MattKenseth set to return to racing at Kansas Speedway

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Matt Kenseth is back in NASCAR and back at a 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway track where he was a perennial contender.

Kenseth, the 2003 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion, is competing for the first time since his release by Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of the 2017 season, beginning a part-time schedule with his original team, Roush Fenway Racing.

Kenseth is expected to run a minimum of eight races for Roush Fenway, sharing driver duties in the No. 6 Ford with Trevor Bayne.

The 46-year-old Kenseth said he doesn’t know what to expect in Saturday’s 7 p.m. KC Masterpiece 400, but his record at Kansas Speedway could bode well for him. Kenseth is a two-time winner at the Speedway and has led 774 laps in 24 starts, more than any other driver.

“I came into this weekend pretty much with no expectations, just kind of open-minded and take it one practice at a time, one session at a time, that type of thing, and go from there,″ said Kenseth, who has posted 39 career Cup victories.

“I’m not extremely worried about (his layoff). I really felt something like this was going to happen this year. I felt like I was going to do some racing this year; I just didn’t know when it was going to pop up. But I wanted to be ready, just in case.”

Kenseth’s 2012 win at Kansas was his last for Roush, and he won his next Kansas start in 2013 for Gibbs.

Kenseth doesn’t have any idea what his part-time gig with Roush might turn into, but he’s also not worried about what the future holds.

“Professionally, I don’t know if I have a long-term goal,″ he said. “As far as the rest of it, I don’t feel like I have anything to prove to anybody, either. Short-term, I hope to help the organization. That’s kind of why Jack (Roush) and I decided to do this.