Darlington
Dateline: 3/22/99In Friday morning Busch Grand National practice Bobby Labonte found the outside retaining wall hard and fractured his shoulder. As soon as it was apparent that Bobby would not be able to compete on Sunday he named his own replacement telling his crew chief Jimmy Makar to "Go talk to Kenseth."
Why Matt?
This young driver has caught the eye of the Winston Cup superstars. Last year, when Bill Elliott was forced to miss the race in Dover, Matt was given his first Winston Cup start ever and brought the McDonalds car home in sixth place, matching Bill's best finish of the year. Also, Mark Martin has taken him under his wing. When Matt Kenseth makes his run for the Rookie-Of-The-Year honors in the year 2000 it will be in a Jack Roush owned car.
Last week Matt again proved his worth as he took over the driving duties in 33rd position and had worked his way up into tenth place when the red flag flew ending the race because of rain. If Bobby Labonte should find his way to the head table in New York City this year he owes a portion of the Winston Cup to Matt.
There is just something special about the way Matt Kenseth handles a race car. Driving smooth, consistent lines, never over-aggressive but still pushing the car to it's limits, the genuinely likeable Matt Kenseth is the future of NASCAR.
Think Dale Jr should have been given the seat? Think Derrike Cope would have made a better sub? Stop by the bulletin boards and let the world know what you think. Or you can swing by the chat room Wednesday night from 8-9pm EST to talk about this and anything else NASCAR.
