Published: June 23, 2015
Waiting his turn
Ross Kenseth makes debut in NASCAR circuit with father in
attendance
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News
JOLIET, Ill. — Ross Kenseth will now wait and hope he gets
another shot.
The 22-year-old son of twotime Daytona 500 winner and 2003
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Matt Kenseth finished sixth in his NASCAR
debut in Sunday’s Owens Corning AttiCat 300 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet,
Illinois, with the XFINITY Series.
Ross’ weekend started with a spin in the first practice
session Friday. Thankfully, he didn’t touch the wall during the spin.
Things improved for him after that.
“These last two days were a lot better than my first day
here,” Ross said. “I felt like after practice we had a pretty decent car and
qualifying gave us a little confidence going into the race.”
Ross qualified second, alongside Austin Dillon, and led the
first lap of the 200-lap event, which was originally scheduled to be run
Saturday but severe weather postponed the race to Sunday.
Sunday’s race was won by Erik Jones, Ross’ teammate. Ryan
Blaney was second and Dillon was third.
Jones had a busy week, but a successful one. He won a late
model race in Berlin, Michigan, on Tuesday, then won the NASCAR Camping World
Truck Series race Friday in Iowa.
As for Ross, he was in the top 15 for most of the race.
“I thought we had a real good car at the
end; we just needed that last caution to come out,” Ross said. “I thought if we
had some track position, we could’ve run third or fourth. I don’t think we had
anything for (Jones) or (Blaney).
“The guys worked on it all day. I was sticking with it all day, just trying to be patient. ... We needed some more laps to get a top-five out of it.”
It is the only scheduled race Ross has with the XFINITY Series.
“For a one-off deal like this, I was happy,” Ross said.
Matt was at the track throughout the weekend as the Sprint Cup Series was off.
“I’m just thankful he’s getting this opportunity,” he said. “I’m excited it’s on an off week for me so I get to be a part of it; try to help out as much as I can.”
Throughout Ross’ career, Matt has played a more laid-back role, letting Ross learn on his own, much like he did at that age. But for this situation, it was hard to stick with that approach.
The deal for Ross to race at Chicagoland was announced in March. However, Ross didn’t get to test in the car between then and when he got to the track for the race weekend.
“I’ve definitely given more input and advice, observations, pointers, that type of stuff than I have at any other races just because he hasn’t been able to test,” Matt said. “He’s never been in an XFINITY car before. It’s so drastically different than anything he’s ever done and there’s very limited time to get ready.”
The closest experience Ross has to being in a XFINITY car is he’s made three career starts in the ARCA Series. Ross won the race at Michigan on June 12, which Ross said gave him a confidence boost going into the race at Chicagoland.
Matt said most of the information he’s tried to pass onto Ross in the limited time they’ve had is car setup, how to get around the track, etc.
Matt couldn’t have been happier with the situation Ross was in.
Ross will race a car that’s enjoyed plenty of success this season from several drivers, including two victories.
And Ross’ debut came on Father’s Day weekend.
“I’m excited to watch it and be a part of it,” Matt said. “He’s worked hard to try and get this chance he’s always wanted.”
Fellow competitors were also happy Ross got the chance to showcase his ability on a national level.
“I think he deserves it,” said Chase Elliott, who raced several times against Ross in late models. “I think he deserves a chance just as much as anybody else.”
For Matt, it was an interesting experience. It was a thrill to see his son accomplish a goal he’s longed dreamed of. At the same time, it was hard for the six-time Slinger Nationals champion to watch the car he normally races compete without him in the car, especially with his name on the car.
“I kind of don’t like that part,” Matt said with a smile. “It’s weird to be at the race track and not be driving.”
So what’s next for Ross?
Well, Ross will race at Slinger Nationals on July 14.
It’ll be Ross’ sixth appearance at Nationals and he’s enjoyed success at the event, albeit without a victory.
He won the limited late model feature on Slinger Nationals night in 2009. He finished third three times in the next four years (2010, 2012, 2013) in the main event super late model race and was sixth in 2012.
Last year, he was 19th with a mechanical problem.
Ross also finished fifth in a weekly show July 3, 2011, at Slinger.
Outside of last year’s result, Kenseth’s average finish at Slinger is fourth.
“I’m looking forward to going back this year,” he said last month.
He is also scheduled to make his fourth career ARCA start Sept. 25 at Kentucky Speedway, driving for Ken Schrader, the same team Ross won with at Michigan.
Other than that, it’s a question mark.
“That’s over my head,” Ross said, adding he hoped he did enough to earn another chance.
“The guys worked on it all day. I was sticking with it all day, just trying to be patient. ... We needed some more laps to get a top-five out of it.”
It is the only scheduled race Ross has with the XFINITY Series.
“For a one-off deal like this, I was happy,” Ross said.
Matt was at the track throughout the weekend as the Sprint Cup Series was off.
“I’m just thankful he’s getting this opportunity,” he said. “I’m excited it’s on an off week for me so I get to be a part of it; try to help out as much as I can.”
Throughout Ross’ career, Matt has played a more laid-back role, letting Ross learn on his own, much like he did at that age. But for this situation, it was hard to stick with that approach.
The deal for Ross to race at Chicagoland was announced in March. However, Ross didn’t get to test in the car between then and when he got to the track for the race weekend.
“I’ve definitely given more input and advice, observations, pointers, that type of stuff than I have at any other races just because he hasn’t been able to test,” Matt said. “He’s never been in an XFINITY car before. It’s so drastically different than anything he’s ever done and there’s very limited time to get ready.”
The closest experience Ross has to being in a XFINITY car is he’s made three career starts in the ARCA Series. Ross won the race at Michigan on June 12, which Ross said gave him a confidence boost going into the race at Chicagoland.
Matt said most of the information he’s tried to pass onto Ross in the limited time they’ve had is car setup, how to get around the track, etc.
Matt couldn’t have been happier with the situation Ross was in.
Ross will race a car that’s enjoyed plenty of success this season from several drivers, including two victories.
And Ross’ debut came on Father’s Day weekend.
“I’m excited to watch it and be a part of it,” Matt said. “He’s worked hard to try and get this chance he’s always wanted.”
Fellow competitors were also happy Ross got the chance to showcase his ability on a national level.
“I think he deserves it,” said Chase Elliott, who raced several times against Ross in late models. “I think he deserves a chance just as much as anybody else.”
For Matt, it was an interesting experience. It was a thrill to see his son accomplish a goal he’s longed dreamed of. At the same time, it was hard for the six-time Slinger Nationals champion to watch the car he normally races compete without him in the car, especially with his name on the car.
“I kind of don’t like that part,” Matt said with a smile. “It’s weird to be at the race track and not be driving.”
So what’s next for Ross?
Well, Ross will race at Slinger Nationals on July 14.
It’ll be Ross’ sixth appearance at Nationals and he’s enjoyed success at the event, albeit without a victory.
He won the limited late model feature on Slinger Nationals night in 2009. He finished third three times in the next four years (2010, 2012, 2013) in the main event super late model race and was sixth in 2012.
Last year, he was 19th with a mechanical problem.
Ross also finished fifth in a weekly show July 3, 2011, at Slinger.
Outside of last year’s result, Kenseth’s average finish at Slinger is fourth.
“I’m looking forward to going back this year,” he said last month.
He is also scheduled to make his fourth career ARCA start Sept. 25 at Kentucky Speedway, driving for Ken Schrader, the same team Ross won with at Michigan.
Other than that, it’s a question mark.
“That’s over my head,” Ross said, adding he hoped he did enough to earn another chance.
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