Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and the current competition advisor for Legacy Motor Club in the NASCAR Cup Series.

[2] In 1990, he bought a late model car from Rich Bickle and won the season opener at Slinger Super Speedway, earning Rookie of the Year honors and finishing sixth in points.

[1] In 1991, he became the youngest winner in ARTGO history, taking the checkered flag at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway after passing notable drivers like Joe Shear and Steve Holzhausen.

After early struggles, Kenseth and Butz's team found success, winning the final short-track races at Madison, La Crosse, and I-70 Speedway.

"[2] In 1996, Kenseth moved to the Southern United States to race in the Hooters Late Model Series for engine builder Carl Wegner.

He made his Busch Series debut that year at Lowe's Motor Speedway, starting 30th and finishing 22nd in a car rented from Bobby Dotter.

Kenseth then joined Gerry Gunderman's American Speed Association team, which had previously housed Alan Kulwicki's shop before his move to NASCAR.

Kenseth also ran full-time, winning his first Busch Series race on February 22, 1998, by nudging leader Tony Stewart in the final turn.

He qualified for the inaugural Nextel Cup Chase, starting the 10-race playoff in fifth place and finishing eighth in the final NASCAR point standings.

However, that streak ended when he was involved in a wreck during the Citizens Bank 400 at Michigan, caused by Ryan Newman attempting to regain one of his three lost laps.

At Watkins Glen, while Kenseth was running seventh during a red flag period, a shirtless fan approached his car and asked him to autograph a white baseball cap.

This race marked the final event under the series title sponsor Nextel and the last to use templates based on the 1964 Holman-Moody Ford Fairlane design.

In 2009, Kenseth claimed victory in the rain-shortened Daytona 500, passing Elliott Sadler just moments before a caution was triggered on lap 146 due to a crash involving Aric Almirola and Sam Hornish Jr.

In Nationwide Series, he won the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 at Darlington Raceway by leading only the final four laps, three under caution, after Kyle Busch suffered a flat tire just before a Green–white–checkered finish.

At the Southern 500 at Darlington, Kenseth passed teammate Kyle Busch with ten laps to go, securing his third victory of the season and his first-ever Sprint Cup Series win at the track.

Later at Kentucky, Kenseth capitalized on Jimmie Johnson's spin to take the lead and held off Jamie McMurray to claim his fourth win of the year.

In 2014, at Daytona, Kenseth won the first of two Budweiser Duels, holding off Kevin Harvick (whose race was later disqualified) and Kasey Kahne in a thrilling three-wide finish.

[15] The following week at Talladega, Kenseth matched his season-best finish with a 2nd place result, advancing to the Eliminator Round, while his rival Keselowski won the race.

At Martinsville, Kenseth entered a turn at high speed, causing his car to wheel-hop and collide with Kevin Harvick, who was still in contention for the Chase.

At Pocono, Kenseth started seventh and claimed victory on the final lap after several drivers ran out of fuel, earning his first win at the track and second of the season.

At New Hampshire, he capitalized on Kevin Harvick running out of fuel with three laps remaining, taking the lead and securing his fifth win of the year to advance to the second round of the Chase.

He took the white flag but was passed by teammates Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. A failed blocking attempt sent Kenseth sideways, causing him to lose several positions.

At Las Vegas, Kenseth was involved in a multi-car wreck with Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch, and Carl Edwards, ultimately finishing 37th.

The car did not pass the Laser Inspection Station (LIS), leading NASCAR to impose a P3 penalty, which dropped Kenseth from eighth to ninth in the standings.

In the Chase race at Phoenix, Kenseth was leading late, but a late-race restart saw him wreck with Alex Bowman, ending his championship hopes.

42 Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing for the remainder of the season, after Larson was released for using a racial slur during an iRacing event two weeks earlier.

He later secured a season-best second-place finish on July 5, 2020, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which turned out to be his only top-five and final top-ten result of the season.

Kenseth led the points standings for 33 weeks despite his lone win and had already clinched the title with one race remaining, making the final event essentially meaningless.

Nevertheless, the timing of the format's debut in 2004 and Kenseth's 2003 title created a perceived connection, which NASCAR officials referenced in interviews and press releases when announcing the new system.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Ross began his racing career in legends cars and late models in Wisconsin before competing in ARCA and NASCAR.