Part two of Matt Kenseth’s story with Roush Fenway Racing begins this weekend six years after the end of part one.
Kenseth, who will split time in the No. 6 Ford for the rest of the season with Trevor Bayne, makes his first start Saturday at Kansas Speedway.
The 1.5-mile track was the site of his last win with Roush in 2012, his final season with the team before moving to Joe Gibbs Racing.
Kenseth spoke with NASCAR’s America’s Dave Burns about how he’s prepared for his return to Cup racing.
“I think I’m going to survive,” Kenseth joked in his trademark deadpan manner, later adding he’s just been “watching TV and napping.”
Kenseth, a two-time Kansas winner, said he doesn’t have any real expectations for the race.
“My hope is that it goes smooth on Friday and all that stuff kind of fits and you get comfortable fast and you get to work on the car and get it driving good, there’s very little practice,” Kenseth said. “If that goes smooth, then hopefully we’ll be OK Saturday.”
The Kansas race will be the first of five consecutive weekends Kenseth will drive the No. 6, sources told NBC Sports’ Nate Ryan.
Kenseth said he’s looking forward to working with Bayne and teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
“Hopefully I can help, certainly I feel the organization is on an upswing right now,” Kenseth said. “Ricky’s shown a lot of speed this year off and on. You can see the potential is there.”
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