Kenseth's inconsistency takes him out of character

When the voice came over the radio in the opening laps of this past season's Daytona 500, Matt Kenseth heard someone new in his ear for the first time since his Cup Series debut.

Matt Kenseth led a season-high 136 laps at New Hampshire in the fall.

Chip Bolin took over crew chief duties for Kenseth and the No. 17 Ford this season, replacing longtime shot-caller Robbie Reiser atop the pit box after Reiser was promoted to an organizational role at Roush Fenway Racing. But Bolin wasn't a new kid on the block; he began with Kenseth's team back in 1999.

Kenseth's bigger hurdle, however, was controlling the roller-coaster.

There was very little middle ground for Kenseth throughout the season: If he didn't finish top-10 (which he had 20 total for fourth-most), then he was 35th or worse. In fact, Kenseth had almost as many finishes of 35th or worse (eight) as he did top-fives (nine). He had a three-race stretch in April when he didn't finish better than 38th, and a two-race stint of 39th and 40th in September.

Inconsistency ruled the Chase, too. A pair of top-fives in Races 2 and 3 were sandwiched by three crashes. Three top-10s late in the Chase were followed by finishes of 15th and 25th.

The good side of the ups an downs did land Kenseth a Chase spot, yet the bad kept him out of Victory Lane for the first time since the 2001 season -- also the last time he finished outside the top 10 in points. Of course, Kenseth followed up 2001 with five victories the next year and a championship two years later. The work now lies with Kenseth to figure out if 2008 was part of a bell curve, or possibly the start of a repeat in history.

Camping World RV 400 at Dover International Speedway -- Kenseth began the Chase, like the rest of the winless drivers, just 80 points behind leader Kyle Busch. But after crashing and finishing 40th at New Hampshire, he held 12th place by himself, 177 points back of the lead. How did he respond? With his strongest performance of the season. Kenseth qualified eighth at Dover, but quickly got out front and led a season-high 136 laps on his way to a second-place finish behind teammate Greg Biffle. It propelled him to another top-five the following week at Kansas, although the two-race string screeched to a halt once Kenseth got caught in the Big One at Talladega and another crash the next week at Charlotte, neither of his own doing.

Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway -- Kenseth entered the season's eighth race 13th in points and coming off a top-10 finish at Texas. But the bright spot faded in the desert. Kenseth blew a right-front tire after battling a tight car, and spent 40 laps in the garage as a result. He finished 38th and dropped to 15th in points. If there's such thing as momentum, it killed Kenseth's as the following two weeks at Talladega and Richmond ended in finishes of 41st and 38th, respectively, and dropped him all the way to 22nd in points. It was a hole Kenseth eventually dug out of to qualify for the Chase, but it set the table for a bad-luck kind of season.

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