Car:
Number 17 Ford
Team:
Roush Racing
Sponsor:
DeWalt. DeWalt has been with Matt since his Busch Series days and throughout his entire Sprint Cup career.
Birthdate:
March 10, 1972
Rookie Season:
Started one race in 1998, five races in 1999. Official rookie season was 2000 which featured a win at Charlotte in the Coca-Cola 600. He was the 2000 Raybestos Rookie Of The Year beating Dale Earnhardt Jr. for that honor.
Career Highlights:
2003 - NASCAR Cup Series Champion
2000 - Raybestos Rookie Of The Year.
Quiet Talent:
Never one to seek out the spotlight Matt even managed to avoid overexposure in the press during his 2003 Championship run. During that season Matt took a lot of criticism for being too quiet and not being aggressive enough on the track but he was doing exactly what he had to do to win the title.
Matt isn't flashy or likely to outsell his friend Dale Jr. in merchandise but he is very intelligent and posesses a great deal of driving talent. Matt is a thinking man's driver more than a drive-the-wheels-off-it kind of driver.
