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Matt Kenseth jokes his 2018 driving plans could involve a school bus
At the moment, there may only be six races left in Matt Kenseth’s NASCAR career.
The 2003 champion doesn’t have a Cup Series ride lined up for 2018 following Joe Gibbs Racing’s announcement earlier this season that he’d be replaced in the No. 20 car by Erik Jones.
Friday at Talladega, Kenseth joked that he could get another gig driving for next year.
“You know, I was thinking about maybe driving a school bus,” Kenseth said. “I thought it would be fun. I drive the kids to school every morning. I enjoy that. I thought it would be fun to drive them home, too.”
Would Kenseth be the most accomplished school bus driver in the country if he went through with his (mock?) aspirations?
Kenseth, 45, is still at the top of his game despite going winless in 2017. He’s one of the 12 drivers still left in the playoffs and it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if he was one of the four drivers racing for the title at Homestead even if he doesn’t win a race over the next five.
His possible absence from the Cup Series has more to do with economic factors and the state of the sport than anything else. As teams look to younger and cheaper drivers, a guy like Kenseth can end up getting priced out of the market.
And since he’s got nothing set for 2018, Kenseth’s future has been one of the dominant topics at his media availabilities since the Jones announcement. He’d like people to stop asking him about the future as long as his present title hopes are alive.
“The school bus thing is appealing,” Kenseth said, his dry wit peeking through once again. “No, I don’t know. I mean, I said a few weeks ago I wasn’t going to talk about next year anymore as long as we’re alive in the Playoffs — which we’re certainly not one of the favorites right now, we haven’t done the things we wanted to do, but we’re certainly still alive. Anything can happen this weekend.
“Kansas is a great track for us. I’m honestly just focused on the next six weeks or whatever it is at the moment.”
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
