Toyota NSCS Phoenix Matt Kenseth Notes & Quotes

Did you feel that a season like you’ve had was possible at the start of the year?
“That’s hard to say right now because of the year we had.  I really felt really confident after that (Charlotte) test that we were going to have a really good season, or at least  we had all the ingredients to have a really good season.  It would have been hard to believe somebody if they said we would have had seven wins and done some of the things that we did this year in our first year together, because throughout my whole career I’ve never been able to do that.  It would have been hard to believe that.”

Did you believe winning the championship would be possible?
“Probably the same answer.  That’s what we aim for — that’s what we hope for — but the sport is I think unpredictable and certainly changing teams and doing all that stuff — I didn’t know whether we were going to have this kind of year or a winless year.  I just didn’t really know.  There was a lot that was unknown.”

Is it a successful season even if you don’t win this year’s championship?
“No matter how it ends up, it’s been a great season, absolutely.  Before the Chase started, it’s been a great season.  After we won the first two (races) of the Chase, I said that no matter what happened in the last seven, it was still going to be a great year.  It’s funny how your views and your goals and what you want to accomplish change.  It’s kind of a moving target. Obviously, when you’re in this spot, you’re like, ‘Ah man.’  If you don’t end up winning the championship it’s h ard to not be just a little bit disappointed when you’re in that spot because you just don’t get that many opportunities to win it.  For sure, no matter how it ends up the next two weeks, it has been an unbelievable year.  It’s been one of probably the best years of my career, really with the things that we’ve done on the race track from a performance standpoint, the wins we’ve had, the laps we’ve led — all the things that we’ve done.  It’s been a great year no matter what.”

How do you approach the upcoming races?
“I don’t sit and worry about the next race track coming up because worrying is just a waste of energy, or waste of time. Certainly, I try to be as prepared as I can when we come to the track, try to look at what you’ve done in the past, what you can do better coming back and try to improve on the things you did good, try to improve on the things you did bad and try to be better at that.  Kind of go over a plan for what we’re looking for, what we want to accomplish that type of thing.  I wouldn’t say worry is the right word.  I haven’t worried at all, really.  Just trying to be as prepared as we can and as ready as we can when we get here.”

Have you used any sort of ‘special’ technique to prepare for the next race?
“I guess I don’t.  I guess I’m not that smart.  No, I guess I don’t.  Kind of like the same answer as before.  Just try to be as prepared as I can when I come here.  Certainly I try to pay attention, try to improve on the things we did bad and the things we did good and always try to improve as a driver.  I think you try to do that every time you come back, every lap you run on the track, every practice session, every qualifying — you’re always trying to get better, so you always try to focus on the things that you think will make you better.”

How are you able to put things in a box and focus on the race?
“I think my biggest advantage this year has been that I have a really strong team, a really fast race car when we show up to the race track, we have cars that can compete for wins more often than not.  I think no matter what, my mental state is if I have really slow race cars, it’s not going to matter what my mental state is and if I have cars that are capable of going to win and going out and able to compete every week, it’s easier to be in a better frame of mind and focus on things.  I guess I’m more of a mechanical guy than a psychological guy.  There’s some people that are more psychological, some people are more mechanical.  I’ve always been from the school, if you have the fastest race car, more often than not, you have the chance for the win or the good finish.”

Does your daughter understand the championship battle against her friend’s dad, Jimmie Johnson?
“First of all, everybody I race against to Kaylin (daughter) is somebody’s dad.  It’s always funny to me because it’s like there goes Evie’s dad (Jimmie Johnson), there goes everybody’s dad.  It’s not ever their name.  So yeah, she kind of gets it and kind of doesn’t.  We talk about it and they like watching racing.  I wouldn’t say a four-year-old has a total grasp on everything that’s going on probably, hopefully as much as the rest of us.  It’s fun.  Seven or eight years ago the motorhome park was always quiet and everybody went in the bus and locked their doors and nobody would talk to each other and do anything, and now with all the kids, it’s a lot fun because we actually get to probably be more friends than we’ve ever been before in the garage area and motorhome park because our kids are playing together and kind of brings everybody together. That part is always fun and relaxing.”

What type of relationship do you have with Jimmie Johnson?
“I don’t know about sitting and comparing us.  I think that we’ve always had a good relationship and it’s probably gotten better over the years.  Some of that is kids, some of that is just talking more or whatever.  I think that we’re different and we have different interests as far as what we like and what we don’t like — maybe away from the race track.  I think our relationship has always been good.  It’s probably better right now than it’s ever been.  I like having friends more than I like having enemies, so yes, I think it’s good.”

Does your relationship with Jimmie Johnson affect doing what you need to do when the race starts?
“I don’t think it makes any difference.  When you drop the green out here on Sunday, there’s 42 cars that you want to beat and there’s 42 teams and guys that you’re trying to get ahead of and you’re trying to beat to go win the race.  The guys I get along with the best on the race track, I want to beat him just as bad as the guy I get along with the least on the race track.  For me, it honestly doesn’t really matter.   Once they throw the green, they’re all cars that you want to beat and finish in front of and you realize that to win the race, you have to figure out how to beat them all.”

Do you race Jimmie Johnson differently than others?
“No, I think I race everybody really the same.  It doesn’t always work out according to plan, but I think you always race people the way you’d like to be raced.  You try to show them respect and more times than not you get that back.  No, not really.  When they start a race, you’re going to race everybody the same and you’re hoping you have a good enough car and everything goes good enough where you can figure out how to win.”

Is there a difference between working with Toyota and previous manufacturers?
“There’s a lot of things that changed this year for me besides just manufacturers.  Organizations to the Gen-6 cars — there’s been a lot of things that have changed, but certainly Toyota and TRD (Toyota Racing Development) has been a huge part of our success and making our cars run.”

How much does past success at race tracks affect your outlook on a race like this weekend at Phoenix?
“I don’t know how much the past has to do with today, tomorrow or Sunday, honestly.  Maybe a little bit to do with it.  I don’t know that it has a lot to do with it because there’s a lot of things that are different.  I feel good about it, but Jimmie (Johnson) and the 48 and that team, they’re good enough to win every week at every single kind of race track.  You have to be that good if you’re planning on beating them.  I think realistically you never know what is going to happen in these races, but I really feel like we need to win these next two races to feel really good about winning the championship because they’re that good.  If you don’t win, they might or they probably will, you just don’t know what’s going to happen.  It’s fun to be in this spot, it’s fun to have enough confidence that I feel like if we do everything right, we can go win these races.  That’s kind of what we’re aiming for.”

Do you feel like your team has an advantage over Jimmie Johnson’s team?
“I’m as optimistic as I’ve ever been, but not necessarily because of anything that they’re (Jimmie Johnson’s team) doing or not doing, just because I feel like my race team and my race cars are capable on any given week — if we do everything right. Certainly, I don’t view the 48 as weak or vulnerable or any of that.  Man, they can win any weekend at any kind of race track.  I don’t feel they’re off their game, I just feel like at our best, that we can run with them.  Hopefully, we’ll be at our best the next two weeks.”