Chat Transcript: Matt Kenseth

The following is a transcript of Matt Kenseth's chat with NASCAR.com on Feb. 3, 2003:

MattKenseth: Welcome back to NASCAR.com! I am glad to see you all back here and I am looking forward to taking your questions.

Question from TheCakeman: Hi Matt, congratulations on a great year in '03. I was just wondering if anyone asked you about you getting your Hummer stuck in the mud behind your dad's house? What was the story behind that anyway? I hope you enjoyed your birthday cake by the way!

MattKenseth: I just wanted to see if it could get through the mud with it, but everything was already frozen, so some of my friends and I just got it buried down there. That was really the whole story! Haha

Question from Mallory: Matt, what is the biggest thing you learned in 2003?

MattKenseth: That is a hard one to answer. Probably just when you are having a bad day you need to learn how to turn it around into a decent day. I think we learned that lesson as a team last year.

Question from Buddylee: Hey Matt, I just wanted to know how you feel about the new point and playoff system this year?

MattKenseth: I think there will be good and bad things about it. It all depends on what position you are in after 26 races. I think the 3rd-through-10th positions in the points will love it. I think that if the guy that is leading has a big lead over second, or if second has a big points lead over third, they will not like it because they will be giving a lot of points back.

	Crew chief Robbie Reiser and Kenseth. Credit: Autostock

I think it will be good for the fans, and good for the drivers from 3rd-through-10th to have a shot at the championship, so it will definitely make the last ten races of the season very exciting.

Question from bj424: Hi Matt! Congratulations on your championship. With this new points system, do you feel that drivers will become more aggressive and that at the last ten races teammates will be blocking others to help out their guy? B. Janousek Norfolk, NE

MattKenseth: I don't think so. I think the only time you will see people being more aggressive will be for that 10th transfer spot. If there are a lot of guys running tight for point positions 9-through-14 working towards the transfer spot, it could get more aggressive. Drivers are just going to have to run well and be consistent, so you will have to work well all year long to have a shot at the end during those last ten races anyway.

Question from rebeccamae50: Congratulations on your first championship. Champions get to a lot of things during their reign. What is the best part of being champion and what is the most exciting thing that you have gotten to do since being crowned champion?

MattKenseth: The most exciting part is being able to meet all the fans of our team, and that included the fan club party. I got to see how excited the fans all were. The neatest thing was going to the White House to meet the President and be recognized in NASCAR as part of the sport and the past champions. That was really the coolest part.

Question from mkzoomin17: Do you think the softer tires will reduce the amount of fuel mileage races?

MattKenseth: I think at certain tracks it will make more of a difference than at others, but at Texas they wont be able to give you a tire that would be soft enough to run during a whole fuel run because the track is so fast, but on tracks that have more wear on them, it will.

I think there will be certain tracks where it will come in to play more than others, but there should be a lot less than last year.

Question from BrianHone: What do you think of the direction new NASCAR CEO Brian France is taking NASCAR in?

MattKenseth: I think it is exciting. There haven't been this many changes in a single year since I have been around. It will be exciting the last ten races, and as far as the rest of the season, he isn't afraid to go in there and make changes, and that is pretty cool. To be able to grow this sport, you have to be willing to take chances and make changes, and he is definitely willing to do that.

Question from bluecamaroman: How do you think sponsors will react about only a certain amount of cars being able to run for the championship, and do you think a lot of cars will only get sponsorship for those first races?

MattKenseth: I don't know if that will really change much. That is something that the more I think about it, there hasn't been anyone that came from ten out and won it all. I don't think you are taking that away. You are taking away the leader's point lead and all the drivers will be bunched up, and you will take people out of the 10th spot.

It is a big deal to be in the top 10, but you aren't taking away a chance at the championship, so you are really giving more teams a chance to win it at the end.

Question from dewalt2front: Have the Ford engine shops found any more power out of the new engine??

	Credit: Autostock

MattKenseth: I think they will eventually. To get the new cylinder head worked in is still a few months down the road. They still need to do some R&D and we wont have it on the track for a while, but with Yates and Roush putting info together, we have found more power than before. I am really excited about that, and when the new cylinder head comes out, it will be even better.

Question from macydog: Matt, how do you feel about NASCAR hiring an EMT to travel with NASCAR? As a paramedic I am anxious to see how you feel about it. It would be my dream job! Julie Suiter, South Point, Ohio

MattKenseth: That is one of those things that as a driver, you hope you never need them! But as NASCAR continues to make us (and the cars) safer, it puts your mind at a bit more ease. This is a dangerous sport, but NASCAR is taking the measures to make this sport safer and comforting, and having the medical staff the same at each racetrack is nice to have. They will know you and your history and that is cool.

Question from Stiffy: Are you going to run the Smirnoff Ice car this year?

MattKenseth: Yes, we will run it five or six races, and it is all in the second half in the year. I believe the first race is the 600 at Charlotte.

Question from loudnatalies: What do you see as the biggest challenge for younger drivers in the sport?

MattKenseth: It doesn't seem like they are having a challenge! They are getting younger and younger and better and better! The biggest thing is getting used to the system. For me, it was getting used to the little things in the system, like getting used to the officials, finding where you enter and exit the tracks, etc. That was the most difficult thing was getting used to all the little things.

Question from 17sDEFan: Matt. Thanks for a great 2003 season. I met you a few years ago Dover when you did a drawing for the state lottery. Are you bothered that there wasn't any talk of the need for a playoff after you led the 2002 season in wins, but didn't win the championship?

MattKenseth: Nah, I think it is something they have been working on for a while. They have been looking at how to spice up the end of the season for a while. Last year we just didn't have any mechanical failures until the end of the year. There have been a lot of different changes in the sport, so this was a good year for that with the title sponsor changing.

Question from DaleJrGirl: Who do you think the rookie to look out for is this year?

MattKenseth: I don't know. They are all pretty good, and they all have good teams. I think that Brian Vickers has the highest expectations with running at Hendrick and winning the Busch championship. I also think Kasey Kahne has a good chance in the No. 9 car as well.

Question from GODsRebel: Of all the car-spec changes NASCAR has made this off-season, which has affected the Roush stables the most?

	President Bush meets with champion Kenseth in December. Credit: AP

MattKenseth: It is hard to tell until the season starts, but as far as the rules, the templates have tightened up the cars in certain areas so that should help us. I think the new nose and tail will also, but it wont be a big change. The spoiler being shorter will help us, especially for Mark Martin and Jeff Burton, as they are good at setting up their cars for long runs.

Question from 20_Fan1: Now that you have won a championship, what is the next biggest goal on your list?

MattKenseth: To win another one! My biggest goal is to win it under the different points system, and of course win more races. You always want to do better than the year before, or the race before, and I want to keep running up front and winning more races, and championships some day.

Question from gotspeed: I know you and Dale Jr. have been friends and competitors for many years. Have you ever considered being teammates in any ventures outside of the Nextel Cup?

MattKenseth: Not really. We've have talked about doing some stuff together before, but there are really just so many conflicts with car owners and manufacturers that we cant get it together. I think it would be hard to become a reality because of all the conflicts, but it would be fun to do someday!

Question from BRoberson: Matt, I am a huge fan of yours!! First of all I would like to say congratulations on last year's championship!! One of my questions is what do you think of Roush Racing joining forces with RYR, and do you think that could improve Ford's chances of winning?

MattKenseth: First thanks for the support! I am really excited about it. Yates has always been known for having great horsepower and Roush is strong in his engineering background. Ford is now combining all their efforts and we should be moving things forward really fast now. Everyone is consolidated into one team for Ford, and everyone should be doing a better job building engines for 8-9 teams. That has to be better than doing it separate, so it should be a really good thing going down the road.

Question from SVT_MAN: What do you think about the new Ford aero package? Also, did the new cylinder heads make the car feel livelier on the upper revs? In addition, do you know what Ford's plans are for stock cars, considering we are on the horizon of the Taurus being discontinued?

MattKenseth: The new aero will be a bit better, but not night and day. I haven't run any of the new engines for testing yet. I haven't run the new cylinder yet either. I am not sure about the new Taurus, nor do I know what is up coming, outside of what we have seen this year already. So I don't have any answers for you! Haha

Question from Fordguy17: Hey Matt, do you think it helped you or hurt you by racing in Wisconsin, with the majority racing coming from down south?

MattKenseth: I think it helped a lot. Up there you can run a lot of different race tracks and at a lot of different times during the week, and also in Wisconsin you make the faster qualifying cars move to the back. It totally helped my race career a lot by growing up and racing in Wisconsin.

Question from Jaymat: Matt, you are a member of a big multi-car operation. How long do you think small one-car operations will be around in Cup?

MattKenseth: Well, you see less and less of it all the time, and as the years go by, more and more "teams" are working together, like how we are combining our motor program. The more people consolidate, the harder it is on single car teams. It is cool to be able to work on your own cars and hold your secrets, but this is the way of the world like any business. Race teams are doing this to utilize their internal resources better.

Question from __wags: What did you think of the turnout for your fan club party and parade? I attended and all involved in the setup did an outstanding job.

MattKenseth: Yeah, it was awesome! My sister organized that and did a great job. Seeing all the people turn out was really amazing during the parade, and it was really cold out, but we had 3,000 people turn out! It was really neat to see all the fans out there and having everyone show up to support what we did last year.

Question from Butch: If your teammate Jeff Burton is unable to secure a full time sponsor for the year, what kind of message does that send to the rest of the drivers in the garage? He is a quality driver and still relatively young.

MattKenseth: I am not sure if it sends any message in the garage. Jeff will get a sponsor and he is a great driver. He finished second in the points before, he is a great spokesperson, and he has a quality program. I am sure he will get something soon.

Question from SmirnoffGurl8: What is the best advice you were given when you started racing in the NASCAR series and who was it from?

MattKenseth: I have been given a lot of advice, and from the time I got into the Busch Series, Mark Martin gave me a ton of advice for both on and off the track. Mark was a huge, huge help to me when I got going.

Question from Rapidspride: Matt, with the affiliation that music has had in NASCAR recently, and your love for Metallica, do you see a paint scheme in the future?

MattKenseth: That would be awesome if I could make that happen! That would be the coolest paint scheme I could ever have!

Question from Buddylee: What changes (if any) can we expect to see this year as you and your team shoot for a repeat? What do you need to focus on more this year?

MattKenseth: I just think we need to focus on running better. We ran well and competitively last year, but we also did a good job of not making a lot of mistakes that cost us decent finishes. We need to get better and stay ahead of our competition. We need to lead more laps and win more races.

Question from road_racer_32000: Who do you think will be the biggest surprise in racing in 2004?

MattKenseth: That is tough to say. Every year you try to look and pick your championship contenders, but you need to wait until 3-4 weeks in. My "Carolina Panthers" pick for the year is Kasey Kahne. A lot of people aren't talking about him, but he is a great driver and I think he is going to surprise a lot of people.

NASCAR_Mary: Matt, do you have any final thoughts?

MattKenseth: Thanks for all your support in 2003. We had a great time over the winter and I look forward to seeing everyone in Daytona next week!!