Matt Kenseth And NASCAR’s Last Full-Season Championship

In 2022, NASCAR’s championship hunt is underway. The playoff format is unforgiving, and drivers need a little luck and a lot of great finishes to even have a chance at the championship, which all comes down to one race at Phoenix Raceway.

Many long-time fans never exactly warmed to the playoffs, which started in 2004 under a 10-race Chase format and evolved into the current system. Those fans will say the title isn’t worth what it once was because the drivers benefit from an almost total points reset.

Thanks a lot, Matt Kenseth.

Kenseth gets a lot of flack for his 2003 season, the last time the full 36-race schedule determined the championship. Kenseth won by 90 points over Jimmie Johnson, a size-able margin. And worst of all, he did it with just one win. (The horror.)

The Chase/playoff system isn’t his fault, of course. A new series sponsor and fresh TV deals had a lot more to do with it. Kenseth’s just a convenient scapegoat.

That 2003 season is an interesting one. Kenseth had some impressive numbers: one win, 11 top fives, 25 top 10s, 10.4 average finish. That’s a good season if not a great one. The 25 top 10s is one key to Kenseth’s title. There are others; hang on and we’ll get there.

Runner-up Johnson had three wins, 14 top fives and 20 top 10s. At a glance, that’s a bit better than Kenseth on the two biggest fronts.

But the most eye-popping numbers go to Ryan Newman: eight wins, 17 top fives, 22 top 10s, 11 poles (Kenseth never started on pole that year). Those look like championship numbers. Yet Newman finished sixth, a distant 311 points back.

What does the 2003 season look like for those three drivers: champion Kenseth, runner-up Johnson, and breakout Newman?

February

Kenseth finished 20th in the Daytona 500, coming out 19th in points. The following week at North Carolina Speedway, he finished third, improving his position to sixth. Kenseth led laps in both races, at the time worth five points per race.

Johnson had the best opening two weeks, leading laps and finishing third in Daytona and following up with an eighth at Rockingham Speedway. He finished the month second in points.

Newman finished 43rd in the Daytona 500, crashing out after 56 laps, and 14th at the Rock. He didn’t lead a lap and left February 32nd in the standings.

March

The one win came in week three for Kenseth at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, followed up with another top five, a fourth at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He didn’t lead at Atlanta or Darlington…