Matt Kenseth

Matt Kenseth had made a deal with his father. His father would buy him a race car when he was 13 on the condition that Matt maintains it so that he can race it when he becomes eligible. Matt promptly took up the challenge and for three years, he worked real hard at getting things to work. Not only did Matt get to drive a race car, he also got to fix it. This in-depth knowledge, he believes, has helped him understand more about a car's performance and making it run to the best of its abilities. One look at his trophy cabinet and you would know that he is speaking the truth.

He won his first feature short track race when he was still 16. In his next two seasons, he took Wisconsin by storm and won everything there was to win. He won 10 track features in 2 seasons, and in three seasons, almost walked over the Late Model Series with 46 wins. In '93, the Alan Kulwicki Memorial race had Matt's name written all over it while in the following year, he won titles at the Madison and Wisconsin International tracks and Wisconsin seemed to have become somewhat of a favourite as he won there again, in 1995. In 60 races, in '95, he had 15 victories.

In 1995, it was also time for Kenseth to move ahead into the world of NASCAR racing. He started off in the NASCAR Southeast series with a top-three finish in three of his four starts. In 1996, he took part in the Hooter's ProCup series and in his very first season, won a race on his way to an impressive third place.

In 1997, Matt decided that the American Speed Association races were the place to be seen at and he went out there with all guns blazing. He was running second in the standings when a call came from Robbie Reiser. Reiser had a team that was looking for a driver at the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Matt's performances had impressed them enough to pull him on board for a season, at least. Matt got 21 races in the season and probably, a complete season may have changed things as he came second in the race for the Rookie of the Year title.

In 1998, he came second in the Nationwide Series after a fantastic season that saw him win three times. He also got his first chance to run in the NASCAR Sprint Cup when Will Elliot had to leave to attend his father's funeral. He had an impressive run in the race and finished sixth.

In 1999, he won more races but unfortunately, poor finishes otherwise meant that he couldn't manage higher than third place. He came on the Sprint Cup tracks with Roush Fenway Racing and got 5 races as he kept trying to adapt to the highest level. In just five races, there were signs of a champion in the making as he got a fourth place at Dover after an extraordinary drive.

He got a full season at the Sprint Cup in 2000. With 11 top-ten finishes, he got the Rookie of the Year award, beating Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the title. He got his first win at the Coca Cola 600, the longest race on the calendar and he also got a second place at the next race in Dover. His fantastic season saw him end the year in 14th place. In 2001, he went one place better and ended the season in 13th place. He managed 4 top-five finishes and the only win came for his pit-crew at Rockingham.

Matt was working harder and it showed in 2002 when he won 5 races, finished in the top-5 eleven times and had 19 top-ten finishes. Things just kept getting better and in 2003, he won it all. He won just one race but his 11 top-five finishes as well as his 25 top-tens (a season record for 2003), meant that he took the Sprint Cup Championship. He went into the lead after the fourth race weekend and then held onto it for 33 weeks.

Expectations had risen with the young man from Cambridge and from 2001 to 2003, he had also competed in the Nationwide Series whenever he could and despite fewer appearances, he managed at least one win each year. He also won the last 9 races out of 10 to pile on his 23 career wins in the Nationwide Series.

He couldn't manage to defend his title in 2004 as he just managed to get to eighth place in the standings after a disappointing season. E had two wins in the season and never went out of the top-ten for the entire year. He was moving back up again in 2005. Ranked 24th in the standings, with 12 rounds to go, he came back up to 7th place.

In 2006, he improved even more. He came in at fourth after a spectacular season that saw him win 4 races and had 15 top-five finishes. For about 27 weeks, he was amongst the top two but dropped out after a few poor finishes.

He won two races and had 13 top-five finishes as well as 22 top-tens. His 4th place was not his best ever, and in fact, it was not as good as his last season but he has the potential to be a points' contender and stay at the top for the title, something he has shown over the last few decades in ever form of racing.

Whether he continues his good form in 2008 is something that his fans will just have to wait to see.