You may think I’m crazy, but allow me to explain. When I think about Matt Kenseth, it’s not hard for me to see a great similarity between 2003 NASCAR Cup champion Matt Kenseth and 1992 Cup champion Alan Kulwicki.
The parallels are uncanny.
The first is obvious, and has already been pointed out: they both won NASCAR’s coveted prize. Kenseth won Raybestos Rookie Of the Year in 2000, Kulwicki accomplished the feat in 1986. Both drivers are natives of Wisconsin. Kenseth and Kulwicki’s names are associated with Ford. Neither driver would be accused of being particularly flamboyant, representing a quieter faction in the NASCAR garage.
What’s more both names are synonymous with efficiency. In 1992, edged Bill Elliott by
a mere 10 points with only 2 victories under his belt. Kulwicki piloted his “Underbird” to 11 top 5s and 17 top 10s. In 2003, Kenseth topped Jimmie Johnson by 90 points with just one victory to his credit, but “Matt the Brat” racked up 11 top 5s, and a mind-blowing 25 top 10s. In their championship seasons, both had only 2 DNFs.
See what I mean?
There’s an interesting story of how it all started for Kenseth. At the age of 13, he made a deal with his dad, Roy, that the elder Kenseth would buy a car and race it, while Matt would agree to work on it and eventually race it himself. By age 16, armed with the experience of keeping up the car, Matt would get his first taste of driving. On his third night, he won a feature race while just a junior in high school. By the way the younger Kenseth held off local studs Dave Phillips and Pete Moore, Roy Kenseth said he saw a real smoothness in how his son handled the car and he knew he’d be a good one. In 1989, Matt won 8 features and finished second in the points at Wisconsin Dells.
By age 19, the Cambridge, Wisconsin native was testing his mettle against the likes of Ted Musgrave, Dick Trickle, and Rick Bickle in late model racing. He would go on to win the ARTGO Challenge Series at La Crosse, Wisconsin- the youngest to ever do so, breaking the previous record set by future teammate Mark Martin.
1992 proved a difficult season as Matt Kenseth began blowing engines right and left. Now graduated from high school, Matt was working for Left handed Chassis, a racecar chassis manufacturer in Illinois. He considered quitting, but thanks to the purchase of a new motor, Kenseth started to see better results and kept at it.
Kenseth continued making a name for himself in his home state- winning the first Alan Kulwicki Memorial race at Slinger Speedway after the former champion died in a plane crash in 1993. He would go on to win track titles at Madison International Speedway and Wisconsin International tracks in 1994 and the driver inexplicably known as “Matt the Brat” won another track championship at Wisconsin International in 1995, capturing 15 wins in 60 races. During the 1995 season, he also made his NASCAR All-Pro Series debut and finished in the top 3 in 3 out of 4 starts.
The winner of 18 NASCAR Cup Series races headed south in 1996 to drive for engine builder Carl Wegner in the Hooters ProCup Series. The move paid dividends as he won a race and finished third in the points.
In partnership with Wegner, Matt Kenseth made his Busch Series debut in the Spring of 1996 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, finishing 22nd after qualifying 30th. Securing a sponsorship proved difficult and had the homesick Kenseth ready to pack it in,. Later that year, in another move that conjured memories of Kulwicki, Kenseth found a ride in the ASA for Gerry Gunderman after the Wegner/ Kenseth team folded.
After two races in 1997, Matt Kenseth was running second in the ASA standings when a call came from a former competitor. Owner/ crew chief Robbie Reiser needed a driver to sub in for injured regular Tim Bender. Familiar with Kenseth’s style and confident they could speak each other’s language when it came to the car, Reiser decided to take a chance on a driver who once engaged in some pretty fierce track battles with him. In a sign of things to come for Reiser and Kenseth, he finished 11th after qualifying 3rd. Kenseth wound up 2nd in the Rookie of the Year chase with 7 top 10s, including a 7th place finish at Talladega in his first taste of super speedway action.
Matthew Roy Kenseth won his first Busch Series race- the 1998 GM Goodwrench Service
Plus 200 at North Carolina Speedway. Kenseth overtook race leader Tony Stewart on the final turn of the final lap to go to victory lane. He would win two more races that year and finish second in the standings to Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Opportunity came knocking for Matt Kenseth when 1988 Cup champion Bill Elliott needed to miss a race to attend his father’s funeral. One September 20, 1998 at Dover, Kenseth started 16th in the #94 and finished 6th. It would be the first top 10 debut for a Cup driver since Rusty Wallace accomplished the feat back in 1980.
1999 was another season of success for Kenseth in the Busch Series. While Dale Jr. was winning his second consecutive Busch Series title, Kenseth was right there with Lil “E” and Jeff Green, finishing 3rd in the points with 4 victories. In 5 Cup starts- he picked up a top 5 and a top 10 to go with 3 DNFs for Jack Roush.
The turn of the century was a great time for Matt Kenseth. In the year 2000, Matt married Katie Martin, won 4 races on a part-time Busch Series schedule, and he finally got the upper hand on Dale Earnhardt Jr. In his first full-time Cup season, Kenseth won the Raybestos Rookie of the Year over Junior. Kenseth’s first victory came at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in the Coca- Cola 600. The rookie finished 14th in the points, with 4 top 5s and 11 top 10s.
Though he won no races in Cup competition in 2001, he was able to improve to 13th in the points. Kenseth was also able to pick up a victory in 18 Busch Series starts. He was able to finish in fine fashion with 3 of his 4 top 5s coming in his last 6 races.
2002 produced several highlights for the Green Bay Packers fan. Kenseth won 5 races in Cup competition: Rockingham, Texas, Michigan, Richmond and Phoenix. Not known as a qualifying beast- he got his first of 6 career Cup poles with a “P-1″ in the Spring Dover event.
If it’s possible to dominate a racing series by sheer consistency, Matt Kenseth did it in 2003. He won only won once (Las Vegas), but Matt Kenseth parlayed 25 top 10s and 11 top 5s into a NASCAR Winston Cup championship. HE would never go more than 3 races without a top 10, and he held the points lead for an amazing 33 consecutive weeks- holding off Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Ryan Newman- who finished 6th despite a series leading 8 wins. in 14 Busch Series starts, Kenseth won 2 races.
Because of his low-key demeanor and quiet, consistent approach on the track, some critics have derided Matt Kenseth as a bore. By his own admission, he admits he’s not a guy that jumps out at you. He said he’s usually the one in the back row at church, and he’s just not one for drawing attention to himself. On the other hand, the personality trait served Kenseth well in a “Gillette Young Guns” commercial (click title to see it). This NEXTEL commercial with “Matt the Robot” is good too.
See..it works for him.
Because of that cautious, consistent approach to racing, some have referred to the Chase as the “Matt Kenseth rule.” Eager to prove he was a real winner, Kenseth needed only three races to double his victory output in 2004- winning at Rockingham and Las Vegas. He made the first Chase, but Matt’s consistency couldn’t hold up and he finished 8th in the final standings. In 25 races, Kenseth won 3 times in Busch competition. He also the International Race of Champions (IROC).
2005 looked to be a disaster. After 14 races, Matt Kenseth was mired in 24th in the points. A strong mid-season run got Kenseth in the Chase. During one stretch, Kenseth made the top 10 9 times in 12 races. He also captured poles in Bristol and Kansas, to go with a victory at Bristol. His 7th place finish at season’s proved once again he can catch fire with the pressure on.
The 2006 Daytona 500 provided a snapshot of Kenseth’s season. He was leading the race when he got spun out by Tony Stewart. A case of so close, yet so far. Kenseth rallied to finish 15th. The following week he picked up the first of 4 season victories at California. Kenseth, while a generally unassuming guy, has also been known to rumble a little with his opponents. After spinning out Jeff Gordon at Bristol, Gordon returned the favor by shoving Kenseth after the race. Gordon also got revenge by spinning out Kenseth at Chicago.
Other wins for Matt came at Dover and Michigan, and he finished 2nd to Jimmie Johnson at season’s end. Once again, Matt topped 20 top 10 finishes with 21. He also won 3 Busch Series race, including the last two of the season.
Though Kenseth’s 2007 season will be remembered more a tussle between he and teammate Carl Edwards, he enjoyed another strong season. He won the Auto Club 500 at California- and the season finale at Homestead. At season’s end, the “17″ was 4th in the points. Busch Series wins came at California and Texas.
Once again, the Daytona 500 provided a season preview for Kenseth. In 2008’s race Kenseth worked his way through traffic to get to the front, but he enventually got squeezed into the wall by Roush teammate David Ragan. After years of success with Robbie Reiser as crew chief (he stepped down to spend less time on the road) hte pairing with Chip Bolin proved a difficult transition. Kenseth would go winless in 2008 and for a time, it looked like he might miss the Chase for the first time. He was also involved in race incidents with David Gilliland at Bristol, as the two exchaneged the chrome horn with each other. Gilliland triggered the first contact, however, Kenseth returned the favor and would be penalized for his actions.
The 2003 champion rallied to finish the season 11th. For the year, he ended up with 20 top 10s and 9 top 5s.
This year is offering the veteran a much more promising start. According to two reports I’ve seen- Matt and his wife Katie are expecting their first child together (he has a son Ross from a previous relationship). On the track, Kenseth ended his victory drought with a coveted win in the Daytona 500. Seeing as how this race seems to set the tone, it holds good things in store. Last week, he followed up with a win at the Auto Club 500. A key to his success is the chemistry between Kenseth and his new crew chief Drew Blickensderfer.
Say what you want about Matt Kenseth, but you can’t help but appreciate his “regular guy” persona and his closeness to his family. His wife is nearly always at his side, his son has made more than just a few fleeting appearance alongside his dad and his sister Kelley runs his racing museum and his official fan club.
His favorite band is Metallica. In fact, one of his cats is named “Lars” after the band’s lead singer Lars Ulrich. Another of the Kenseth’s 4 cats is named Charlotte, after the city where Matt won his first Cup race.
He’s smart, consistent, doesn’t invite controversy and his fan base, though smaller than some, is very loyal. All of that can’t help but remind a fan of another NASCAR champion who played the part of an unlikely hero.
Matt Kenseth was born March 10, 1972 in Cambridge, Wisconsin.
PHOTO CREDITS- (From top to bottom): By Jessi K., mclarkin, NIKONCANDY and c54091. More of their work may be found at flickr.com.
SOURCES: www.mattkenseth.com, Sporting News NASCAR Record & Fact Book, Wikipedia, Ask.com.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I am the track announcer at Wisconsin’s Slinger Speedway, and have been since 1985. There was nothing ‘inexplicable’ about why I nicknamed him “Matt the Brat” in 1990. He had an unbelievably agressive style and started beating the Wisconsin short-track veterans almost immediately. He was so personable and likeable that calling him “The Brat” was almost a play on words. He was so smooth at the “bump-and-run” move that it became more of a “touch and see you later”. His obvious talents at such a young age were appreciated by short-track fans everywhere he raced and the nickname stuck until he moved to Reiser’s operation.
@Todd. That’s quite a story. Seeing how he rolls, I figured there had to be a good story behind. Thanks for seeing to it the legend of “Matt the Brat” is not lost.
I’ve always liked Matts style ….I race clean but hard…and demand the same from others…classy guy and I’m a Ford too !