CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Reconnecting to his roots, Matt Kenseth had a familiar face on hand Tuesday to help welcome him back to Roush Fenway Racing.
NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2017 inductee Mark Martin, Kenseth’s teammate at Roush from 2000-06, introduced the 2003 champion in a press conference held at the NASCAR Hall of Fame announcing his return to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
Kenseth will share the seat of the No. 6 Ford with Trevor Bayne for the remainder of the 2018 season, beginning with the May 12 race at Kansas Speedway. Roush Fenway Racing President Steve Newmark also confirmed Kenseth will participate in the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race on May 19 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
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For Kenseth, it was perfect timing despite the series being 11 races deep into the year by the time he climbs in a race car again.
“You kind of know when something feels right,” Kenseth said. “Certainly to come back and hopefully help Jack (Roush), who obviously has done so much for my career, hopefully get Roush Fenway Racing running better again. I feel like they’ve definitely been trending in the right direction.
“I think it’s a good challenge for me. I’m really looking forward to it. Not just the driving part, but a lot of the rest of it to hopefully get in there and get my hands dirty and try to evaluate what we can do better.”
Martin, who has also played a role at Roush recently, drove the No. 6 Ford to 35 wins over the course of 19 full-time premier series seasons. He could barely put into words what it means to have Kenseth driving that number, one he made so famous throughout his career.
“I can’t tell you what it means to me. I’ve been so excited,” Martin said. “ I don’t think I can describe to you what it means to me to look at that car and know that my favorite driver of all time is going to be in that car.”
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Martin recognizes Kenseth as his favorite driver for many reasons, including the fact that Martin was one of the first to see his full potential.
“I met with Matt at a driver’s meeting at Talladega and had a conversation with him for 30 minutes and knew, right then, that he was the guy,” Martin said. “I knew. All I can say is I’m dumber than hell and I can’t explain a lot of different things … but I knew he was the right guy. I knew, definitely, he was the right guy for the job.”
Now, Martin is confident that Kenseth is the fearless veteran who can push the Roush Fenway program forward.
“I see a lot of good people there,” Martin said. “I see everything you need to compete for wins. I see everything you need.
“They’ve got a good leader in position to do some of these races,” he added. “I think Matt being part time will be a good thing.”
In 13 full-time seasons with Roush from 2000 through 2012, Kenseth racked up 24 of his 39 career victories. When Kenseth got a call from Jack Roush, founder and owner of Roush Fenway Racing, he was presented an offer he later accepted, but he did have one question for the “Cat in the Hat” first.
“When I contacted Matt to see if he had an interest of getting involved in our program with the objectives that we set forth, his question for me was why did it take so long for me to call,” Roush said.
Roush later admitted the reason for it.
“I still had a little bit of a rawness over the fact that he left me when he did,” Roush added.
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Now, Roush feels Kenseth has a place at the organization that stretches beyond the driver’s seat.
“We see a potential role for Matt being involved with the company past his driving,” Roush said. “We haven’t talked much about that, but certainly we feel like he’s come home to us. Him being a part of our history and our legacy, as is Mark, we have two really great drivers and great people that have helped us build this thing and we’re anxious to keep them involved if we can going forward.”
It’s a role that Kenseth also envisions himself taking on down the road, one that would fulfill that competitive drive long after his driving career is over.
“There’s part of me that misses being part of something, especially when you’ve been a competitor your whole life,” Kenseth said. “And, obviously, you’re not going to drive forever. I think still being part of something competitive and trying to make something better, trying to figure out how to do it better than the next guy and go beat everybody is still there — whether you’re in the car or whether you’re not.”
The new opportunity is not one he feels is owed to him, nor does he feel like he has something to prove.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time. I don’t really feel like I have anything to prove,” Kenseth said. “I don’t. Obviously, every time you get in a race car and go to the race track, you want to be your best and you go there with the idea of trying to win. That’s never going to change as long as I drive. I will say this opportunity is probably as much about the rest of my role and possible future role than it is just the driving.”
“For me, it’s just never being comfortable,” he added. “Never feeling like I’m near good enough and I need to be doing better. Figuring out what you can do better and moving on from there. I don’t think I’ve necessarily earned it, but I go out there and do my very best Monday through Sunday, and that’s something that never changes with me.”
