NASCAR Hall of Famer Matt Kenseth Joins an Exclusive List

NASCAR Hall of Fame member Matt Kenseth has added another accolade to his career resume. He is now one of the 75 Greatest Drivers in NASCAR history.

The announcement took place on May 10 as the industry prepared for Throwback Weekend at Darlington Raceway. NASCAR confirmed that the panel had voted to include the Wisconsin native on the list as it expanded from 50 to 75 total drivers.

Kenseth achieved a considerable amount of success during his time in the NASCAR Cup Series. He celebrated 39 wins at the top level of stock car racing, and he captured the final championship before NASCAR moved to the playoff format.

With Kenseth joining the list of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers, there is now only one spot remaining. This will most likely go to seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, who won 83 races during his career while driving for Hendrick Motorsports.

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Kenseth’s 39 Wins Put Him in a Tie for 21st All-Time

A driver with only six Cup Series starts to his name, Kenseth took on the full schedule for the first time in 2000. He drove the No. 17 DeWalt Ford for owner Jack Roush, and he kicked off his career by winning the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Kenseth captured a Crown Jewel event as his first career win, and he went on to collect three others. He won the Daytona 500 in 2009 and 2012 and then he won the 2013 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

Winning multiple Crown Jewel events was only one example of Kenseth’s success in NASCAR. He also won at least one race in 14 of his 18 full-time seasons. This includes 2013 when he set a career-high with seven trips to Victory Lane.

Kenseth’s success was not limited to the NASCAR Cup Series. He also celebrated 29 wins in what is now the Xfinity Series, which is the eighth-most all-time. Joey Logano is just ahead of him at 30 career Xfinity wins while Kyle Busch is atop the list with a record 102 wins.

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Kenseth Returned for Cup Series Races 2 Different Times

The 2003 Cup Series champion delivered strong performances throughout his career while driving for multiple organizations. He posted top-10 finishes in 47 percent of his 697 starts and top-fives in 26 percent of his starts.

These percentages could have been better considering that Kenseth actually retired after the 2017 season. He walked away from the NASCAR Cup Series after one final season with Joe Gibbs Racing, but he had to make two different comebacks for different reasons.

Kenseth first returned to the Cup Series in 2018. Roush Fenway Racing — now RFK Racing — brought him back into the fold so that he could share the No. 6 Ford with Trevor Bayne. He made 15 starts for the struggling team and posted top-10 finishes in his final two starts.

Two years later, Kenseth returned to the Cup Series one more time. He took over the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro for Chip Ganassi Racing while Kyle Larson served a suspension for his use of a racial slur. Kenseth made 32 starts with a season-best finish of second at Indianapolis Motor Speedway behind Kevin Harvick.

 

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