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Matt Kenseth through the years
By Staff Report | Thursday, November 12, 2020
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Matt Kenseth has enjoyed a long NASCAR career that included a Cup Series championship and a pair of Daytona 500 triumphs. Here's a look at Kenseth's career through the years.
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Kenseth made his debut in what is now called the Xfinity Series in 1996. After a partial season in '97 with car owner/crew chief Robbie Reiser, Kenseth broke through in a big way the next year. Kenseth landed his first national series victory at Rockingham Speedway, nudging aside Tony Stewart for the last-lap pass. Two more wins followed in 1998, leading Kenseth to a second-place finish behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the championship points.
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Kenseth's arc to NASCAR's top level paralleled that of Robbie Reiser, a fellow Wisconsinite. The two raced against each other on short tracks in the Midwest but joined forces in 1997 with Robbie Reiser as owner and crew chief. The two worked together for years, with both eventually making the move to Roush Fenway Racing.
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Before making the jump to the Cup Series, Kenseth kept winning in the Xfinity Series. This triumph at Darlington Raceway was the first of his four victories in 1999 on the way to a third-place result in the series standings.
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Team owner Jack Roush (seen here in 2006) groomed Kenseth for a Cup Series career, hiring him for five starts in 1999 before a full rookie campaign in 2000. Kenseth had already impressed with a sixth-place finish in his series debut in 1998, filling in at Dover International Speedway as Bill Elliott attended his father's funeral.
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Kenseth entered his first full-time premier series season in 2000 with another promising young driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Both drivers won races as newcomers, but Kenseth edged out Earnhardt for Rookie of the Year honors.
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That first top-division win for Kenseth was a crown jewel. Then a 28-year-old driver, Kenseth surged into contention late and became the first rookie to win the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
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Kenseth's yellow and black paint scheme became a familiar sight on Sundays, based on a DeWalt sponsorship that continued late in his career.
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Kenseth went winless in 2001, then rebounded to score five victories in 2002. The year after would prove to be one of the most consistent of his career. Kenseth prevailed in the third race of 2003, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He secured top-10 results in 25 of his 36 starts, logging an average finish of 10.2.
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Kenseth rode his reliability (with lead-lap finishes in all but five of the 36 races) to the 2003 championship, celebrating with his wife, Katie, while donning Roush's signature hat.
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Kenseth got quick work from his No. 17 team in 2004 on the way to his only win in NASCAR's All-Star Race. Kenseth led just five laps, overtaking Ryan Newman with four laps to go.
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After a three-victory campaign in 2004, Kenseth scored a single win the next year on a big stage. He won Bristol Motor Speedway's annual night race from the pole position, leading a whopping 415 of 500 laps.
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Kenseth sprang forth for another big year in 2006, winning four times, including this triumph at Auto Club Speedway.
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Kenseth takes a break in the Charlotte garage area during the 2006 season.
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Matt Kenseth repeated his Bristol Night Race victory in 2006, accumulating one of his four career wins at the Tennessee short track. Kenseth wound up just short of a second series title by season's end, finishing second behind first-time champion Jimmie Johnson.
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Kenseth endured some ups and downs in 2007 but finished strong. His closing kick included a streak of five consecutive top-five finishes capped by this win in the Homestead-Miami Speedway finale.
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Kenseth made the most of a winless 2008 by keeping his consistent performance going through the regular season. He qualified for the postseason, but three crashes in the first five weeks -- including this one at Talladega Superspeedway -- derailed any title hopes.
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Kenseth rebounded big time to open the 2009 season with his first victory in the Daytona 500. He led just seven laps in the rain-shortened race. Kenseth followed up his opening act with a victory the next week at Auto Club.
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Kenseth and wife Katie take a photo before the start of the 2009 All-Star Race.
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Long acknowledged for his droll, deadpan wit, Kenseth cuts up with former teammate Jeff Burton in the Dover garage in 2009. The two were teammates with the Roush organization from 2000-04.
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The 2010 season brought a new look to Kenseth's cars, with primary sponsorship from Crown Royal for all but five races.
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Kenseth celebrates one of his three 2011 wins with a smoky burnout at Dover. He added wins at Charlotte and Texas Motor Speedway with three pole positions, securing a fourth-place result in the series standings.
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Kenseth throws up his hands in mock exasperation during the 2011 Champion's Week festivities in Las Vegas as he sits alongside Carl Edwards.
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Kenseth added a second victory in the "Great American Race" in 2012, winning a rain-delayed Daytona 500 under prime-time Monday night lights. Kenseth edged Dale Earnhardt Jr. by .210 seconds in an overtime finish.
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Kenseth's No. 17 team found a sweet spot on restrictor-plate tracks in 2012, as he notched a Talladega triumph in the fall.
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Kenseth collected what would be his final victory in Roush Fenway equipment in October 2012 at Kansas Speedway. He rounded out the year seventh in points but was bound for a new destination in the offseason.
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Kenseth gets a grand introduction from Kyle Busch and teammate Denny Hamlin during the NASCAR preseason media tour's stop at Joe Gibbs Racing. Kenseth made the move to JGR's No. 20 Toyota in 2013, replacing Joey Logano.
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The move paired Kenseth with crew chief Jason Ratcliff for 2013, marking Ratcliff's second full season atop the pit box in NASCAR's premier series.
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The change in scenery did Kenseth some good as he prevailed at Las Vegas in just his third race for team owner Joe Gibbs. It signaled a hot start for the No. 20 team, which led multiple laps in 11 of the first 13 events.
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Kenseth's 2013 haul -- seven wins, three poles and a career-best laps led total -- included his first Darlington victory in the Southern 500. Kenseth ended his stellar campaign with a second-place result in the standings, just 19 points behind Jimmie Johnson.
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Kenseth's fortunes took a turn in 2014. Though his number of top-five and top-10 finishes were actually slightly up, he did not reach Victory Lane.
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Kenseth returned to a winning groove in 2015, claiming five wins to go along with four Busch Pole Awards. Those wins were capped by this trip to Victory Lane at New Hampshire Motor Speedwat during the postseason.
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Kenseth kept it going in 2016, notching his third career victory at Dover after a spirited late-race duel with Kyle Larson. He did his best "Miles the Monster" impression of the track mascot in Victory Lane.
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Kenseth won again at New Hampshire in July 2016, locking up his 38th career victory. The triumph moved him out of a tie with NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Isaac on the series' all-time win list.
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Kenseth began the 2017 campaign with the core of the No. 20 team intact but was hampered by six crash-related DNFs through the first 34 races. He flashed some qualifying speed, sweeping both Busch Pole Awards at Richmond Raceway.
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Late in the 2017 season came the news Kenseth would likely take a break from full-time competition after the season.
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Kenseth proved he had something left in the tank when he passed Chase Elliott en route to taking the checkered flag at Phoenix Raceway for his 39th victory in the Cup Series. Kenseth celebrated with a burnout after other drivers "bumped" his car in appreciation of his career.
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On April 25, 2018, Roush Fenway Racing announced Kenseth would return to Cup Series competition to pilot the No. 6 in 2018. He shared duties in the No. 6 with driver Trevor Bayne at Roush Fenway Racing, the team with whom he earned his first-ever full-time ride.
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Kenseth sat out the 2019 campaign, then returned as a surprise replacement four races into the 2020 season for Kyle Larson after his April firing. Kenseth took over Chip Ganassi Racing's No. 42 Chevrolet for the final 32 events, recording a best finish of second place at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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