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BRISTOL, Tenn. – As he battled with Erik Jones on track Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, Matt Kenseth wasn’t worrying about the fact that a Jones win could potentially knock him out of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Rather, he couldn’t help but think about the rookie that he was racing hard with for the lead.
That it was the 21-year-old Furniture Row Racing driver who would be piloting his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota next season.
“I was more thinking about ‘That’s my replacement, I better run him down and pass him and show him that I can still do it better than he can,'” Kenseth said on pit road with a laugh after finishing fourth.
“It’s human nature,” he elaborated. “Whoever you’re catching for the lead, you always think something about them, right? If you’re catching Kyle, you’re thinking ‘Oh he won those two races, I hope I can beat him, he’s the best,’ or whatever. You’re always thinking something. At least I do.
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“When you get when you can sniff the victory, your mindset changes a little bit. It’s not just other cars, it’s the leader, so you (think) things like that every once in a while.”
In a sense, it was almost symbolic of the changing of the guard, the way the pair was racing one another hard — especially when Jones lightly bumped Kenseth’s No. 20 Toyota, nudging him for the lead.
Almost to say, “I’m here now.”
“I think it was a spirited battle,” Joe Gibbs Racing team owner Joe Gibbs said on Kenseth-Jones fight for the lead. “I think tonight was a big night for both of them. I think they fought extremely hard.”
After the race, the two were together again – this time seated side-by-side in a post-race press conference.
And the bumping was brought up.
“Did you hit me?” Kenseth asked Jones.
“Just barely,” Jones replied.
“Didn’t remember,” Kenseth said lightheartedly. “Shouldn’t have brought it up. Now I’m mad. You guys laugh, wait till we leave here.
“Takes my ride and runs into me,” he then quipped.
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But while Kenseth wants to be competitive and continue racing, he also seems to have come to terms with the fact that Jones will be the one driving the No. 20 Toyota next season.
Kenseth’s exact future in racing is uncertain, yes. But he’s OK with that.
“I don’t really have anything to be unhappy about,” Kenseth said with Jones still sitting beside him. “I mean, I should say, ‘Knock on wood,’ because things can turn on dime. But my life couldn’t be much better. I’ve never really been in a better place. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier. There’s more to life than racing.
“Yeah, I wish it kind of maybe would have went down a different way or maybe I had another year or two there. That’s not the way it worked out. I think everything happens or doesn’t happen for a reason. It will all become clear.”