Matt Kenseth’s son to make NASCAR debut with Joe Gibbs Racing

Driving for the same team as his father, Ross Kenseth will drive the No. 20 car in the June Xfinity Series race at Chicagoland Speedway.

Another son of a former Cup Series champion is preparing to make his NASCAR debut later this season. As Ross Kenseth, the son of Matt Kenseth, will drive the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing car in the June 20 Xfinity Series race at Chicagoland Speedway.

The car number, team and sponsor, Dollar General, are the same combination Matt races in the Sprint Cup Series.

The 21-year-old has never competed in a national series race before, focusing mainly on running Late Models across the Midwest. A lack of sponsorship has precluded Kenseth from making his debut sooner. He has two prior ARCA starts including a third-place finish last year at Kansas Speedway.

"It's a great shot and he's worked really hard for it," Matt Kenseth said Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway. "He's won a lot of big short track races and he's never going to be more ready for the opportunity than he is now."

The chance to drive a JGR Xfinity car came when Darrell Wallace Jr. unexpectedly left the organization during the offseason. JGR has filled the void by utilizing a variety of drivers. A week ago Erik Jones took the No. 20 car to victory lane at Texas Motor Speedway. Matt Kenseth has twice driven the car himself with finishes of second and eighth.

"The 20 is one of the best cars out there this year," Matt Kenseth said. It will be a great shot for him. I really appreciate everybody at JGR giving him that chance and everybody at Dollar General to jump on there and sponsor his first ever NASCAR start. It's exciting for me."

Because Chicagoland falls on an off-weekend for the Cup circuit, Matt Kenseth plans to be there in-person. In addition to the Xfinity race, Ross will also run in the ARCA race on the track in a car fielded by Ken Schrader, a former Cup driver.

"I am really thankful for the opportunity," Ross Kenseth said. "I couldn't have asked to be in a better situation."

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