Darrell Waltrip isn't color blind. He's nostalgic.

That's why, in his mind's eye, he doesn't see Matt Kenseth piloting a yellow-and-black No. 17 car, but rather his old rig -- same number, just with some orange and blue mixed in with the yellow.

With just two races left in the season, Kenseth is poised to win his first title and Waltrip doesn't mind admitting he's getting a little emotional.

"I think he's done a great job this season," Waltrip said. "I'm really proud of him."

Watlrip said he felt like he played some small part in Kenseth's title run. And though he wasn't giving Kenseth tips or sharing secrets, he did play at least a small role in putting the No. 17 back at the helm of the competition.

In 1999, Waltrip stopped fielding his own car and went to drive for Travis Carter. Although he still owned the rights to the No. 17, his sponsor wanted him to go with 66 because it fit in better with their marketing strategy.

So Mark Martin, part owner of Kenseth's team, told Waltrip about this kid Kenseth who was about to make the move to Winston Cup. His Busch Series number was 17, Martin said, and he'd like to keep that number in Cup. Would it be OK with Waltrip, Martin wondered?

Waltrip didn't know much about the boy. He might have thought he ran the 17 because he grew up rooting for him. He probably didn't know Kenseth was a die-hard Earnhardt fan. Either way, Waltrip consented and signed over his number, as well as -- to hear him describe it -- a piece of his heart.

"He's represented it so well, though," Waltrip said. "As competitive as everybody is with each other now, to have the lead that he does is remarkable. He's just done an outstanding job."

Waltrip isn't the only old-timer to say so. Richard Petty has watched Kenseth closely over the years. After Kenseth edged Dale Earnhardt Jr. for rookie of the year honors in 2000, Petty said he was pretty sure Kenseth was getting ready to have a whole heap of expectations placed on him.

Petty was right. But he also said he questioned whether Kenseth would be able to handle it. In that regard, he admits he was off.

"He can win races," Petty said. "He showed that (last season). But he also understands what it takes to win a championship, and that's what he showed this year."

Petty said he believes Kenseth might be a bigger hit with the fans if he won more often. Had he won five races this year like he did last season, Petty believes the bandwagon would be full. But the fact that Kenseth has won only one race shouldn't detract from his accomplishment.

"It's just how they set it up," Petty said. "They reward consistency. Everybody knows that from the start, so you have to approach the season that way."

Petty won championships in years that he wasn't the winningest driver. In 1979, he trailed Darrell Waltrip in the wins column by two races and won the title. But even Waltrip said he generally agrees with the outcome of the title bouts.

"If they wanted to reward wins, they'd give them more points," Waltrip said. "NASCAR is rewarding consistency. There was nobody more consistent than Matt Kenseth this year. Plain and simple."

No argument there.

Kenseth trails Ryan Newman in the wins column by seven races. The last time the title winner was that far behind the winningest driver was 1996, when Terry Labonte won the championship despite winning twice to Jeff Gordon's 10 victories.

But the argument for a new points system that would reward Newman, or the numerous other drivers who won the most races in a season but lost the title, is a hard one to make considering Newman's eight wins are almost matched by seven finishes outside the top 28. Six of those were no better than 38th.

Kenseth may not have many wins, but he's got 24 top 10s in 34 tries. Six of the 10 which were not top 10s were still top 15s. Over 34 weeks, Kenseth's team has generally provided him with a car that won't break and that is flexible enough to work with and Kenseth has driven it to high finishes. Over 34 weeks, that means, Kenseth's team has generally done the best job.

"I think NASCAR's got it about right," 1973 title winner Benny Parsons said. "You need luck and you need consistency and if you look at what Kenseth's team has done this year they've had both."

Parsons said there's been times that he thought Kenseth's consistency would falter -- times when the car didn't look quite right or Kenseth's focus appeared absent. But then the team would make an adjustment or Kenseth would snap back to reality and, voila, with two races to go Kenseth would have to exhaust 228 points to lose the championship.

"He's built such a big lead because he's done the best job," Parsons said. "If he wins it, it's because he deserves to."

Rupen Fofaria is a freelance writer living in Chicago and a regular contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached at rfofaria@espnspecial.com.