Matt Kenseth began racing at the age of 16. By the age of 19, he had moved up to the ultra-competitive Wisconsin Late Model ranks, taking on the likes of Dick Trickle, Ted Musgrave and Rich Bickle. He became the youngest winner in RE/MAX Challenge Series history when he captured an event in LaCrosse, Wis. Kenseth won a track championship at the Madison International Speedway (Wisconson) in 1994 and won track championships at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna in 1994-1995, when he won four consecutive features.
Kenseth was driving in the American Speed Association's ACDelco Challenge Series, when he got a call from Robbie Reiser to drive his Nationwide Series car. Kenseth accepted, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Kenseth exploded on the NASCAR Cup scene in 2000, capturing the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award. He won the Coca-Cola 600 and posted 11 top-10 finishes.
He struggled through a sophomore slump in the 2001 NASCAR Cup season - fourth-place finishes at Michigan, Talladega and Phoenix were his only top-five efforts.
Kenseth did finish 2001 13th in the points, an improvement over the previous year. The driver of the No. 17 Roush Racing Ford scored four top-five and nine top-10 finishes.
In 2002, Kenseth rebounded nicely, leading the series in victories with five, while spearheading a revival for Roush Racing. However, 11 finishes of 30th or worse relegated him to an eighth-place finish in the standings, 368 points behind champion, Tony Stewart.
In 2003, Kenseth became only the sixth different Ford driver to claim the Cup title and the first since Dale Jarrett in 1999. Kenseth finished his championship season with one win and 25 top-10 finishes. He was also the last Winston champion, as Nextel replaced R.J. Reynolds which had its Winston brand as the title sponsor of the sanctioning body's premier series since the 1971 season.
Kenseth placed eighth in the 2004 season. He posted back-to-back wins early in the season at Rockingham and Las Vegas and came away with 16 top-10 finishes.
In 2007, Kenseth earned a fourth place finish in the Cup Series. He earned two wins (California 2/25/07 and Homestead in the season finale on 11/18/07), 13 top-fives, and 22 top-10s. Kenseth also raced the No. 17 car for Jack Roush in 24 of the 35 Nationwide Series races, finishing 10th - his best season finish since the late 1990s.
Kenseth went through a rare dry spell in 2008 and missed visiting victory lane for the first time since the 2001 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.
But the Roush Fenway Racing driver was close several times and after another season of consistent finishes made the Chase and finished ninth in the final point standings. He remains one of only two drivers to have qualified for every Chase.
Kenseth's nine top-five and 20 top-10 finishes were another example of just how consistent the 2003 series champion was in 2008.
