DARLINGTON, S.C. — When Matt Kenseth straps into the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet for Sunday’s The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway, he’ll have gone 546 days since the last time he raced at NASCAR’s top level.
Kenseth, who last competed in the NASCAR Cup Series on Nov. 11, 2018 at Homestead-Miami Speedway aboard Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 6 Ford, is no stranger to Darlington Raceway.
The Wisconsin native has made 25 starts in the NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington, including a victory in the 2013 edition of the Southern 500 at the historic 1.366-mile egg-shaped asphalt oval.
Now Kenseth, who was named the driver of the No. 42 Chevrolet by Chip Ganassi Racing following Kyle Larson’s dismissal, will look to make his return to NASCAR’s top level at one of the sport’s toughest tracks.
“I’ve been doing as much as I can as far as being prepared, looking at data and reading notes,” Kenseth said Thursday. “Going to the simulator was one of those boxes I wanted to check. I did go there (to the simulator) and drive it and make a few runs at Darlington and just kind of drive it and felt comfortable and all that stuff.”
Sunday’s race will be among the most unique in NASCAR history. As part of the sanctioning body’s social-distancing plan to help keep the COVID-19 virus at bay, there will be no practice or qualifying prior to Sunday’s race.
Instead, teams will draw for their starting positions based on their position in the owner’s standings. The No. 42 team is ranked seventh, meaning Kenseth could start as low as 12th or as high as first based on the random draw rules set by NASCAR earlier this week.
Kenseth acknowledges he’s at a bit of a disadvantage compared to his fellow competitors entering Sunday’s race, but he believes he’ll get up to speed quickly.
Then again, he won’t have much of a choice.
“We’ll have to see where everybody starts. Nobody has been in a car for a while,” Kenseth said. “Certainly, it’s been longer for me. I think the biggest difference for me also is that I haven’t driven these race cars or driven for this team. So kind of a few more unknowns. I’m not sure how exactly everything is going to feel and all that kind of stuff.
“Certainly, there is a little bit of anxiety for those first few corners until you get rolling and get used to things,” Kenseth continued. “At the same time, everybody is going to be ready to pounce. Restarts are very important. Track position is very important. You always want to get what you can get when you can get it. So, I don’t expect people to be taking it real easy, or maybe giving you a bunch of extra room or anything like that. You certainly don’t expect any kind of special treatment.
“You know everyone is going to be out there ready to pounce on whatever spot they can, so you just have to be smart. Especially for me, just be smart and get through those first bunch of laps to get in a rhythm, get a little bit of room to move around, breathe, get kind of acclimated, and go from there.”
At 48, Kenseth is one of the senior drivers on the NASCAR Cup Series tour. The 2003 NASCAR Cup Series champion and two-time Daytona 500 winner said he isn’t focused on what his racing future holds.
In fact, right now he hasn’t thought about much beyond Sunday’s race.
“Right now, I’m not really looking too far beyond Sunday, to be totally honest with you,” Kenseth admitted. “Certainly, the learning curve is going to be steep. I know being out of the car that long, starting with a different team and piling on top of not being able to practice for the foreseeable future, or testing and anything like that, is going to be very challenging. But I’m really excited. I have to admit, I’m just as excited as I’ve been to go racing in many, many years.
“So I’m really looking forward to getting to the track,” Kenseth added. “I really like this group of guys, the cars look nice, the Camaro looks like they’re really fast, so I’m really looking forward to it. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity. I just know that it’s going to be a big challenge. I’m going to have to work hard and do my best to try and take advantage of the opportunity.”