NASCAR: 5 drivers who pulled a ‘Tom Brady’
By Randy Smith
Drivers who pulled a “Tom Brady”: No. 4 – Matt Kenseth
Matt Kenseth’s tenure in the NASCAR Cup Series saw many endings, but none of them were ever official. His initial retirement came following the 2017 season when he was replaced by Erik Jones behind the wheel of Joe Gibbs Racing’s #20 Toyota, but he found himself back in the sport part-time the following season.
Initially unsigned for 2018, Kenseth returned to Roush Fenway Racing, the team for which he competed for the first 13 years of his full-time career. He split the driving duties of the #6 Ford with Trevor Bayne. After the 2018 season, it seemed Kenseth’s days of Cup Series competition were over.
That was until 2020, when Kyle Larson was released by Chip Ganassi Racing. Without much time to replace the Elk Grove, California native, Ganassi signed Kenseth for the rest of the season. Kenseth may have not produced his best season, but he was still able to grab a second place finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Kenseth stated at the end of the year that his days of full-time Cup Series competition were behind him, but like many mentioned beforehand, he still returned to the sport as a guest commentator, with a booth appearance at Auto Club Speedway this past February.
As far as on-track completion, Kenseth competed in three SRX races this year and earned a podium finish in the season finale at Sharon Speedway. The Cambridge, Wisconsin native still competes locally, running various late model races, but his days of running in NASCAR full-time do indeed seem to be over.
Regardless, like others, Kenseth has come out of retirement several times for different opportunities. This leads us to the man who introduced Kenseth to now RFK Racing co-owner Jack Roush, and maybe the most memorable name among drivers who pulled a “Tom Brady”.