| | | | | | | 17 - Matt Kenseth | Mooresville, NC |
| | Primary Sponsor: Dewalt
Manufacturer: Ford
Car Owner: Jack Roush
Team: Roush Racing 2006 was a big year for driver Matt Kenseth. Along with four wins, he had 15 top-five finishes – a career best - and 21 top-10 finishes. He finished second in the NEXTEL Cup championship point standings, only 56 points away from first. Kenseth won the second race of the year at California Speedway, then went on to claim a victory at Dover International Speedway, and won back-to-back races in August at Michigan International Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway. He also became one of just three drivers to make the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup in all three seasons, and entered the Chase in first place in the point standings.
Kenseth, born and raised in Cambridge, Wisconsin, started his racing career when he was 16 years old. By age 19, he was racing against drivers such as Dick Trickle, Ted Musgrave and Rick Bickle in the Wisconsin late model ranks. By the early 1990s, Kenseth was winning races and track titles across Wisconsin, and in 1994 he became the youngest driver ever to win the prestigious Miller Genuine Draft National Championships.
In 1997, Kenseth got a call from fellow Wisconsin racer Robbie Reiser, who asked Kenseth to drive for his team in the NASCAR Busch Series. On April 19, 1997, Kenseth drove the No. 17 Reiser Enterprises Monte Carlo to an 11th place finish, and went on to capture two top-five and seven top-10 finishes in 21 starts and finished second in the Rookie of the Year battle. His first full Busch Series season came in 1998. He finished second in the championship points battle with three wins and made his first NEXTEL Cup start. In September, Kenseth drove the McDonald’s Ford at Dover Downs as a substitute for Bill Elliott, finishing in sixth place in his very first run with the NASCAR elite.
Expanding his NEXTEL Cup schedule in 1999, Kenseth made five starts for Roush Racing in the No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford and continued his pursuit of a Busch Series championship, finishing third.
Kenseth joined the NEXTEL Cup Series full-time in 2000, capturing his first career victory at the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. He earned four top-five and 11 top-10 finishes on his way to a 14th place finish in the championship point standings. He also earned himself honors as Raybestos Rookie of the Year.
Kenseth claimed a series-best five victories in 2002, but a lack of consistency and sub-par performances kept the championship out of his grasp.
But in 2003 it all came together for Kenseth, Reiser, and Roush Racing as the No. 17 DEWALT Tools Ford team won the final Winston-era Cup Championship with a record-setting performance. Kenseth led the championship point standings for a record-breaking 34 straight weeks on the way to Rouch Racing’s first ever Cup title.
In 2004, Kenseth finished eighth in the NEXTEL Cup championship point standings and he finished seventh in the NEXTEL Cup championship point standings in 2005.
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