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Matt Kenseth Won’t Comment on 2019 Plans

Pete McCole

Matt Kenseth
Roush Racing

Despite persistent questioning, Matt Kenseth refused to budge.

The driver who returned to Roush Fenway Racing in a part-time role this season isn’t ready to talk about next year. In fact, Kenseth says his sole focus is on finishing out the current season in the No. 6 Ford he shares with Trevor Bayne.

“I’m just kind of honestly trying to concentrate on the rest of this season and trying to get this done," Kenseth said on Friday at Darlington Raceway. “Those are probably things to talk about at a later date, but the season has been up-and-down.

“I wish our results were better than what they were, but yet, on the other hand, I feel like we’ve made a lot of progress. It doesn’t really show necessarily on the stat sheets or the box score all the time, but I feel like we’ve made a lot of progress, and (we’re) really just trying to keep that going and keep moving forward and keep trying to get more competitive by the end of the season."

In eight starts after returning to the team in May, Kenseth has an average starting position of 22.8 and an average finish of 22.5, with a season-best of 13th coming at Pocono in June. In opening practice at Darlington, Kenseth was 22nd fastest.

Asked specifically whether he would consider driving the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, should Kurt Busch not return to the ride next year (as has been rumored), Kenseth side-stepped the question adroitly.

“I’m certainly not talking about next year, and I haven’t really put as much thought into it as you all have, honestly," he said. “I think I still have seven races left this season. Trevor has a few races. I have not made the impact at Roush Fenway Racing, at least in the finishes and the performance, necessarily as I had hoped, or as big of a one as I hoped.

“But that’s really all I’m thinking about right now is getting the performance better and trying to do a better job for those guys and get cars faster and get better finishes and get the team operating better and get me operating better – all that kind of stuff. I’m not really looking forward right now."

– By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service