Driver: Matt Kenseth
Seed: 7
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 20 Toyota
Crew Chief: Jason Ratcliff
Best Finish: 1st, Dover and New Hampshire
Age: 44
Hometown: Cambridge, Wisconsin
Matt Kenseth has been known for his consistency since he dominated en route to his 2003 Premier Series championship. This year has been a bit of a struggle in some points for Kenseth. He's posted his worst average finish (15.4) since 2008 and posted four DNFs in the 2016 regular season.
On a positive note for Kenseth, his high moments have come at most of the eight tracks that appear again in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Both of his wins came at first round Chase tracks, Dover and New Hampshire, and he posted a combined average finish of 8.6, even with a 23rd place finish at Talladega.
The No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team seems to have an emphasis on the Chase tracks this season, so we'll see how the regular-season results carry over into the Chase.
Five-defining moments
1. AAA 400 at Dover -- Matt Kenseth looked inconsistent in the first half of the season but held off Kyle Larson's late in the race to get his first win of the season and lock up a Chase berth.
2. Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas -- Matt Kenseth started the season off with a 14th at Daytona and a 19th at Atlanta. His luck didn't change in Sin City when he crashed with Chase Elliott and Kurt Busch and finished 37th.
3. New Hampshire 301 at New Hampshire -- Kenseth won his second race of the season and it bodes well for him as he'll see both Dover and New Hampshire in the first round of the Chase.
4. GEICO 500 at Talladega -- In his worst finish in a Chase race, Kenseth went for a wild ride as his car flipped over when he and Danica Patrick collided. He ended up 23rd in the wild 'Dega race.
5. Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond -- In his worst finish of the season, Kenseth rehashed some bad blood with Brad Keselowski. The two have had run-ins during the Chase before, so expect sparks to fly going forward.
