NASCAR Cup Series: Matt Kenseth to return with Roush Fenway Racing
By Asher Fair
Matt Kenseth is set to return to the NASCAR Cup Series with Roush Fenway Racing as a part-time driver of the #6 Ford currently driven full-time by Trevor Bayne.
There was a reason that it was not reported that Matt Kenseth had retired from NASCAR Cup Series competition yet.
That reason was simple: he hadn’t. And he still hasn’t.
The 46-year-old who won the 2003 NASCAR Cup Series championship driving for Roush Racing, now Roush Fenway Racing, is set to return to the team that gave him his first full-time ride in the Cup Series way back in the 2000 season.
Kenseth, who has 39 career Cup Series victories drove the #17 Ford full-time for Roush Fenway Racing from the start of the 2000 season until the end of the 2012 season before he made the switch to Joe Gibbs Racing and began driving the #20 Toyota full-time.
But last July, 21-year-old Erik Jones was announced as his replacement in the #20 Toyota ended, leaving him without a full-time ride this season and casting doubt on his future in the Cup Series following the 2017 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida.
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The two-time Daytona 500 champion is set to share the driving duties of the #6 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing with 2011 Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne, who has driven the car full-time since the start of the 2015 season when he got his first full-time ride in the Cup Series.
While it has not yet been confirmed, it is expected that Kenseth’s first race back will be at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas, a track at which he has two career victories in the Cup Series, on Saturday, May 12th. Be sure to tune in to Fox Sports 1 at 8:00 pm ET that night to watch the live broadcast of that race, the Kansas 400. None of the others races in which he is set to drive the #6 Ford have been discussed at this point in time.
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Are you excited to see Matt Kenseth returning to the NASCAR Cup Series with Roush Fenway Racing as one of the two part-time drivers of the #6 Ford? Are you disappointed that Trevor Bayne is now only a part-time driver for the team as opposed to one of their full-time drivers?