DEFENDING CHAMPION Kenseth reverts to easy manner after criticism

The defending champion wouldn't name a favorite for this year's points race.
By STEVE MEGARGEE
SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- He's Mr. Consistency behind the wheel and in front of a microphone.
Matt Kenseth finishes in the top 10 virtually every week and says all the right things afterward. That's the formula he used to capture the Winston Cup points title last year despite winning only one race.
But the easy-going Kenseth stepped out of character last month when he criticized changes in how the points champion would be determined for the newly renamed Nextel Cup circuit.
"When I first heard about it," Kenseth said, "I probaly overreacted a little bit."
Kenseth, 31, returned to form this week at the Daytona International Speedway. He only mentioned the positive aspects of a points system designed to spark interest in racing during the heart of football season.
Company line
"I think it will be exciting," Kenseth said. "Our season's almost nine months long. At that time of year, you need something to spice up the championship a little bit."
Kenseth kept the championship race as boring as possible last year. He led the points standings for a record 33 consecutive weeks and owned a commanding 418-point advantage with 10 races left in the season.
So you couldn't have blamed him if he had chosen to take offense at rule changes that reward victories and late-season surges more than consistent top-five finishes throughout the year.
"If you had a 400-point lead, you'd probably be upset after 26 races because you'd have to give 395 of them back," Kenseth said. "But for everybody else who's in the top 10, they're going to love it because they'll be caught right up to the leader. Hopefully we can be right up there in the top 10."
Kenseth knows a thing or two about being in the top 10.
He posted a series-high 25 top-10 finishes last year. That made up for the fact he recorded only one victory -- at Las Vegas -- after leading the circuit with five wins in 2002.
"We did have ourselves in position to win a lot of races at the beginning of the year," Kenseth said. "We just maybe didn't have everything go exactly our way."
Fortunate
That's about the only thing that didn't go Kenseth's way. Good planning and good fortune allowed Kenseth to finish all but two races and end up in the top five 11 times.
"That's incredibly difficult," Roush Racing teammate Mark Martin said. "The one thing you need is luck. Your season can be devastated in a matter of several weeks if you have a flat tire, a bad part or someone who wrecks right in front of you. Those are things you can't control.
"But they did a great job of controlling the things they could control, and that's why they won the championship."
The law of averages has a way of playing itself out from one season to the next.
Kenseth is hoping his good fortune in 2003 simply made up for the tough luck he suffered the previous year, when he settled for eighth place despite those five victories.
Kenseth didn't want to name a favorite in this year's points race and said 20-25 drivers could challenge for the title. That's a typical remark for Kenseth, who rarely says anything remotely controversial.
Because Kenseth doesn't call attention to himself, he remains one of the most anonymous champions in sports.
Ask casual fans to name a NASCAR driver and they'll probably mention at least five other guys before referring to the defending points winner. Kenseth doesn't have a problem with that.
"You are what you are and it is what it is," Kenseth said. "I'm happy to be me. I've had a great career and I feel great about everything we've done. I don't wish I was anybody else."