Matt Kenseth has blossomed after changing rides

Cool-Down Lap

Matt Kenseth has blossomed after changing rides

Apr. 22, 2013

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

Sometimes the grass really is greener on the other side of the fence.

It would be hard to argue that point where Matt Kenseth is concerned.

More often than not, changing rides in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
brings a period of acclimation, as a driver learns the ropes at his new
team. Oftentimes, success doesn't come quickly or easily for the new kid
on the block.

In Kenseth's case, the transition from Roush Fenway Racing to Joe Gibbs
Racing has been seamless. On Sunday at Kansas Speedway, Kenseth won his
second Cup race of the season and stands eighth in points. With the
exception of the race at Fontana, Calif., Kenseth has driven a car
capable of winning every event this year -- including Martinsville.

That's right, Martinsville, one of Kenseth's habitual bogey tracks.
Others have noticed his marked improvement at the difficult short track,
including the man who currently wears the mantle "Mr. Martinsville,"
Jimmie Johnson.

Johnson originally considered Kenseth's job change a lateral move, but
Kenseth's performance at Martinsville gave him reason to reevaluate.

"When I saw him flying at Martinsville, I realized that the car had
something to do with it at that particular track," Johnson said Sunday
after running third behind Kenseth and Kasey Kahne in the STP 400.

"He's been on the record and told me time and time again he hates that
place, and having him pass me for the lead and take off, he certainly
showed something there."

Kenseth has meshed beautifully with crew chief Jason Ratcliff, one of
the rising stars in the Cup garage. Ratcliff built his resume in the
Nationwide Series, and with Kenseth behind the wheel, now has the ideal
platform to showcase his talents at NASCAR's highest level.

The irony is that none of this would have happened had Carl Edwards,
Kenseth's former teammate at Roush Fenway, taken the ride in the No. 20
JGR Toyota a year earlier.

Gibbs craved a driver to fill the seat of the car. Sponsor Home Depot
was tired of getting spanked by the Jimmie Johnson juggernaut, carrying
the livery of home-improvement rival Lowe's. Nothing against Joey
Logano, who preceded Kenseth in the 20 car, but Kenseth is a better fit
for Home Depot and co-primary sponsor Dollar General.

Kenseth is a family man in his 40s. Logano is 22 and unmarried. Do the math.

But again, had the intense courtship involving JGR, Toyota and Edwards
resulted in a marriage in 2011, a contract year for Edwards, Kenseth's
life would be quite different today.

To Edwards' credit, he leveraged the bidding war for his services into a
fat renewal with Roush Fenway. When Edwards wriggled off the hook at
Gibbs, the team kept Logano in the car for the 2012 season but kept the
search open for a driver with sufficient stature to satisfy the sponsors.

Though 2012 was a contract year for Kenseth, there was no public frenzy
about his free agency, the way there had been with Edwards. To hear
Kenseth tell it, there had been no substantive discussion of a contract
extension with Roush as late as May of last year.

Kenseth started his first race for owner Jack Roush in 1998, won his
lone Cup championship for Roush in 2003, and, rightly or wrongly, felt
underappreciated, given what he perceived as a lack of attention to his
contract status. That in turn made Kenseth receptive to discussions with
Gibbs. An agreement with JGR came together quickly, with none of the
snags that ultimately had squelched a deal with Edwards.

Seemingly, Kenseth has found a critical mass at his new job, and it's no
surprise that, just eight races into the season, he's already being
touted as one of the favorites to win the series championship.

This is one honeymoon that may last an entire year -- or longer.

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