Q&A with Matt Kenseth

The driver of the number 17 Dewalt Ford leads the NASCAR Winston Cup race by 258 points over Dale Earnhardt Jr.

SI: As the Winston Cup points leader, do you feel you have an "X" on you?

Matt Kenseth. Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Kenseth: Not necessarily when I'm racing, but I definitely feel like there's different expectations and more attention around me. I've gotten more attention for leading in points and winning one race than I had after winning five races last year. I definitely feel the difference and there's a little more tension in the air and more worries about parts breaking during the race, and things like that. I don't think I'd feel that way if we were eighth in points.

SI: Have you talked with anyone who has won the championship about how to hold on to the lead?

Kenseth: I haven't talked to anybody and I've been trying not to let the points thing get to me too much because you still have to collect as many points as you can every week. I don't think you can go into a prevent defense and try to hang out. I think you have to go on the attack and try to stretch the thing. If you take it easy and go conservative, I think that's when you can get beat.

SI: Tell me about your hometown, Cambridge, Wisc. What's the most fun thing to do on a Saturday night?

Kenseth: Probably go out to Jefferson Speedway and watch the races.

SI: You have a reputation -- rightly or wrongly -- for being less flashy and more quiet than other drivers. Are you enjoying this interview?

Kenseth: Yeah. How are my answers so far?

SI: Fantastic. Jimmy Spencer told Sports Illustrated that "in terms of staying out of trouble, there's no driver in the world who is closer to David Pearson than Matt." How do you approach staying out of trouble?

Kenseth: I think you just try not to put yourself in a position where you can lose control. There are times when you're in the car and you might be doing something that you shouldn't, and I try not to put myself in those situations. Or, if I do get into those situations, I try to get out of them as quickly as I can. Sometimes I think it just comes naturally. It's just the driving style and how you race. And sometimes it's just luck.

SI: Which would you rather win: a points championship or the Daytona 500?

Kenseth: The points championship. The Daytona 500 would be cool to win, but it's not on the top of my list. If I could pick two or three races to win, the Daytona wouldn't be one of them. The race has a lot of prestige, but it's a restrictor-plate race and it's only one race. Winning a championship, being the best in your class out of all the top drivers in a 36-race schedule -- that's the ultimate prize.

SI: You and your crew filmed a commercial for Smirnoff, one of your sponsors, to promote responsible drinking. How many bottles of Smirnoff do you have?

Kenseth: Probably two cases. I thought that commercial was pretty cool. The neatest part was that all my guys who really do my pit stops got to come in and film the commercial, too.

SI: What celebrity would you most want to see behind a car?

Kenseth: I'd like to see Chevy Chase as Fletch behind the car. And he has to be wearing his Lakers jersey.

SI: What would you being doing if you were not a driver?

Kenseth: I'd probably be unemployed [laughs]. Nah, I'd be working in the racing industry doing something.

SI: Your dad owned a one-screen movie theater, a video store and a furniture store. What was the best job at each place?

Kenseth: Best job at the furniture store was delivering furniture. That was fun, because I got to hang out with my dad and walk through people's houses. At the video store, all I did was sit behind the counter, rent tapes and take them back. At the movie theater, I think probably selling tickets was the best job. You got to see everybody who came in.

SI: Did you know you have as many Winston Cup victories as A.J. Foyt?

Kenseth: I know now. But I didn't before you told me.

SI: You are close with Dale Earnhardt Jr. How would you handle the kind of attention and fame he has had to deal with?

Kenseth: I don't know how I would handle that. It's a good question. I guess you just have to deal with it.

SI: Could you ever see anything happening on the track that would affect your friendship with Junior?

Kenseth: There are things that test the friendship, but I don't think there are things that would ever diminish it. There are definitely things that at times challenge us. There were times when I felt like he did me wrong. There have been times when he felt that I did him wrong. But whenever you're competitive with someone, there's always a chance of having a disagreement over something on the track. But I don't think that's something that really ever affected our friendship.

SI: Have you and Junior competed in anything away from the track?

Kenseth: We went to Jamaica for a beach bash. I had some buddies and my wife there and he had all his buddies with him. We played them in volleyball and in a water-relay race in canoes and we kicked their butts in everything.

SI: Would you want your 10-year-old son Ross to race?

Kenseth: It's not something I'd push him into, but if he really wanted to, I'd want him to.

SI: What's your favorite track?

Kenseth: If I had to pick one it would be Dover. Lately we haven't had the greatest runs there, but in the past we always ran pretty decently there, especially in Busch Cars. And I made my first Winston Cup start at Dover, so it's kind of a special place for me.

SI: You started racing at age 16 on short tracks. What sports did you play before you began racing?

Kenseth: I played basketball for two years, including my freshman year of high school. I was a guard and I sucked.

SI: Dave Marcis, Dick Trickle and the late Alan Kulwicki are all from Wisconsin. Why has the state produced so many good NASCAR drivers?

Kenseth: The racing in Wisconsin is a little bit different than it is in the south. When you qualify for a race in Wisconsin, you start in the back of the pack. So you have to learn how to pass cars and work traffic all the time. Another reason Wisconsin turns out good drivers is that there is a big variety of tracks up there and there are races every night from Wednesday to Sunday. Monday and Tuesday are the only nights there's not a track within a four-hour drive that you can race at.

SI: What's the most unusual bit of NASCAR memorabilia you own?

Kenseth: I try to save a helmet and a driver's suit from every year, and I have all my Busch and Winston Cup series trophies. I also have my very first race car, the car I won my first Busch Series race in, and the car I won my first Winston Cup race in.

SI: Whose fans get on you the most?

Kenseth: Well, probably half the Dale Jr. fans. A lot of them think it's cool that we're friends and hang out. However, all of Junior's fans used to think our friendship was cool because he beat me for two years in the Busch championship. Now that we're ahead of him a little bit this year, there's probably less than half that think it's cool and the rest say Dale Jr. is going to kick my butt. Those guys are on me lately more than anybody.

SI: That's a big army to fight.

Kenseth: That's why I'm glad it's only half his fans.

--Richard Deitsch

Issue date: Aug. 18, 2003

 

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