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NASCAR: Matt Kenseth leaving racing after 2017 season

By Asher Fair

MARTINSVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 28: Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 DeWalt Flexvolt Toyota, walks to his car in the garage area during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 28, 2017 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
MARTINSVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 28: Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 DeWalt Flexvolt Toyota, walks to his car in the garage area during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 28, 2017 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /
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After the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series season, Matt Kenseth is leaving the sport. At 45 years old, his departure could be permanent.

Matt Kenseth, 45, who currently drives the #20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, is set to be replaced by 21-year-old Erik Jones, who currently drives the #77 Toyota for Furniture Row Racing, the team with which Joe Gibbs Racing has a technical alliance, in the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season.

This was announced nearly four months ago, and the 45-year-old Kenseth has been unable to secure a ride in the Cup Series for next season since then. Now he has made it official: he will not be returning to the Cup Series next season.

While he will not be driving in the Cup Series in the 2018 season, Kenseth has not officially announced that he is retiring. Here is what he said on a NASCAR on NBC podcast, which is scheduled to be released early this upcoming week.

"“I’ve put a lot of thought into it and pretty much decided after Martinsville, which I kind of already knew anyway, but we decided to take some time off. I don’t know what that means. I don’t know if that’s forever. I don’t know if that’s a month or I don’t know if that’s five months. I don’t know if that’s two years. Most likely when you’re gone, you don’t get the opportunity again. I just don’t really feel it’s in the cards.”"

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While Kenseth did not officially announce his retirement from the sport, it seems more than safe to say that his full-time career as a Cup Series driver may be ending after the final three races of the 2017 season seeing as how he would be 47 shortly after the 2019 season begins.

Plus, given the fact that teams are moving toward younger lineups, as evidenced by the fact that 24-year-old Alex Bowman is set to replace 43-year-old Dale Earnhardt Jr. and 19-year-old William Byron is set to replace 37-year-old Kasey Kahne at Hendrick Motorsports and 23-year-old Ryan Blaney is set to drive Team Penske’s third car next season, it is very unlikely that a contending team would hire a 47-year-old such as Kenseth as a full-time driver.

Next: 10 NASCAR drivers who deserve better rides

Is this the end for Matt Kenseth, or will he race in any NASCAR Cup Series race following the last three races on this season’s schedule? One thing is certain — he will be trying harder than he ever has to get to Victory Lane in at least one of the final three races of this season, his final three races as a full-time Joe Gibbs Racing driver in the #20 Toyota.

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