Ryan: Five moments (and no wins) that define why Matt Kenseth belongs in the Hall of Fame

The election of Matt Kenseth as a first-ballot NASCAR Hall of Famer should be assured because he is one of the greatest winners of his generation.

But despite a Cup championship, two Daytona 500 victories (a third was a lap away) and 39 wins in NASCAR’s premier series (ranking 21st all time), Kenseth’s career often is hailed as much by how much the Cambridge, Wisconsin, native excelled in races he didn’t win.

Kenseth, 50, notched 331 top 10s (17th all-time) in 697 career starts, a 47-percent clip that makes him one of the most consistent drivers of the modern era. He also made the playoffs in 13 of his final 14 full-time seasons while finishing in the top five of the Cup points standings seven times over an 18-year span. His 182 top fives rank 22nd all-time.

Having every crown jewel race on his resume except the Brickyard 400 made Kenseth a lock for the NBC Sports Digital ballot, but there are several instances of history being made in the races he didn’t win.

Lest we forget, NASCAR was spurred in 2004 to implement a playoff system largely because of Kenseth’s one-victory title season in ’03.

With the 2023 class being revealed Wednesday (including full NASCAR America coverage on Peacock at 6 p.m. ET), here are five Cup races – none of which is a win – that help define Kenseth’s Hall of Fame-worthy career (which also includes 29 Xfinity Series victories):

Kenseth’s first Cup start was a spot-on precursor for everything that came afterward.

Subbing as a last-minute replacement for Bill Elliott (who missed the race because of his father’s funeral), Kenseth qualified 16th and finished sixth in one of the most impressive debuts in NASCAR history. He tied the season-best finish for Elliott in the No. 94 Ford, which had only