Elliott II (born November 28, 1995) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. He won the 2014 NAS ...
with 9 laps remaining to win his first race of the year, also ending his 51 race winless streak. “Yeah, it’s really not describable,” Kenseth said. “With only two (races) left, I didn’t think we probably had a good chance of getting back to Victory Lane. It’s been, I don’t know how many races – somebody’s probably going to tell me tonight – but it”s been at least 50 or 60, so it’s been a long time. We’ve had a lot of close ones. Just felt like it was never meant to be, and today it was meant to be…. I’ve got to be honest with you, I never dreamed I’d win one of these races, so obviously I’ve been so incredibly blessed throughout my whole career.” This marked his 39th victory tying him with
Tim Flock
Julius Timothy Flock (May 11, 1924 – March 31, 1998) was an American stock car racer. He was a two-time NASCAR series champion. He was a brother to NASCAR's second female driver Ethel Mobley and Bob and Fonty Flock.
NASCAR career
Tim Flo ...
for 19th place on the all-times wins list.
DeWalt sponsored Kenseth at Homestead for his final race with Joe Gibbs Racing, with his car resembling his rookie paint scheme from 2000. Kenseth finished in 8th place in the race and ultimately ended up in 7th place in the official points standings.
2018
![Matt Kenseth Dover 2018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Matt_Kenseth_Dover_2018.png)
In April 2018, Roush Fenway Racing announced Kenseth would be returning to the team to drive the No. 6 car on a part-time basis, splitting the car with then-full-time driver
Trevor Bayne
Trevor Mitchell Bayne (born February 19, 1991) is an American professional stock car racing driver, dirt racing driver, team owner, and businessman. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 18 Toyota Supra for Joe ...
. Kenseth received sponsorship from
Wyndham Rewards for a seven-race schedule beginning with the
KC Masterpiece 400
The AdventHealth 400 is a NASCAR Cup Series race held at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. Kansas received a second date beginning in 2011 part of a NASCAR schedule realignment; with the other one being the Hollywood Casino 400, the thirt ...
at Kansas.
For the Kansas race, his first since November 2017, Kenseth started at the rear as he was unable to set a qualifying time after not getting through inspection. He finished 36th after being collected in a crash on lap 254.
Due to his 2003 Championship (in addition to winning the 2004 event and the fall race at Phoenix in 2017), Kenseth was eligible to participate in the
Monster Energy All Star Race which was held on May 19, 2018. Kenseth started from the pole and finished 14th. After a string of mediocre results, Kenseth hit his stride near the end of summer, winning the second stage of the
2018 Brickyard 400 and finishing 12th. Kenseth scored his first top-10 of the season at the
fall Phoenix race with a seventh-place finish. In his final race for RFR at Homestead, Kenseth finished 6th.
2019
![2019 Slinger Nationals Podium Ty Majeski Matt Kenseth John DeAngelis](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/2019_Slinger_Nationals_Podium_Ty_Majeski_Matt_Kenseth_John_DeAngelis.jpg)
Kenseth made his first start since Homestead in a Super Late Model at the Slinger Nationals in July 2019.
He extended his race-record victories to eight by passing former Roush teammate
Ty Majeski
Tyler B. Majeski (born August 18, 1994) is an American professional stock car racing driver who mainly competes in late model racing. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 66 Ford F-150 for ThorSport Rac ...
on the final lap.
Kenseth served as the grand marshal of the
2019 CTECH Manufacturing 180
The 2019 CTECH Manufacturing 180 is a NASCAR Xfinity Series race held on August 24, 2019, at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Contested over 45 laps on the 4.048-mile (6.515 km) road course, it was the 23rd race of the 2019 NASCAR Xf ...
at
Road America
Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Champ ...
. He also appeared in a coffee-table interview with
Kyle Petty
Kyle Eugene Petty (born June 2, 1960) is an American former stock car racing driver, and current racing commentator. He is the son of racer Richard Petty, grandson of racer Lee Petty, and father of racer Adam Petty, who was killed in a crash dur ...
on
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...
, in Petty's series, ''Coffee with Kyle.''
2020
On April 27, 2020, Kenseth was announced as the replacement for
Kyle Larson
Kyle Miyata Larson (born July 31, 1992) is an American professional auto racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. Larson is the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champ ...
in the No. 42
Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
for
Chip Ganassi Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization with teams competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, International Motor Sports Association, IMSA WeatherTech ...
for the remainder of the season after Larson was released for using a racial slur at an
iRacing
''iRacing'' is a subscription-based online racing simulation video game developed and published by iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations in 2008. All in-game sessions are hosted on the publisher's servers. The game simulates real world cars, tr ...
event two weeks prior. In addition, NASCAR granted Kenseth a waiver for eligibility in the 2020 playoffs.
Kenseth finished 10th on May 17 at
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...
in his return, his 330th career top-ten. He scored a second-place finish on July 5 at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United State ...
. However, it turned out to be his only top-five and final top-ten finish of the season.
On September 21, Chip Ganassi Racing announced that
Ross Chastain
Ross Lee Chastain (born December 4, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series driving the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing Team. He is the older brother of NASCAR Camp ...
would replace Kenseth in 2021. Kenseth finished 25th at the season finale at Phoenix (the site of his final victory) and 28th in the final standings.
During a November 18 interview with the ''
Wisconsin State Journal
The ''Wisconsin State Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Madison, Wisconsin by Lee Enterprises. The newspaper, the second largest in Wisconsin, is primarily distributed in a 19 county region in south-central Wisconsin. As of September ...
'', Kenseth revealed "with almost 100 percent certainty" that he had no intention of continuing full-time NASCAR racing, instead focusing on late models and sports cars.
2023 Hall Of Fame
On May 4, 2022, it was announced that Matt Kenseth, along with
Hershel McGriff
Hershel Eldridge McGriff Sr. (born December 14, 1927) is an American professional stock car racing driver. A long-time competitor in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, formerly known as the Winston West Series, he won the series' 1986 championship, a ...
and
Kirk Shelmerdine
Edward Kirk Shelmerdine V (born March 8, 1958) is an American stock car racing driver and former championship-winning crew chief for Dale Earnhardt.
Crew chief
After spending his early NASCAR career as an engineer for Hylton Engineering, in 1984 ...
, would be part of the
NASCAR Hall Of Fame
The NASCAR Hall of Fame, located in Charlotte, North Carolina, honors drivers who have shown expert skill at NASCAR driving, all-time great crew chiefs and owners, broadcasters and other major contributors to competition within the sanctioning ...
Class Of 2023
Personal life
![Matt vs Ross Kenseth 2012 Slinger Nationals](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Matt_vs_Ross_Kenseth_2012_Slinger_Nationals.jpg)
Kenseth is the son of Roy and Nicola Sue Kenseth. The name Kenseth goes back to the 1850s when his ancestors came to Wisconsin. Tosten Eriksen Kjenset-Ødegard came over from County
Oppland
Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The co ...
in Norway and settled in
Deerfield, Wisconsin
Deerfield is a village in Dane County, Wisconsin. The population was 2,319 at the time of the 2010 census. The village is located within the Town of Deerfield. It is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area. Towns and villages near Dee ...
.
In 2000, Kenseth married Katie Martin, also from Cambridge. Kenseth has a son,
Ross Kenseth
Ross Kenseth (born May 25, 1993) is an American stock car racing driver who currently competes part-time in the Blizzard Series. He is the son of 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion Matt Kenseth. He has competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity ...
, from a previous relationship. Matt and Katie have four daughters: Kaylin Nicola, born on July 6, 2009, two days after Kenseth finished eighth in the
Coke Zero 400
The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Daytona International Speedway. First held in 1959, the event consists of 160 laps, , and is the second of two major stock car events held at Daytona on the Cup Series cir ...
at Daytona; Grace Katherine, born on February 22, 2011, two days after the
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
; Clara Mae, born on March 25, 2014, two days after the
Auto Club 400
The Pala Casino 400 is a 400-mile (643.737 km) NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. It is the second race of the Cup Series season (after the Daytona 500) and has been since 2022 as well ...
; and Mallory Karen, born on December 20, 2017. Like his father, Ross also raced, driving in
legends cars
A legend is a historical narrative, a symbolic representation of folk belief.
Legend(s) or The Legend(s) may also refer to:
Narrative
* Urban legend, a widely repeated story of dubious truth
* A fictitious identity used in espionage
Books, co ...
and
late model
A late model car is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. (An early model car or classic car is a car old enough to be of historical interest; there is no usual intermediate term.)
The precise definition ...
s in Wisconsin. Ross would later compete in ARCA and NASCAR. On July 15, 2018, Kenseth became a grandfather when Ross' wife Amber gave birth to a girl, Lexi. On April 8, 2021, Kenseth's grandson, Colt Matthew was born.
Kenseth ran the
2022 Boston Marathon
The 2022 Boston Marathon was a marathon race held in Boston, Massachusetts, on April 18, 2022. It was the 126th official running of the race, and 124th time it was run on course (excluding the virtual event of 2020, and the ekiden of 1918). The ...
and finished 3,576th overall and 141st in the Men's 50-54 division, with a time of 3:01:40.
![Matt Kenseth Museum Cambridge Wisconsin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Matt_Kenseth_Museum_Cambridge_Wisconsin.jpg)
Kenseth is a fan of the metal band
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
, and named his cat after drummer
Lars Ulrich
Lars Ulrich (; ; born 26 December 1963) is a Danish musician best known as the drummer and co-founder of American heavy metal band Metallica. The son and grandson respectively of tennis players Torben and Einer Ulrich, he played tennis in his ...
. He is also a fan of the
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
.
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Cup Series
=Daytona 500
=
Xfinity Series
Season still in progress.
Ineligible for series championship points.
24 Hours of Daytona
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
)
International Race of Champions
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)
Superstar Racing Experience
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
)
* – Most laps led. 1 – Heat 1 winner. 2 – Heat 2 winner.
See also
*
List of all-time NASCAR Cup Series winners
The following is a list compiling the total number of career victories in NASCAR Cup Series competition. The list recognizes "Cup" victories under the following auspices:
* Strictly Stock (1949)
*Grand National Series (1950–1970)
*Winston Cup ...
*
List of Daytona 500 winners
This is a list of Daytona 500 winners. The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is one of four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule. The first ...
*
List of NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race drivers
The following drivers competed in the NASCAR All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway (1985, 1987–2019), Atlanta Motor Speedway (1986), Bristol Motor Speedway (2020), and Texas Motor Speedway (2021-Present). In gold the drivers who won the NASCA ...
*
List of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions
The NASCAR Cup Series Drivers' Championship is awarded by the chairman of NASCAR to the most successful NASCAR Cup Series racing car driver over a season, as determined by a NASCAR rules and regulations#Championship points system, points system bas ...
*
List of people from Wisconsin
This is a list of notable people from the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The person's hometown is in parentheses.
Art and literature
;A–G
* Frank Ackerman (1946–2019), economist, author, co-founder and editor of ''Dollars & Sense'' mag ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenseth, Matt
Living people
American people of Norwegian descent
1972 births
Racing drivers from Wisconsin
24 Hours of Daytona drivers
NASCAR drivers
American Speed Association drivers
ARCA Midwest Tour drivers
International Race of Champions drivers
NASCAR Cup Series champions
The Home Depot people
RFK Racing drivers
Joe Gibbs Racing drivers
Chip Ganassi Racing drivers
NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees
Multimatic Motorsports drivers