At 50, NASCAR Hall-of-Famer Matt Kenseth Returns to Short-Track Roots

• Before Matt Kenseth was a star in the NASCAR Cup Series, the Wisconsin native was a very successful short track driver in the Midwest.

• After roughly a 25-year absence, for the next three weekends the 2003 NASCAR Cup champion will be back racing competitively on short tracks.

• In addition, Kenseth, 50, makes his Camping World SRX Series debut this Saturday at Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville (8 p.m. ET on CBS).

In a sense, former NASCAR star Matt Kenseth is returning back to his racing roots.

The Wisconsin native was a very successful short track driver in the Midwest before he followed fellow Badger State natives Alan Kulwicki and Dave Marcis to find fame and fortune in the world of NASCAR.

The Cambridge, Wisconsin native was dominant at numerous short tracks around the Midwest during his short track days, including winning multiple championships at Madison International Speedway, Wisconsin International Raceway and Slinger Superspeedway (where he’ll race next Tuesday, July 12, in the annual Slinger Nationals).

After roughly a 25-year absence, for the next three weekends the 2003 NASCAR Cup champion will be back racing competitively on short tracks as he makes his Camping World SRX Series debut this Saturday at Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville (8 p.m. ET on CBS).

“I'm looking forward to going to Nashville,” Kenseth said. “I talked to Ray and Tony (series co-founders Ray Evernham and Tony Stewart) and Greg (Biffle) about the series and thought it was a great idea. I was excited about it.

“(I’ll) try these three races and see how it goes. It looks fun on TV and all the people I've talked to that have participated in it all say it's a lot of fun and real competitive. So I’m looking forward to getting on the track.”

Going back to his short track days, Kenseth moved up through the ranks of the American Speed Association and other series before joining forces with former racing rival Robbie Reiser in the then-NASCAR Busch Series. Reiser was the crew chief and Kenseth was behind the wheel.

The duo would go on to finish second and third in 1998 and 1999, respectively, before moving together to the Cup Series in 2000, with Kenseth earning Rookie of the Year honors. From that point, Kenseth would go on to win 39 Cup races, including two Daytona 500s, as well as the final Winston Cup title in 2003.

“The time goes by and in a hurry,” Kenseth said of his career. “It feels like it was not really all that long ago when we were doing that (short track racing).

“In another way, it seems like a long time ago, but in most ways it doesn't. So it's kind of fun to know that you're away from professional full-time driving, to kind of look back and think about some of those great moments and things that have happened throughout my career.”