NASCAR Cup Series

Countdown to Daytona: Matt Kenseth's 500 success in the No. 17

Published Feb. 9, 2017 9:56 a.m. ET

Tom Jensen

When you think of great restrictor-plate racers, the first two names that come to mind among current Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers are probably Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Keselowski.

Those are excellent choices, but don’t sell two-time Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth short.

Today marks just 17 days until the 59th running of the Daytona 500, which takes place Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. ET on FOX.

And so on this day, we look at the impressive resume Kenseth has put together in the Daytona 500.

In 2009, Kenseth won a rain-shortened Daytona 500 and in 2012, he won both his Duel 150 qualifying race and his second 500. In all three of those races, Kenseth drove the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford to victory.

Since moving to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2013, Kenseth has been exceptionally stout in the Daytona 500, although his recent finishes haven’t always reflected how well he’s run.

In the 2013 Daytona 500, Kenseth had the dominant car, leading 86 laps in the No. 20 JGR Toyota until suffering a rare engine failure on Lap 149.

Kenseth was leading the 2016 Daytona 500 going into the last corner of the last lap, when his teammate Denny Hamlin dove under him to take the lead.

Hamlin out dragged Martin Truex Jr. to win by 0.010 seconds in the closest Daytona 500 finish since the advent of electronic timing and scoring in 1993. Kenseth, meanwhile, got hung out in the draft and finished 14th.

But do not be at all surprised if Kenseth rebounds to win his third Daytona 500 Feb. 26 on FOX.