When Matt Kenseth and Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Kenseth would be joining JGR to drive the No. 20 Toyota in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2013, replacing the departed Joey Logano, Kenseth said that he'd like to also drive for the organization on a part-time basis in the Nationwide Series. On Tuesday, JGR announced that Kenseth would drive a Nationwide entry in at least five races this season.
"It's good to be back in the Nationwide Series," Kenseth said.
Kenseth will drive a No. 18 Nationwide Series car for Joe Gibbs Racing, sponsored by Reser's Fine Foods, in the following races:
March 2 -- Phoenix International Raceway
April 12 -- Texas Motor Speedway
May 25 -- Charlotte Motor Speedway
Sept. 6 -- Richmond International Raceway
Oct. 5 -- Kansas Speedway
"Although, I know it won't be easy for me with so much great talent in the series, I'm hoping I can deliver some fun times with a few wins on the track," Kenseth said.
Kenseth won the last Nationwide Series race he entered in May 2011 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. That was the only series event he competed in that year. In all, Kenseth has made 248 starts in the Nationwide Series and posted 26 race wins, 118 top-fives and 168 top-10 finishes. He last competed full-time in the series in 1999 before making the jump to full-time Sprint (then-Winston) Cup racing in 2000.
He'll have at least two teammates in his five Nationwide Series races in Elliott Sadler and Brian Vickers, both of whom have signed on to compete in the series full-time for JGR.
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