Matt Kenseth: Best for Business

Well, at least Trevor Bayne will always have the 2011 Daytona 500 to remember.

It appears Jack Roush has finally lost faith in Bayne, who seemed to be on borrowed time entering his fourth full-time NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series season. In nine starts this year, Bayne has failed to finish in the top 10.

Enter Matt Kenseth, the grizzled veteran who wasn’t deemed employable by teams who I still believe could have benefitted from his championship-caliber talents (Stewart-Haas Racing, Richard Childress Racing). Despite leaving the sport unceremoniously at the end of last year, Kenseth looks to be getting behind the wheel of a Roush-Fenway Racing car again, this time in the same number as his old mentor, Mark Martin (ohhh the feels).

This reunion isn’t a nostalgia-fueled publicity stunt though; it’s arguably the best thing Roush can do for now until he can find the next best thing in auto racing, something we all thought Bayne was supposed to be.

Bayne’s respective points finishes in the past three years, 29th, 22nd and 22nd, didn’t bode well for this team entering 2018. Roush reentered the spotlight last year with Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s surprise restrictor plate wins, but those seem like a flash in the pan compared to what Roush was fielding just several short years ago.

While Kenseth is certainly not a long-term solution for Roush given his age, he can provide stability, solid performances and maybe snag a win here and there to keep this team relevant until a young up-and-comer is ready to take the wheel of a Cup Series car.

Why Kenseth and Bayne will have to share the No. 6 ride throughout this year is anyone’s guess. Perhaps Roush wants to light a fire under Bayne. Maybe Roush wants to ease Kenseth into returning to racing. Perhaps Roush will (surprisingly) return to a three-car team next year with Kenseth back on board. Maybe Roush will dump Bayne after Kenseth posts some top 10 finishes.

Either way, May 12 will be an interesting day for NASCAR as the 2003 series champion Kenseth is expected to make his triumphant return, much to Jon’s chagrin.