Matt Kenseth is returning to the NASCAR Cup Series to drive Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 6 car in select races this season, multiple outlets reported Monday night.
The Cambridge native will share the No. 6 Ford for the remainder of the 2018 season with Trevor Bayne, who has driven the car on a full-time basis since 2015 but will now move to part-time status rounding out the races Kenseth does not compete in.
A report on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio said Kenseth would be the primary driver.
Roush Fenway plans to announce the move at a news conference Wednesday.
Kenseth’s first race with Roush Fenway is expected to be May 12 at Kansas Speedway.
Kenseth began his Cup Series career with Roush Fenway, driving full-time for the team from 2001-2012 before leaving to join Joe Gibbs Racing in 2013. Kenseth, 45, drove for JGR through the end of the 2017 season with the team electing to replace him with 21-year-old Erik Jones, a move largely dictated not on performance but Jones’ youth and ability to attract sponsorship.
Unable to secure a ride with a team the same caliber as JGR, Kenseth elected to step away from racing but emphasized he was not retiring and would return if the right situation arose.
“I’ll just take some time off, whatever that means. I don’t know if that’s a year, two years, three months, four months. I mean, you never know what happens,” Kenseth said last November. “Maybe something comes along that really makes you excited and it feels like it’s going to be a fit, you might go do. Certainly not gonna rule that out, but for now, I’m not making any plans for 2018.”
Kenseth won the 2003 Cup Series title and two Daytona 500s during his 12-year stint with Roush Fenway. Kenseth is a 39-time race winner in NASCAR’s premier division, with 15 of those wins coming with JGR.
Bayne, who won the 2011 Daytona 500, is 26th in the standings.