Matt Kenseth’s 2003 championship victory was a turning point in the history of the NASCAR Cup Series. It led to the axing of the traditional full-season championship points format, which made way for the Chase format. Despite more than two decades, Kenseth hasn’t been able to forget some of the negative comments that were made about his success that season.
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Kenseth lifted the trophy with just one Victory Lane visit that year. This attracted criticism, and many questioned whether he deserved to be champion, calling him a “boring” driver.
The then Roush Racing driver did not pay heed to most of them. However, the words that came from Brian France, the former CEO and Chairman of NASCAR, stung him deep.
“There were a couple [of] things I took personal. But most of it I didn’t. That’s supposed to be one of the things you learn right away is to not take anything personal. But that’s easier said than done,” Kenseth told Scene Vault.
“So, you know, I’d say there was some comments Brian France made to me that I took very personal and still feel that way about it,” he added.
France did not like the idea that all the conversations were about the points that a driver secured and not about the racing. This was also the biggest reason he supported the introduction of the Chase format. Being a traditionalist, Kenseth did not like the move away and saw even less reason to like it once the new format came to play.
Kenseth pointed out that anyone who watches a race on television can see that the conversations about points have only increased under the Chase format. He also believed that all the talk about playoff points, stage points, and qualifying for the Chase completely consumed whatever discussion could be had about a particular race.
The “constant barrage of talking about points,” said Kenseth, nullified the purpose that the sanctioning body was trying to achieve. He finished as the runner-up in two seasons under the Chase format (2006 with Roush Racing, and 2013 with JGR). He retired from full-time racing in 2017 and drove a part-time schedule in 2018 and in 2020.
Kenseth’s final victory came at Phoenix in 2017, under the playoff format. Now that the sport is going back to the Chase from 2026, he may not be all that glad about it, considering his history with the format.
