NASCAR WCUP: Kenseth quietly climbs to top of Winston Cup rookie race
26 July 2000
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
INDIANAPOLIS-- In February, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the odds-on favorite to become NASCAR Winston Cup Raybestos Rookie of the Year in 2000.
Someone forgot to tell Matt Kenseth.
The NASCAR Winston Cup Series next comes to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Brickyard 400 on Aug. 5. And Kenseth, the quiet driver from Wisconsin, leads the rookie point standings, not the son of one of auto racings most famous race drivers.
Kenseth, who drives the DeWalt Power Tools Ford jointly owned by Jack Roush and Mark Martin, holds down 12th in the Winston Cup standings with 2,228 points. Earnhardt is 14th with 2,068 following last Sundays Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono International Raceway. Kenseth finished fifth and Earnhardt 13th at Pocono.
But the rookie of the year award is not determined by the final standings. Instead, a point system rewards drivers in various ways for high finishes. Kenseth leads that one, 227-206, over Earnhardt, with Dave Blaney third with 150. So far this season, Earnhardt has won two Winston Cup races, Kenseth one.
At seasons end, the drivers count only their top 16 finishes. That still doesnt determine the winner, because then a panel of top NASCAR officials and the reigning Winston Cup champion meet, discuss the candidates, vote on how they fared in a trio of categories and rank the rookie participants on a 10 points-to-one basis. These points are added to those accumulated on the track to determine the years top rookie.
All of this doesnt bother Kenseth whatsoever. Hes just happy to have a full-time ride in NASCAR Winston Cup.
"I expected it to be tough," he said about his rookie battle with Earnhardt.
"Its been going good for us so far this year, but theres a lot of competition in the rookie-of-the-year battle this year. Theres a lot of good race drivers, a lot of real good teams.
"Theres a lot races left (the Brickyard 400 is No. 20 of 34) to do this year, but Im happy with our first half of the season. If we can improve on it a little the second half, keep our consistency but up our performance a little bit so we can finish a little bit better a few times, I think well have a good shot at it."
Kenseth and Earnhardt are opposites in many ways. Kenseth grew up outside of Madison, Wis., and won a number of track championships in the state. He then moved to the American Speed Association series and from there to the NASCARs Busch Series for two seasons, finishing second and third in the series points.
His father helped him launch his career at a young age but is unknown to racing fans outside the Wisconsin area.
Earnhardt, of course, has been around big-time racing most of his life. He is driving for his father, who seeks a record eighth Winston Cup championship this season, and is nearly 3 years younger than Kenseth. He won the Busch Series title in 1998 and 1999 and slipped smoothly into Winston Cup with Budweiser sponsorship.
Kenseths first big break came in 1997 when Robbie Reiser, a driver he knew from Wisconsin, called and asked if hed like to take over the seat in his Busch car. Reiser now is Kenseths crew chief.
"He kinda called me out of the blue and gave me a shot at it," Kenseth said. "It was pretty exciting. I didnt know what to expect."
Kenseth, who met Mark Martin that year, got his initial Winston Cup ride as a substitute driver for injured Bill Elliott in 1998. He turned in a satisfying top-10 finish.
"That was pretty neat," he said, "I mean, to get to drive a guys car like that. I never had a Winston Cup start before and to ask me to go in there was quite an honor."
That opened the door for him to drive five races for Jack Roush last season. He returned to Dover and drove to fourth.
"Ive been working towards this (Winston Cup ride) for some time," Kenseth said. "So Mark wanted to be a little part of the program, at least. Hes a teammate and part owner. Its a lot of fun to be able to work with him and Jeff Burton, and I can learn a lot from them."
When Kenseth tested at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 17-18, it was his first visit to the famed racing facility although he only lived a five-hour drive away.
"Its pretty cool," he said. "Theres a lot of history here, and this is one of the tracks youve always heard about. Its neat to finally come here and see it in person. Its always different when you come and see it than when you see it on TV."
Kenseth said his goals in the Brickyard are to qualify in the top 25 and finish in the top 15.
Tony Stewart, last years Rookie of the Year in Winston Cup, predicted last winter that both rookie challengers would win three races this season and reiterated that statement during recent GM testing at Indy.
"Well do the best we can and see how we finish," Kenseth said. "Dale Jr., hes going to accomplish that. Hes already pretty much done it. Im not too worried about him.
"But this is a tough business. At the beginning of the year with those new tires and stuff, we were kind of at an even keel because none of last years stuff was working for anybody. Now everybodys getting caught up on that. We need to be caught back up on that to be more competitive."
Text provided by Paul Kelly
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