Kenseth Ready To Make Another Title Run~ JENNA FRYER, AP Auto Racing Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The perception in NASCAR is that Matt Kenseth is to blame for the Chase for the championship.
A dry and charisma-challenged driver, he spent too much time in 2003 worrying about on-track consistency and not enough about his image. He handily won a championship by finishing somewhere around seventh every week, never caring that he wasn't in the spotlight or savoring any Victory Lane celebrations.
His title run was boring — as Kenseth is accused of being — and NASCAR wouldn't going to stand for it (at least that's what the fans think).
So the sanctioning body changed the rules and devised a "playoff" format that really isn't even a playoff. But it's designed to manufacture interest in the sport, maintain it through the summer, and then whip it into a frenzy during the fall when NASCAR goes head-to-head with the NFL.
It was an affront to Kenseth, who played by the rules and stayed true to himself while winning NASCAR's highest honor.
But guess what? Three seasons later, Kenseth has pushed aside the initial sting of having the rules changed on him and is now a huge proponent of the Chase.
"The more you think about it, I think (the Chase) is more of a compliment than anything," he said. "It does add more excitement to the season. I think it works and I think it's good."
It probably helps that Kenseth has emerged as the new favorite to win the title.
His win Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway was his second consecutive Cup victory and it pulled him within seven points of leader Jimmie Johnson. He was 124 points back before the victories, but now has momentum on his side as he heads into Sunday's race at California Speedway, where he won in February.
Kenseth is quietly building another championship season, under a new system in a completely different manner. He won just one race during his 2003 title run; he's already got four wins this year.
He also believes that his team is much stronger than it was in 2003.
"I think this is probably our best chance to ever win one," he said. "I think our chance is much better as far as pure performance than what it was in 2003, so it's a great opportunity for us and we're going to do everything we can to capitalize on it."
Like it or not, Kenseth is back at the top again.
The only difference is that under the Chase format, it will be much more difficult for him to win the title than it was in 2003. No one came close to catching him then, and he wrapped up the crown a week before the season finale. It would be next to impossible for any driver to do that in the current system, which is designed to go down to the wire.
So instead of rewarding a season full of consistency, which is how Kenseth won under the old way, he'll have to be at his best against nine other drivers over the final 10 races of the season to win it under the new format.
Traditional NASCAR fans hate it, but it's hard to argue that the new format isn't more exciting. Kenseth himself made that point by pointing to the Busch Series, where Kevin Harvick leads the second place driver by 519 points and has a 1,335-point advantage over 10th.
"When I don't run the Busch race and I sit on the couch and watch and see that the leader is 500 points ahead of second and 1,300 ahead of 10th you're like, 'Oh, that's really cool. Let's just watch the race to see who is going to win. Who cares about a championship?'" he said.
"Whereas here it keeps it exciting and gets everybody talking about it. It keeps you guys talking about it for the last 10 weeks before the Chase, and then all the way through the Chase to see who is going to get their stuff running at the end of the year."
Although he's hot right now, Kenseth could revert to his old ways and finish between fifth and 10th every week during the Chase and not win the title. Someone like Kevin Harvick, who is 321 points out of first and wouldn't even be mentioned as a championship contender under the old system, could string together a run of wins and snatch the title away.
Or Kasey Kahne, who sits 11th right now, could bump someone out of the playoffs and then use the five intermediate tracks on the schedule to run away with the title. Remember, Kahne was unbeatable on the 1.5-milers at the start of the season, earning three of his four wins on those tracks.
So blame Kenseth if you must for the new format because he doesn't care — he's loving it right now.