Matt Kenseth claims Jimmie Johnson made everybody who raced against him better

Matt Kenseth has finished P2 twice behind Jimmie Johnson in the championship battle.

Matt Kenseth claims Jimmie Johnson made everybody who raced against him better

Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson (credits: SB NATION)

Jimmie Johnson is the joint record holder for the most number of cup titles with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt with 7 Cup titles to his name. He dominated the premier stock car racing series for decades and was the driver to beat for someone to establish themselves as one of the NASCAR legends.

Only a handful of drivers could outmatch Jimmie Johnson and his exceptional No:48 crew, and each one of them earned legendary status. His dominance and work ethic demanded more from the cup garage.

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Matt Kenseth, one of the lucky few who had a bitter-sweet experience on track with Johnson, believes that the then HMS driver made his opponents better. He told RACER, “He certainly made everybody better. I did enjoy racing with him,”.

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He went on to share about the personal bond he developed with Johnson. Both retired from cup racing in 2020 and since then have developed a bond in the last four years. For Kenseth that part of life was better than racing against him.

“More than anything, I did enjoy getting to know him as a man and during the last four or five years of our careers on the road, cycling together and talking about life and becoming better friends. That’s for sure my favorite part, but it was great racing with him,” Kenseth added.

Related: “It sucked racing against him,” Former NASCAR Cup Series Champion gives his honest opinion on racing Jimmie Johnson

Matt Kenseth has an incredible record outside NASCAR over Jimmie Johnson he could brag about

Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson
Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson (credits: Zimbio)

In 2022 Kenseth ran in the 26.2-mile Boston Marathon. The 59 years old clocked in  3 hours, 1 minute, and 40 seconds. He finished p147 in his age category and 3,576th overall. The ex-NASCAR champion ran a mile in six minutes and 56 seconds.

Jimmie Johnson participated in the event in 2019,  while he was racing in NASCAR. The record cup champion clocked in a time of 3 hours, 9 minutes, and 7 seconds. He ran a mile every 7 minutes and 23 seconds. Kenseth has clear dominance since he ran a mile in under 7 Minutes.

The retired driver said the race was “one of the better experiences in my life,”. When it was revealed that he broke Johnson’s record, Kenseth quickly cracked a joke and pointed out that Johnson was younger (43) than him when he ran. He said, “Yeah, he was way younger,”.

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