Matt Kenseth tickles our funny bones

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CONCORD, N.C. -- Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway barely was in the books and Matt Kenseth was on Twitter sending a message to winner Jimmie Johnson.

"I thought you were washed up, done, no chance, out of it ... at least that's what I heard at Dover," Kenseth wrote.

Yes, the 2003 Cup champion has a sense of humor. His dry, Midwestern sarcasm makes him one of the funniest drivers in NASCAR, only nobody outside of close friends, family and co-workers knew it until he became involved in social media.

That image of being a robot and vanilla? Not accurate at all. Kenseth can deadpan with the best of them. Just ask his longtime spotter, Mike Calinoff, a former standup comic.

[+] Enlarge

Jerry Markland/Getty ImagesMatt Kenseth has reason to smile: He's sitting fifth in the Chase standings, just 12 points behind first-place Carl Edwards.

"I've always said that Matt is the second-funniest guy that I know," said Calinoff, who has been with the Roush Fenway Racing driver since 2000.

And the funniest?

"Oh, me," Calinoff said. "But I'll be honest, since he's come on Twitter I'm going to take second chair to Matt. He's probably the funniest guy that I know now."

Kenseth also could be the biggest threat to end Johnson's run of five straight championships as the Chase reaches the halfway point on Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Only nobody outside of close friends, family and co-workers know it because he sneaks up on people like his jokes do.

Even Johnson left Kenseth out, picking points leader Carl Edwards and second-place Kevin Harvick when asked what drivers would be in contention by the final race.

But we'll get back to Kenseth's driving prowess and why Johnson had better keep an eye on what the driver of the No. 17 Ford does on the track more than what he says on Twitter.

Yes, Johnson follows the Cambridge, Wis., native on Twitter (@Matt_kenseth17). He, like many others, can't wait to see what Kenseth says next. It actually was Johnson's participation on Twitter that convinced Kenseth he should get involved.

"He was, 'All right, man. If you're doing Twitter, then I've got to. What do I do?'" Johnson recalled of the midsummer conversation. "I was, 'Just be you. Have fun and harass people.' I think he's taken it to a whole new level."

Kenseth always has been good at having fun and harassing people, but either they weren't smart enough to know it or they didn't get to witness it -- until now.

"I don't feel like I'm that quiet or reserved," Kenseth said. "But being on Twitter is a little different than doing an interview. I just sit there, and the first thing that pops in my mind I write it."

That's the key. At the track, Kenseth's mind is solely on racing, which is why he's so good and why Johnson better not forget him. Ask him questions and the answers sometimes come off sounding programmed.

"We all know Matt and how much fun Matt is," Johnson said. "It just doesn't come across on camera."

On camera, Kenseth was so robotic that in 2007 series sponsor Nextel (now Sprint) made a commercial portraying him as a robot. There's a Twitter account called @RobotKenseth with a recent post saying, "I am provided with four audio files for use in post-race interviews: one for a win, a top 10, a poor run and one if Kyle Busch wrecks me."

Kenseth is anything but a robot on Twitter. For example:

• When @JAMES72HORNER asked "any knews on next year's primary sponsor?" Kenseth, who apparently pays close attention to spelling, said, "Know. I wish I knew so we could tells the knews outlets!"

• When @Ferret_Bueller asked, "Do you pee in the car?" Kenseth said, "Yea, I hold it all morning until I get in. ... these two pm starts are tough."

• When spotter @MikeCalinoff wrote, "I lost a pair of $160 sunglasses," Kenseth said, "There is no possible way they fell off that nose."

"There is a fine line between being sarcastic and arrogant," Calinoff said. "Without the luxury of voice inflections people misconstrue sarcasm for arrogance. Matt does a really terrific job of doing that without coming across as pompous."

Those who know Kenseth understand. Those who don't may feel uncomfortable.

“

I don't feel like I'm that quiet or reserved. But being on Twitter is a little different than doing an interview. I just sit there, and the first thing that pops in my mind I write it.

” -- Matt Kenseth

"Sometimes people don't know exactly how to take me," Kenseth said. "I kind of like that sometimes."

More dry humor.

And when you're called a robot?

"Let's see how I can put this ... I don't care, honestly," Kenseth said.

The same mental toughness and smarts that make Kenseth so good on the track make him strangely funny off it. For a few examples off the track, let's turn to a few close associates:

• RFR president Steve Newmark: "I have a stream of texts where he was asking about my availability one afternoon. I responded that I was out of pocket, as unfortunately I was being deposed in a lawsuit from my prior job. He quickly responded that, 'Well, at least that's better than being disposed.'"

• When Nationwide Series points leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was struggling last season, he went to Kenseth for advice.

"He was like, 'Don't hit the wall,'" Stenhouse said. "That's Matt. I didn't expect anything less."

• Adrian Parker recognized Kenseth's quick wit in their first meeting when interviewing for a public relations job with the driver.

"Shortly into the conversation, Matt asks, 'Do you have a degree?'" said Parker, now in the PR department at CMS. "I responded, 'Yes, two of them. Do you?' Matt deadpanned, 'Yep, Cambridge.'"

Knowing most drivers never go to college, particularly one as prestigious as the University of Cambridge, Parker was confused until Kenseth blurted, "Wisconsin" -- as in a high school degree.

"The biggest thing with Matt's sense of humor is that it is so dry and he delivers it with such a poker face that it becomes very difficult, even to those close to him, to tell the difference between when he's shooting you straight and when he's pulling your leg," Parker said.

Robbie Reiser, Kenseth's crew chief during the 2003 championship run and now the general manager of RFR, to this day believes Kenseth came up with issues on the car while dominating a race just to pull his chain.

"He pushes you to the edge, and when he gets you there, he's, 'What's the problem? Why are you mad?'" Reiser said. "By that time you're ready to kill him."

If Kenseth has a flaw, it's that he can't take the same treatment.

"Matt is a master of giving it out, but Matt is the worst at taking anything back," Reiser said. "He doesn't get a little mad. He gets real mad."

The funny thing here, and another reason Johnson should beware, is Kenseth is a master of taking it on the track. He seldom loses his cool, which is why he consistently turns bad days into good ones, as one must to win a title.

"I don't get too riled up, but every once in a while when I do you take a deep breath and blow it off," Kenseth said.

That's when you may see Kenseth pull out one of Vince Flynn's latest novels and read about his favorite CIA super agent, Mitch Rapp. He went through three Flynn books one weekend at Pocono, more books than many drivers read in a year.

Or you may see Kenseth turn to Twitter. After the Chase opener at Chicagoland, where an eighth-place finish was changed to 21st because J.J. Yeley illegally pushed the out-of-gas No. 17 on the final lap, Kenseth was able to voice his thoughts on NASCAR's penalty.

"I do find it at times a useful outlet to get to you guys [media]," Kenseth said.

Were it not for that penalty, Kenseth would be a point ahead of Edwards instead of 12 back. That's another reason Johnson or any other driver shouldn't overlook him. Take away Chicagoland and Kenseth's Chase average finish is 5.0, the same as Edwards.

Those are championship numbers.

"If he stays where he is and has a shot with three races to go, watch out," Reiser said.

There's no reason to think that won't happen. Kenseth has won at four of the final six tracks, and he has developed a comfort level with crew chief Jimmy Fennig much like what he had with Reiser.

But the biggest reason Kenseth is a threat to win it all is the same reason he's so funny. He doesn't get into mind games, although he'd probably be pretty good at it.

"I've got my hands full to keep myself straight, much less trying to get inside somebody else's head," Kenseth said.

See, he is the funniest guy in NASCAR.

He also could be a two-time champion soon.

David Newton covers NASCAR for ESPN.com. He can be reached at dnewtonespn@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DNewtonespn.

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• NASCAR writer for ESPN.com
• NFL, college football writer for 20 years
• National award winner in motorsports coverage