NASCAR is back. That’s at least what slogan says that they’re parading around social media this week. The reason behind that is due to the sport making a return to racing for the first time since March 8. That’s a span of 70 days. By comparison, the typical NASCAR offseason lasts 83 days from season finale of one year to the season opener of the next.

But, Sunday at the Darlington Raceway will mark the return of racing as we know it. It will also mark the return of a seasoned veteran — Matt Kenseth.

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Kenseth, 48, replaces Kyle Larson as Larson was fired last month for a racial slur that was used during an online video game race on Easter Night. Chip Ganassi Racing had many options to replace Larson in the seat of the No. 42 Chevrolet, but none was better than Kenseth. On Sunday, the Wisconsin native will mark his first return to NASCAR since Nov. 2018. Now, he’s being thrown to the wolves.

A lot has changed since the last time Kenseth raced. The racing package is the biggest one, as he’s never ran the high downforce package that will be used Sunday afternoon on the South Carolina oval. Also, Kenseth has never driven for the team (Chip Ganassi Racing), never worked with his new crew chief Chad Johnson nor spotter Tony Raines before, let alone has never been behind the wheel of a Chevrolet.

Oh yeah, he will have to do so at one of the toughest race tracks on NASCAR’s schedule, in the heat of the day without any practice or qualifying time prior.

“Kind of a few more unknowns and not sure you know how exactly everything’s gonna feel,” Kenseth said in Thursday teleconference. “So certainly there’s a little bit of anxiety for those first few corners until you kind of get rolling and get used to things.”

Despite that, Kenseth says that everyone is going to have to tread lightly for the first few laps to get a feel for things. While he has a lot of unknowns personally, so do the rest of the drivers as they too are in the race car for the first time in a while. They don’t get practice time either.

Once the laps click away, Kenseth feels he can find his groove again. He says that track position is a key factor in success at Darlington and by virtue of Larson being in the top 12 of the owners points prior to the COVID-19 break, Kenseth knows that he will have a top 12 starting spot too.

“Track position is very important,” Kenseth said of that. “You always want to get what you can get, when you can get it, so I don’t expect people to be taking it really easy or maybe giving you a whole bunch of extra room or anything like that. You certainly don’t expect any kind of special treatment. So you’re just gonna have to try to be smart. Especially for me, just try to be smart and get through those first few laps and kind of hopefully get in a rhythm, get a little bit of room to move around and breathe and get kind of acclimated and go from there.”

Also, it’s not like Darlington is a back track for him. The top two drivers in Sunday’s field in laps completed around the “Lady in Black” are himself (8,455) and his new teammate Kurt Busch (7,970). Furthermore, the last time NASCAR raced during the Month of May at Darlington, Kenseth won (2013). He’s made 25 career starts there with just one DNF.

“I’ve got to admit, I’m as excited as I’ve been to go racing in many, many years,” Kenseth said. “I’m really looking forward to getting to the track. And I really like this group of guys. Cars look nice, Camaros look like they’re really fast. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity. I just know that it’s gonna be a big challenge. I’m gonna have to work hard and do my best to try to take advantage of that opportunity.”