CONCORD, NC - OCTOBER 18: NASCAR driver Kurt Busch manuevers the number 14 car around the new Roval road course during Goodyear tire testing at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 18, 2017 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Bob Leverone/Getty Images for NASCAR)
NASCAR drivers told Kenseth: The Roval will be a ‘disaster’
Racing News
Matt Kenseth wanted to go to Bristol; Purposefully dropped out of Superspeedways and The Roval
Matt Kenseth sat unemployed for the early months of the 2018 racing season. Jack Roush has pulled him from the couch and placed him in the race car.
So far, he’s run two races. In his debut at Kansas, Kenseth went a lap down in stage 1. That’s how far behind Roush-Fenway Racing is this year.
Matt Kenseth’s schedule: Kansas Speedway (May 12), Charlotte Motor Speedway (May 19), Charlotte Motor Speedway (May 27), Michigan International Speedway (May June 10), Indianapolis Motor Speedway (September 9), Dover International Speedway (October 7), ISM Raceway (November 11), Homestead-Miami Speedway (November 18)
Which races are you excited about?
“I was excited to go to Kansas,” Kenseth stated via the Dale Jr download. “I felt like that was a relatively easy, straight forward track. Pretty smooth, I felt like it would be easy to evaluate where we’re at. I think it’s one of my better tracks.”
“It went really bad for us. So, that was a little disheartening. That has me a little worried about the rest of them coming up.”
“Some of the tracks I like the most are probably not going to be on the schedule. Like Bristol. I was hoping to run Bristol. I might, I don’t know yet for sure.”
There’s no superspeedway races on his 2018 campaign. That’s not by chance.
“Daytona and Talladega I opted out of,” Kenseth explains.
In addition, there’s a new track on the 2018 schedule. The Charlotte Roval is set to make it’s debut in the NASCAR playoffs. It’s part oval and part road course. Kenseth expects that one to go horrible.
“I may have opted out of that one too,” Matt Kenseth says of the Charlotte Roval event.
“I hear from everybody that’s gonna be a disaster. All the drivers opinion.”
“They said everybody will wreck and you’re not going to be able to pass.”
Dale Jr: “Wait. People like wrecking. Well, not everybody.”
Kenseth: “Drivers don’t. At least I don’t think they do.”
Dale Jr: “They don’t.”
Kenseth: “Although, there’s some of them that might.”
Dale Jr. “No. I don’t know.”
Kenseth: “I shouldn’t talk. I’ve wrecked both weeks so far. I’m two for two.”
Matt Kenseth finished 14th of 21 in the NASCAR All-Star race. His debut at Kansas Speedway ended in a crash. He finished 36th of 38 at Kansas. It’s been a rough start so far. But, there’s nowhere to go but up.