Matt Kenseth knew he was facing tall odds in his first NASCAR race in 18 months. See, the Wisconsin native had to race at arguably NASCAR’s hardest track on the circuit, in near 90 degree temps, without any practice or qualifying to get up to speed. Kenseth, 48, had also never driven for Chip Ganassi Racing before, nor worked with crew chief Chad Johnston or his spotter prior to this weekend. On top of that, he’s never raced this car with this racing package before.

When it was all said and done, Kenseth brought his No. 42 Chevrolet home with a top 10 finish.

“That’s Matt, said his teammate Kurt Busch. “That’s what he does. So for him to balance out with Chad Johnston, Ganassi and everybody first day out to get a top 10, that’s huge. That sets a big tone.”

Race winner Kevin Harvick said that Kenseth should have never walked away in the first place. It’s not like he wasn’t competitive when he lost out on a contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2017.

“Here’s the thing about Matt Kenseth, he should have never quit,” Harvick says. “He was winning races when he left. He’s going to be an asset to Chip Ganassi Racing and he’s going to be a big part of what they’re building for the future over there. Experience and skill goes a long way in our sport. If you have those two things like Matt does, you’re going to be successful. You don’t just forget how to do that.”

Sunday, proves he still belongs. But, it didn’t mean he wasn’t a bit uneasy heading into it. Kenseth, says that he anxious and bit on edge at the start.

“I was definitely anxious when they were getting ready to throw the green, firing off there in the first corner, and everything being new and different with having an extended period of time off,” Kenseth said Monday via a zoom call. “But really, once we got into that second restart and ran three or four laps, I really felt pretty comfortable.

“There are a lot of things when you’re out for a while that you just aren’t as sharp on as when you left. Just all the little detail stuff like getting in your pit box clean, pit road stuff, just a lot of different little stuff. But I really felt pretty comfortable in the car.”

Kenseth, praised his team for having everything ready and a great plan for his first race since Nov. 2018.

“I felt really good physically. There were really no issues there; just trying to get rolling again.

“The first few laps were kind of nerve-wracking, but then it was sort of back to racing and thinking about what we needed to be better,” continued Kenseth, who was Cup Series champion in 2003. “Everyone on the team has worked extremely hard the last couple weeks to prepare for today, and I’m proud of what we accomplished.

“I learned a lot throughout the race about the way the car handles and reacts to different situations, and it was nice to really get acclimated to the Camaro and the team in a real racing environment. It’s always a good feeling to get a top-10 at a place like Darlington, but to have done it under these circumstances feels that much better.

“I still have some room to improve, but today shows all of us we have a lot to look forward to as the season continues. It was great to be back racing.”

One thing that actually helped speed up the learning curve was the new aero package. Oddly enough, it came easy to him.

“When you have less power and more drag, everything is happening just a little bit slower, and that helps with the adjustments as well,” said Kenseth.

Now, he gets to do it all over again on Wednesday night.