NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: Win Puts Sunshine Into Kenseth Farewell Drive
Matt Kenseth hopes to make Roush Fenway departure on positive terms…
Mike Hembree  |  Posted October 09, 2012   Charlotte, NC
Matt Kenseth, pictured here in victory lane Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, is in his final season with Roush Fenway Racing. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Matt Kenseth remains mired in 12th place in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, but he scored a major seasonal highlight Sunday by emerging from the last-lap chaos to win the Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

After mediocre – and worse – finishes in the first three Chase races, and with Kenseth’s long-time relationship with Roush Fenway Racing rapidly moving toward its conclusion, the Talladega victory was a cleansing of sorts.

Kenseth wanted to score at least one more victory with the team members who have made much of the RFR journey with him.

“It’s important to finish on a high note,” Kenseth said Tuesday. “It would break my heart if the thing was broken when I left. We’ve had parts breaking and things falling off and not getting good finishes. It was important for me to keep that whole unit as a front-running, championship-contending unit.

“I hope we can keep the momentum and get another win or two and finish as high as we can in the points.”

Kenseth said the closing of the Roush Fenway chapter in his career has moved along well despite the occasional rumor or fan suggestion that the team has had some tough weeks because of the impending parting. Kenseth will drive for Joe Gibbs Racing next season.

“I think if we were running terribly or weren’t getting along or whatever, it would be harder,” Kenseth said. “But everybody has been as good as gold to me. They always have been and are now. We’re working as hard as we can until the end of 2012.

“It’s business as usual. We’re all in at Roush Fenway until we’re done with that.”

Kenseth said there is a mix of anxiety and excitement as he prepares to leave the team he has driven for since 1999 to relocate.

“I don’t think there’s any apprehension, but there certainly is some amount of anxiety,” he said. “Everything’s different from the building to all the people, the manufacturer, the sponsors, the crew chief. You’re a little anxious over that because you’re really comfortable where you’ve been.

“I’m not usually a guy who likes change, but, on the other hand, it’s really, really exciting. I’ve been with one of the best organizations in the sport and had a pretty good amount of success, but, at the same time, I get to go to another of the winningest organizations in the sport, and I go to a car that’s won championships and a lot of races. It’s really exciting to go try something different.”

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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