NASCAR Kenseth lacks flamboyancy, but has consistency

By some standards, the defending champion isn't exciting enough.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Matt Kenseth left his NASCAR championship trophy on the kitchen counter.
For those who saw the way he won the title in 2003, that's probably not surprising.
This isn't a Nextel Cup champion with a feisty personality or flashy nickname. This isn't a guy with rabid fans or a penchant for showing off his house on MTV's "Cribs."
In fact, he'd prefer to forget about last year. It's time to go racing again.
"It doesn't matter what I've done in the past. That's in the past," Kenseth said Tuesday. "I want to run in the present."
Kenseth cruised to his first championship with a simple formula -- stay out of trouble, hang around the top 10 and make sure you make it to the checkered flag.
Who cares that nine drivers won more races in 2003? Who cares if everyone else gets more attention? Kenseth wound up with the Cup.
Philosophy
"You can only run as hard as you can run," he said in his hauler, having finished practice for Sunday's Daytona 500. "If you've got a fifth-place car and you try to finish second, you're going to wreck."
Well, that philosophy went over so well that NASCAR changed its points system. Kenseth will have to defend his title under a new format that turns the last 10 races into a mini-playoff. Some even viewed it as a not-so-subtle slap at the nondescript champion.
Was Kenseth upset?
"Maybe for about five minutes," he replied, following up with his own dig at NASCAR. "I'm glad I won last year, using the same system that Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon used to win their championships."
Dale Earnhardt Jr. conceded what everyone else has been whispering: NASCAR probably wouldn't have changed things if someone a little more popular with the fans -- like Junior -- had won the championship by winning only one race.
"Come on," Earnhardt said, smiling at a group of reporters. "What do you guys think?"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
He's as-is
But this is Kenseth, take it or leave it. He's never going to have a flamboyant personality. He's never going to dole out the witty quotes. He's never going to reveal his life for all to see.
"He's real guarded about who he lets into his little world," said Earnhardt, who hangs out with rock bands, loves to appear in TV commercials -- and has yet to win a Nextel Cup championship.
For all those who want to disparage Kenseth's championship, the fact is he was stunningly consistent over the course of a grueling 36-race season. He was in the top five 11 times. He was a top-10 finisher 25 times. He completed every race but three.
Then again, Kenseth never won a pole. His only win came in the third week of the season. He led just 354 laps -- a figure eclipsed by 10 rivals. He would have finished sixth in the points if the new system had been in place a year earlier.
But Kenseth doesn't think consistency has gone out of style. He still believes his brand of racing can win the championship.
"In those last 10 races, the champion isn't going to be the guy who wins two races," he said. "It's going to be the guy who doesn't have any DNFs," short for Did Not Finish.
Nondescript
Kenseth, 31, is probably the least heralded of the "Young Guns" -- the group of brash, boyish drivers who have taken NASCAR by storm over the last few years.
He doesn't have a famous name (that would be Earnhardt). He doesn't have the Hollywood looks (that would be Jimmie Johnson). He doesn't have an engineering degree (that would be Ryan Newman). He doesn't have the brattiness (that would be Kurt Busch). He doesn't have a put-you-in-the-wall style of racing (that would be Kevin Harvick).
"He doesn't want to be a TV star," longtime driver Ricky Rudd said. "I guess that's the exception in this day and age. He's kind of a throwback to the day when you did your talking on the racetrack."