Roush wins but how about Kenseth?
Some decisions make clear sense from the start, no matter how much a person might disagree.
Others – even popular ones – need time to play out to fully comprehend.
In a challenging business climate, Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota had a talented youngster being groomed as a next-generation star, and they had a well-compensated champion nearing the expiration date typical for NASCAR drivers.
So, Matt Kenseth was out and Erik Jones in. Boom! Done! NASCAR traditionalists and middle-agers were dismayed and Kenseth fans incensed, but at least the logic behind the move was clear.
Now, five months after ending his tenure with Gibbs, the 46-year-old Kenseth was introduced Wednesday as a part-time driver for Roush Fenway Racing, the team that launched his career nearly 20 years ago.
Although there’s a whole lot of feelgood in the development, it also comes with considerably more head scratching than did Kenseth’s original pairing with Jack Roush, his move to Gibbs in ’13 or his forced departure last fall.
The most obvious question is, what’s Kenseth coming home to?
When he went fulltime at Roush in 2000, it was a five-car operation that had won 12 races the previous season. The team was Ford’s face in NASCAR, and its lead driver was future Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Kenseth’s mentor.
These days Roush Fenway is third in the pecking order for its own manufacturer and seems to struggle to field even two fully funded cars.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who took over the No. 17 car when Kenseth left for Gibbs, won twice last season. But he has finished on the lead lap in only two of the first nine races this year and ranks 19th in points.
Trevor Bayne – with whom Kenseth will share the No. 6 car – sits 26th in the standings and has managed two topfive finishes since July 2016.
Meanwhile, in Kenseth’s five seasons away, he won 15 times and averaged 11 top-fives a year.
“We look at Matt as the best in the business at helping to assess and diagnose and figure out how to make cars better,” RFR president Steve Newmark said at the announcement in Charlotte, N.C.
“So our goal is to continue to race for wins and championships, and we think Matt gives us a great opportunity to do that and will help Trevor, Ricky and all of our young guys in (the) Xfinity (Series).”
Kenseth’s deal is open-ended, Newmark said, and even the details of how many races he’ll run this year has yet to be determined. Bayne’s days appear numbered.
Kenseth said he’d be amenable to a full-time ride next year, and all parties talked about the future, regardless of how much longer he drives.
“It’s an interesting challenge for me and not just being a driver. I hope I can be much more to the organization, and I’m hoping that there are a lot of different ways I can help in,” Kenseth said. “I don’t know that I can, but I hope that there is and that’s kind of what I’m looking forward to.”
Kenseth’s hands-on knowledge and understanding of race cars from his short-track days in Wisconsin was some of what landed him his first job with Roush. Given the merry-go-round of crew chiefs, engineers and managers the team has ridden and the youth of its drivers, those skills could come in handy again.
“It’s fairly small right now – down to two teams, and it’s leaner – and I feel like they’re on the right trajectory,” Kenseth continued.
“I feel like there are a lot of advantages to where they are at right now, and I’m looking forward to getting in there and being a part of it and getting back immersed in the organization and kind of hopefully evaluate some things, hopefully continue projecting upwards.”
For Roush, there’s nothing but upside to Kenseth coming on board.
He is a connection to the team’s glorious past and also to present-day success, who brings two decades’ of NASCAR experience and a reputation as a top-notch teammate. If Kenseth can’t provide all the solutions, at least he’ll clarify the problems.
What’s in it for Kenseth?
Well, at least he gets on back on track. He said, though, that he passed on lesser options and he hadn’t been home long enough to be bored. So there was no urgency in that regard.
Was Kenseth promised something else? There’s no indication, and he’s always pooh-poohed ownership. Still, there’s frequently a component to deals outsiders don’t immediately see.
If Kenseth can help make Roush Fenway routinely competitive again, that would perhaps be his ultimate victory. And he’d get to pick when he’s ready to leave rather than being told.
If not, Kenseth might spend the final days of his career riding around in 25th place. That would be sad, although not unprecedented (think: Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip).
Let’s see how this works. We might not fully understand this deal for some time.