INDIANAPOLIS -- Matt Kenseth is enjoying his breakout year.

Kenseth is the first NASCAR Winston Cup driver to win three races this season with victories at North Carolina Motor Speedway in February, Texas Motor Speedway in April and Michigan International Speedway in June.

	Matt Kenseth was the first driver on the circuit to earn three victories in 2002.

Kenseth is hoping to continue the success at the Brickyard with a win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"It's been a little bit of everything," Kenseth has said of his productivity in 2002. "Our cars have been better, we've had faster cars, the guys have been working hard on engines and getting us more horsepower. Everybody on the team has been doing a better job of making ourselves more competitive than we were last year.

"Everybody is doing a great job together and we are learning a little bit of everything and sharing it and it's making us all run better."

The 29-year-old Kenseth is part of a four-car effort at Roush Racing that includes the old veteran Mark Martin, perennial contender Jeff Burton and 23-year-old Kurt Busch.

In a race that has favored experienced drivers in the past, Kenseth predicts a more youthful look to this year's race.

"I don't think it's going to be any different than any other week -- the people who have been running well are going to keep running good," Kenseth said. "I hope that we can be up there and have a shot at the thing. It's a track where track position is really important because it's difficult to pass. You have to have good pit stops and have to have a car that turns real good so if you do get behind, you can pass.

"The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is difficult in the aspect it's really hard to pass. For stock cars, it's very difficult to run side-by-side and to pass there. We haven't had any luck there yet. Our first year, we were wrecked on pit road and last year, we were in a first-lap accident and never got any laps in. It's been tough on us. Last year, we ran really well but some bad things happened."

Kenseth is the latest driver to come from racing-mad Wisconsin and has made a positive impression in his three full seasons in Winston Cup racing. But like any race driver from the Midwest, he always dreamed of the day that he could race on the most famous race course in the world, the 2½-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"There are a lot of things about going to Indy that are really cool," Kenseth said. "It's neat because of all the history there, the Indy 500 obviously. It's one of the most famed tracks there is. That part of it is really fun. It's not really the best track there is for stock cars as far as running side by side and passing.

"I'm looking forward to going there. It's not too far away from where I grew up in Wisconsin. It's got a lot of history and it's cool to go there."

While some of the newer drivers such as Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson have grabbed much of the attention, Kenseth prefers to stay out of the spotlight and maintain a solid pace that has proven successful this season.

His steadiness behind the wheel was never more evident than in his victory at Michigan in June, when he was able to hold off a charging Dale Jarrett during a three-lap dash to the checkered flag after NASCAR had brought out the red flag to make sure the race finished under green following a late-race caution.

"At Michigan, I felt like if there wasn't a caution, I had them beat," Kenseth said. "If there was a caution, I could probably hang on. I felt good that we were still able to win it because before the caution came out, we were going to win unless something broke or I hit the wall.

"It feels good to win any of these races, but it really feels good when you get to race for them."

The last four years, the winner of the Brickyard 400 has gone on to win the championship. Kenseth believes he is ready to make a run at both this year.

"We've had some problems in some of the races where we fell behind, but you can't try any harder, you can't do anything different," Kenseth said. "You have to keep doing what we've been doing, do the best we can and let the points take care of themselves."