NASCAR Achievements
- 2003 Winston Cup (now called Sprint Cup) Champion
- 2 time Daytona 500 winner: 2009, 2012
- 2004 All-Star Race winner
Sprint Cup Statistics
- Best points finish: 1st (2003)
- First win: 2000 Coke 600 - Charlotte
- Last win: 2015 Sylvania 300 - Loudon
- Most wins in a season: 7 (2013)
- Total Sprint Cup wins: 36
2003 Championship
Kenseth was the last driver to win a "Winston" Cup championship, before Nextel (and later Sprint) took over sponsorship of the top series while also implementing the Chase for the Cup format. He only had one victory in 2003, the third race of the season at Las Vegas, but dominated the season with remarkable consistency, even clinching the championship before the final race. Ryan Newman led the series with 8 wins but a high number of DNFs relegated him to a 6th place finish. Ironically, Kenseth led the series with 5 victories the year before only to finish 8th place.
Other Info
For much of his career he was sponsored by DeWalt tools with a yellow and black paint scheme. Because of this his pit crew are often called the "killer bees", a moniker that continues today even though DeWalt has moved on as a sponsor.
From 2000-2012 he drove the #17 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing, amassing 24 wins and the 2003 championship. Beginning in 2013 he now drives the #20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Since his primary sponsor is alcohol the Crown Royal scheme doesn't appear in NASCAR the Game: 2011. However instead of having a similar looking scheme with his name on the hood, as Brad Keselowski does in lieu of the Miller Lite paint scheme, he uses, instead, his secondary sponsors of Valvoline and Wiley-X sunglasses.
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