Called on at the last moment to race the concrete mile of Dover, Del., in place of Bill Elliott, Kenseth ran near the front for much of the day and finished sixth. Then he got in Bobby Labonte's car in Darlington and there wasn't anybody there running any better. Kenseth ran five more Winston Cup events in 1999 and finished as high as fourth in preparing for a full run in the 2000 season, which opens with the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20. Reiser has stepped up, as well, to continue as his crew chief. Kenseth faces a steady diet of longer races, plus double duty on 20 weekends, when he'll also race for Reiser's Busch team.
Expectations are high.
Some have predicted Kenseth will finish among the top five. He says he'd be happy with 15th. In the Winston Cup races he's run, Matt's had the better runs. What'll make him a success in Winston Cup, Kenseth's backers say, are the same qualities that made him successful at every level before. All rights reserved.