Matt Kenseth facing reality he may not have a Cup Series ride in 2018

The former Cup Series champion is a free agent and has yet to secure a ride for next season.

Squarely on the playoff bubble and facing the prospect that he may not have a ride next year, it would be understandable if Matt Kenseth spent this past off weekend lamenting his ambiguous status and contemplating whether he still has a place in NASCAR.

Yet as he prepares for the final 12 Monster Energy Cup Series races of the season — and what may be the close of his career — Kenseth isn’t fretting. He’s repeatedly said he’s not fixated on 2018 and finding a new team to join, instead he’s focused on ensuring his final months with Joe Gibbs Racing end positively — ideally with a berth in the 16-driver playoff field and snapping a winless streak that now spans a year.

“I’ll be honest with you, I’m not worried about (2018) even really 1 percent anymore to be honest with you,” Kenseth said. “I’m just not concerned about it.

“I’m really concerned about 2017 and that’s the truth. ... Hopefully, we get a win, get in the playoffs and try to race for a championship. That’s our goal every year and really that’s what I’ve been concentrating on.”

Kenseth is losing his spot on JGR’s roster next season, as the organization is bringing in heralded 21-year-old Erik Jones to replace the 45-year-old, who has a Cup Series championship and two Daytona 500 wins on his résumé and remains competitive even as the oldest full-time driver racing in NASCAR’s top division.

The move to drop Kenseth was not one team owner Joe Gibbs wanted to make, but the prospect of losing Jones and lacking complete sponsorship on the No. 20 car essentially forced his hand. Despite being pushed aside, Kenseth has handled the news rather admirably. While stating that he wished to continue to with the team, he also acknowledges a coalescence of circumstances led to the decision.

Kenseth even defused a potentially awkward press conference by displaying his sardonic, dry humor when he and Jones were seated next to one another following the Aug. 19 race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The veteran took the opportunity to good-naturedly rib Jones for the rookie using his bumper to nudge aside the veteran during a late sequence where the two were vying for the win. Kenseth would finish fourth, Jones second, with JGR driver Kyle Busch winning the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race.

“Takes my ride and runs into me,” Kenseth quipped.

In the immediate, Kenseth’s attention is strongly closing out the regular season. He’s up 61 points over Clint Bowyer, the first driver below the transfer cut line, to make the playoffs with two regular season races remaining. Unless he posts consecutive subpar finishes and someone not playoff eligible wins at Darlington Raceway (Sept. 3) or Richmond Raceway (Sept.9), Kenseth is likely playoff bound for the 13th time in 14 years.

What happens beyond this season is where things get decidedly murkier. Kenseth has said he’d prefer to continue racing, though ultimately the choice may not be his. Teams are facing the pinch of fewer sponsorship dollars coming in while the expense to compete remains exorbitant.

The penny-pinching is impacting driver contracts where owners are less inclined to sign veterans to eight-figure deals when younger, cheaper drivers are available at a fraction of the cost and can effectively produce the same results. Gone are the days when a star driver could demand a big contract and have an owner capitulate.

“You can’t pay a driver $5 to $8 million dollars a year if you ain’t got but $10 million worth of sponsorship. That ain’t going to work,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “[Drivers] aren’t getting $20, $30, $40 million a year on sponsorship. Owners aren’t getting that anymore.”

Kenseth isn’t alone in feeling squeezed due to economics, not performance. Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne are among those without contracts for next season, even though each is a proven winner like Kenseth, the kind of drivers most any team would want racing under its banner.

The difference between the situations Busch and Kahne face and what Kenseth is encountering is that Busch and Kahne are expected to secure new deals, whereas Kenseth may not be able to sign with a big team unless sponsorship suddenly materializes. And if joining an upper-tier organization isn’t an option allowing him to race competitively, then retiring is a distinct possibility even if it’s not necessarily something he desires. A reality Kenseth certainly seems to be accepting.

“I wish it kind of maybe would have went down a different way or maybe I had another year or two there,” Kenseth said. “That's not the way it worked out. I think everything happens or doesn't happen for a reason. It will all become clear.”

Were this scenario to unfold, don’t expect Kenseth to harbor any bitterness even if he may unceremoniously find himself on the outside looking in.

“I don't really have anything to be unhappy about,” Kenseth said. “My life couldn't be much better. I've never really been in a better place. I don't think I've ever been happier. There's more to life than racing.”