MARTINSVILLE, Va.— Matt Kenseth’s text to Jimmie Johnson was tongue-in-cheek, of course.
“I texted Jimmie a little while ago and told him that we’re friends and everything, but I would appreciate it if he wouldn’t ask me for any advice this weekend,” deadpanned Kenseth, who trails series leader Johnson by four points in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings.
Realistically, Johnson isn’t likely to seek Kenseth’s counsel. The five-time champion is an eight-time winner at Martinsville Speedway, site of Sunday’s Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500, with an average finish of 5.3 at the .526-mile short track.
Kenseth, on the other hand, has never won at Martinsville and has an average finish there of 15.8.
Johnson may have the edge on the track, but Kenseth had the upper hand with the one-liners Friday. Witness his reaction to hearing that Johnson had completed a 20-mile run.
“I’m not weird enough to do a 20-mile run,” Kenseth said. “It would take me a week to run 20 miles, even if somebody was chasing me.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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