Matthew Roy Kenseth was born on March 10,1972 and is an American former professional stock car racing driver.
156 Facts About Matt Kenseth
2.
Matt Kenseth moved to the ARTGO, American Speed Association, and Hooters Late Model touring series before getting a full-time ride in the NASCAR Busch Series for his former Wisconsin short track rival Robbie Reiser, finishing second and third in the standings.
3.
Matt Kenseth won the series' Rookie of the Year honors in 2000 and the final Winston Cup championship in 2003.
4.
Matt Kenseth made an agreement with his father, Roy, that Roy should buy a car and race, and Matt would work on the car until he was old enough to race.
5.
Matt Kenseth began stock car racing in 1988 at the age of 16 at Madison International Speedway.
6.
Matt Kenseth finished second in points and won eight features.
7.
Matt Kenseth finished sixth in season points and won the track's rookie of the year award.
8.
Matt Kenseth entered fifteen ARTGO events that season and raced in 40 features that year.
9.
Matt Kenseth passed Joe Shear and Steve Holzhausen, and held off Steve and Tom Carlson for the win.
10.
Matt Kenseth won three races and blew up more engines than he could count.
11.
Matt Kenseth was ready to quit racing after the season.
12.
Matt Kenseth built a new car for 1993 using a Kipley engine.
13.
Matt Kenseth used the car at Madison to win eight features and finished second in the points.
14.
Matt Kenseth finished third in the points Butz's car at Wisconsin International Raceway.
15.
Matt Kenseth raced 60 times in three different cars in 1994, winning track championships at both Wisconsin International Raceway on Thursday nights and Madison on Friday nights.
16.
Matt Kenseth competed against Reiser at Madison, and won 12 of 17 features at the track.
17.
Matt Kenseth won the 1994 Slinger Nationals at Slinger Super Speedway.
18.
Matt Kenseth decided to move across the country in 1996 to the Southern United States to race for engine builder Carl Wegner in the Hooters Series Late Model series.
19.
Matt Kenseth finished third in the Hooters Series, nearly winning the series championship as a rookie.
20.
In 1996, Matt Kenseth made his Busch Series debut at the spring race at Lowe's Motor Speedway for Wegner, finishing 22nd after starting 30th in a car rented from Bobby Dotter.
21.
Matt Kenseth was disappointed because they were unable to attract major sponsorship.
22.
Matt Kenseth was racing in third place in the final laps when he spun and finished eleventh.
23.
Matt Kenseth had two Top 5 finishes during the partial season.
24.
Matt Kenseth won his first Busch Series race on February 22,1998, when he nudged leader Tony Stewart's car entering the final turn of the final lap, culmulating in a second- and third-place finishes in the Busch points.
25.
Matt Kenseth won the last two races of the Busch season in 2006 driving the No 17 Ford Fusion, at Phoenix and Homestead.
26.
Matt Kenseth broke an 18 race winless streak as he won the 2008 Nicorette 300 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
27.
On lap 104 at the 2009 Aaron 312 on April 25, Matt Kenseth took a wild ride flipping over 3.5 times, sliding on his roof, then completed a fourth flip.
28.
Matt Kenseth won the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 at Darlington Raceway in 2009.
29.
On May 28,2011, Matt Kenseth won the Top Gear 300 at Charlotte.
30.
Matt Kenseth, filling in for Trevor Bayne, passed Roush Fenway teammate Carl Edwards with two laps to go to win his only Nationwide Start of the 2011 season.
31.
In 2013, Matt Kenseth returned to the Nationwide Series for 16 races driving Joe Gibbs Racing's No 18 Toyota.
32.
Matt Kenseth won the summer race in Daytona and the fall race in Kansas.
33.
In 2014, Matt Kenseth drove in 19 races in the No 20, with 10 top-five and 15 top-ten finishes.
34.
Matt Kenseth won the last race of the year at Homestead, his 29th and final career victory in the Series.
35.
Matt Kenseth finished sixth, the third best debut of any driver.
36.
Matt Kenseth won the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, and is the only rookie to win the famed 600 mile event.
37.
Matt Kenseth went on to finish 14th in points with four Top 5s and 11 Top 10s, and an average finish of 18.9.
38.
Matt Kenseth's wins came at Rockingham, Texas, Michigan, Richmond, and Phoenix.
39.
Matt Kenseth had a series best 25 Top 10 finishes in the 2003 season.
40.
At Charlotte, Matt Kenseth won his second pole of the year.
41.
Matt Kenseth finished that year with 11 top-five finishes and 25 top-ten finishes.
42.
In 2004, Matt Kenseth won the International Race of Champions championship.
43.
Matt Kenseth finished with two wins, those coming back-to-back early in the year at Rockingham and Las Vegas.
44.
Matt Kenseth's win in the Subway 400 at Rockingham was a photo finish with eventual Raybestos Rookie of the Year Kasey Kahne.
45.
Matt Kenseth started the 2005 season with relatively poor finishes but had a strong mid-season run.
46.
Matt Kenseth rose from the 24th position in championship points after fourteen races to eighth after 26 races, and he qualified for the Chase for the Cup.
47.
Matt Kenseth finished seventh in the final points standings with one win coming at Bristol.
48.
Matt Kenseth began the 2006 season by leading early in the Daytona 500 before spinning his car after contact with Tony Stewart.
49.
Matt Kenseth fell two laps down to the leaders, but rallied back to a 15th-place finish.
50.
Matt Kenseth won the following race at California Speedway, and became the points leader after the eighth race at Phoenix.
51.
Matt Kenseth finished the year with winnings of $9,524,966, his take for second place in the Driver's Championship.
52.
At Watkins Glen, Matt Kenseth while running seventh during a red flag period, saw a shirtless fan run up to his car and request an autograph to his white baseball cap.
53.
Matt Kenseth politely declined and security escorted the fan out of the track.
54.
Matt Kenseth won the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18,2007.
55.
Matt Kenseth finished fourth in series points, and as a result, finished in the Top 10 in the standings for six consecutive seasons, tied with Jimmie Johnson for the most.
56.
Matt Kenseth won an additional $100,000 dollars from his sponsor, Safeway.
57.
In 2008, Matt Kenseth was winless and fell to 11th in the points standings.
58.
Matt Kenseth had five Top 10 finishes during the Chase.
59.
Matt Kenseth started toward the back for the Daytona 500 and worked his way to the lead and led two laps, but soon after his own teammate, David Ragan, squeezed him into the wall, knocking both out of contention and resulting in a finish of 36th.
60.
Matt Kenseth was held a lap for pitting outside of his box early, but later was spun out by David Gilliland and was held for two laps for intentionally wrecking him back.
61.
Matt Kenseth won the rain shortened 2009 Daytona 500, passing Elliott Sadler mere moments before the caution came out on lap 146 as the result of an accident on the backstretch between Aric Almirola and Sam Hornish Jr.
62.
Matt Kenseth led only one green flag lap, after starting the race at the rear of the field.
63.
Matt Kenseth won the second race of the season, the, to become the fourth driver in NASCAR history to follow up a win at the Daytona 500 with another win the following race.
64.
Matt Kenseth won in the Nationwide series for his 24th win at Darlington.
65.
Matt Kenseth won the pole at Darlington in the Sprint Cup Series, setting a new track record in the process.
66.
Matt Kenseth won the FedEx 400 benefitting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway.
67.
That proved to be all the difference as Matt Kenseth won for the second time in 5 races.
68.
On June 26,2012, it was announced that Matt Kenseth would leave Roush Fenway Racing after the 2012 season.
69.
Matt Kenseth did not discuss the details of where he would be racing in 2013 and beyond.
70.
When he was asked by reporters if he would give them a hint as to what team he would be with after the 2012 season, where he was in contention for his second championship, Matt Kenseth wryly responded, "No " On August 25, while leading the 2012 Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol on lap 332, Matt Kenseth collided with Tony Stewart when neither driver would lift in the entrance to Turn 1.
71.
On October 7,2012, Matt Kenseth won his second race of the year, winning the fall race at Talladega as a crash unfolded behind him.
72.
Matt Kenseth led the second-most laps of the race with 33.
73.
On October 21,2012, Matt Kenseth won his third race of the year and second during the 2012 Chase at a freshly paved Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas.
74.
On September 4,2012, it was officially announced that Matt Kenseth would be joining Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, driving the No 20 Toyota, replacing Joey Logano with the team.
75.
At Las Vegas, Matt Kenseth won his first race in the No 20 and became the third driver after Kyle Busch and Cale Yarborough to win on their birthday after holding off Kasey Kahne.
76.
At Kansas, Matt Kenseth won the pole, led the most laps, and won the race after holding off another furious charge from Kasey Kahne.
77.
The appeals board, feeling that the penalties were too harsh because Matt Kenseth won the race, reversed a variety of penalties.
78.
Matt Kenseth was awarded 38 Chase points back, leaving his penalty at just 12 points.
79.
At Darlington for the Southern 500, Matt Kenseth passed his teammate Kyle Busch with ten laps remaining to win his third race of the season and his first Sprint Cup Series win at the track.
80.
At Kentucky, Matt Kenseth took the lead after Johnson spun out, and held off Jamie McMurray to take his fourth win of the season.
81.
Matt Kenseth held off Kasey Kahne for a third time to win his fifth race of the year.
82.
Matt Kenseth opened by holding off Kyle Busch to win the opening two Chase races at Chicagoland and at Loudon, his first wins on both of those tracks.
83.
Matt Kenseth trailed Jimmie Johnson by 28 points and led Kevin Harvick by five points for second.
84.
Matt Kenseth led a race-high 144 laps to get the bonus point.
85.
The only trouble that Matt Kenseth had was on the restart after a caution with 74 laps remaining.
86.
Matt Kenseth was behind Jeff Gordon, who spun his tires causing an accordion effect.
87.
Matt Kenseth made his way back up to finish second behind his teammate Denny Hamlin.
88.
At Daytona, for the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, in the first of two Budweiser Duels, Matt Kenseth held off Kevin Harvick and Kasey Kahne for the win in a three-wide finish.
89.
Matt Kenseth led all drivers that had no wins in points.
90.
Still with no wins, Matt Kenseth made it past the first two elimination rounds.
91.
Matt Kenseth forced a three-wide situation, trying to pass Keselowski on the outside.
92.
Matt Kenseth fell back to 18th and went a lap down due to the damage he received.
93.
Matt Kenseth made the lap back with being the lucky dog after another caution.
94.
Matt Kenseth turned a little causing Keselowski to miss doing major damage to Matt Kenseth's car.
95.
Keselowski then walked away between two haulers when Matt Kenseth charged between the haulers and physically attacked Keselowski.
96.
Keselowski's crew chief Paul Wolfe grabbed Matt Kenseth to restrain him.
97.
When Matt Kenseth's crew came over they pulled Wolfe off to restrain him and Matt Kenseth.
98.
The next week at Talladega, Matt Kenseth tied a season's best finish of 2nd and moved on to the eliminator round while his current rival Brad Keselowski won the race.
99.
At Martinsville, Matt Kenseth came into a turn going very fast, causing his car to wheel-hop.
100.
Matt Kenseth hit Kevin Harvick hard, who's still in the Chase, causing Harvick to spin.
101.
Laps later, after Harvick had returned to the track, he saw Matt Kenseth coming behind him.
102.
Matt Kenseth saw what Harvick was doing and checked-up enough to avoid serious damage.
103.
Matt Kenseth still finished sixth and was in 4th-place of the Chase.
104.
At Texas, Matt Kenseth won his second pole of the year, but finished 25th.
105.
Matt Kenseth led no laps and finished third and was eliminated from the Chase, trailing fourth-place by three points.
106.
At Homestead, the last race of the season, Matt Kenseth still led no laps and finished sixth.
107.
However, the same weekend, Matt Kenseth was able to salvage his year by winning the 2014 Ford EcoBoost 300 for his final Xfinity Series win of his career.
108.
Matt Kenseth started the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season by winning the Sprint Unlimited for the first time in his career, the first win by the newly redesigned 2015 Camry.
109.
Matt Kenseth started the race in 16th, led 21 laps and held off Martin Truex Jr.
110.
Matt Kenseth won the pole position and returned to victory lane at Bristol to end a 51-race winless streak.
111.
Several races later, Matt Kenseth won his second pole of the year in the Coca-Cola 600.
112.
Matt Kenseth led one lap to receive a bonus point with a fifth-place finish.
113.
Matt Kenseth would go on to win his fifth race of the year and advances to the second round of the Chase.
114.
Matt Kenseth led 25 laps and finished seventh to retain the points lead.
115.
Logano purposely made contact with Matt Kenseth, causing him to spin out, knocking him out of a position in the Eliminator Round, that Logano was already qualified for.
116.
At Talladega Superspeedway, Matt Kenseth started in the second row of the grid.
117.
However, on the final green-white-checkered finish Matt Kenseth crashed and finished 26th, prompting his elimination in the Contender Round.
118.
At Martinsville, Matt Kenseth was suspended for two races after a controversial wreck during the race.
119.
Matt Kenseth, who spent most of the race in the Top 10, was involved in a crash, where Brad Keselowski hit him after breaking a tie rod midway through the race.
120.
Matt Kenseth was later suspended for two races with probation for six months.
121.
Matt Kenseth's actions had ultimately caused Logano to miss the final round of the Chase, due to Logano finishing badly at Texas and not winning the rain-shortened Quicken Loans Race For Heroes 500 at Phoenix.
122.
Matt Kenseth started out his season with a promising race in the Daytona 500.
123.
Matt Kenseth led 40 laps in the waning stages in the race.
124.
Matt Kenseth took the white flag to start the final lap, but was passed by teammate Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr.
125.
Matt Kenseth finished 14th while Hamlin edged Truex to the stripe to win the closest finish in the race's history.
126.
Matt Kenseth was given the black flag with the white cross marks for not pitting within three laps.
127.
Matt Kenseth finished 37th at Las Vegas after being involved in a multi-car wreck with Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch, and Carl Edwards late in the race.
128.
At Talladega, Matt Kenseth started 4th and led 39 of the first 71 laps and got caught up in a late-race wreck with Joey Logano and Danica Patrick causing Matt Kenseth to barrel-roll onto his roof.
129.
Matt Kenseth exchanged words with Logano after the race, accusing Logano of shoving him off the track just before the wreck happened.
130.
At the restart of a caution at Dover, Matt Kenseth started on the inside front row next to Jimmie Johnson.
131.
Matt Kenseth made it through, then the red flag came out.
132.
At the first New Hampshire race of the season, Matt Kenseth held off Tony Stewart for his second win of the season, and his 38th career win.
133.
Matt Kenseth lost sponsor Dollar General prior to the season, leading Dewalt to up their number of races to a 15-race primary sponsor.
134.
Circle K joined the team mid season to sponsor 6 races during the season starting at the spring Richmond race, where Matt Kenseth was able to get his first pole and first stage win of the season, though Circle K ended up sponsoring an extra race due to the team having no other sponsor.
135.
Matt Kenseth won the pole for the regular-season finale at the 2017 Federated Auto Parts 400 and made his 13th Career appearance in the Playoffs despite finishing 38th.
136.
Matt Kenseth led most of stage 1 until he locked up the brakes and brought out a caution.
137.
On July 11,2017, JGR announced that Matt Kenseth would be replaced in the No 20 by Erik Jones in 2018, leaving Matt Kenseth with no 2018 ride.
138.
Matt Kenseth was knocked out of the playoffs when an 8th pitcrew member came over the wall to help fix his car that was involved in a wreck.
139.
Matt Kenseth was disqualified from the race and knocked out of the playoffs.
140.
Matt Kenseth was still without a ride for the 2018 season.
141.
At Phoenix, Matt Kenseth passed Chase Elliott with 9 laps remaining to win his first race of the year, ending his 51 race winless streak.
142.
Matt Kenseth finished in 8th place in the race and ultimately ended up in 7th place in the official points standings.
143.
Matt Kenseth received sponsorship from Wyndham Rewards for a seven-race schedule beginning with the KC Masterpiece 400 at Kansas.
144.
Matt Kenseth finished 36th after being collected in a crash on lap 254.
145.
Matt Kenseth scored his first top-10 of the season at the fall Phoenix race with a seventh-place finish.
146.
Matt Kenseth made his first start since Homestead in a Super Late Model at the Slinger Nationals in July 2019.
147.
Matt Kenseth extended his race-record victories to eight by passing former Roush teammate Ty Majeski on the final lap.
148.
Matt Kenseth served as the grand marshal of the 2019 CTECH Manufacturing 180 at Road America.
149.
Matt Kenseth appeared in a coffee-table interview with Kyle Petty on NBC Sports, in Petty's series, Coffee with Kyle.
150.
Matt Kenseth finished 10th on May 17,2020 at Darlington in his return, his 330th career top-ten.
151.
Matt Kenseth scored a second-place finish on July 5,2020 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
152.
The name Matt Kenseth goes back to the 1850s when his ancestors came to Wisconsin.
153.
Matt Kenseth has a son, Ross Matt Kenseth, from a previous relationship.
154.
Matt and Katie have four daughters: Kaylin Nicola, born on July 6,2009, two days after Kenseth finished eighth in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona, Grace Katherine, born on February 22,2011, two days after the Daytona 500, Clara Mae, born on March 25,2014, two days after the Auto Club 400, and Mallory Karen, born on December 20,2017.
155.
On July 15,2018, Matt Kenseth became a grandfather when Ross' wife Amber gave birth to a girl, Lexi.
156.
Matt Kenseth is a fan of the metal band Metallica, and named his cat after drummer Lars Ulrich.