Daytona Beach, Fla. ? People keep groping for an insightful sound bite, anything that can break the precious private space of a man who quietly became the most proficient NASCAR driver last season.

Matt Kenseth won the points title with the subtle style of a boxer who keeps jabbing away, scoring points in bunches. He won only one race, the fewest of any champion since Benny Parsons in 1973.

His run was deemed so unspectacular, many folks presume NASCAR altered its points system significantly this season just to avoid the drone that played out in 2003.

If so, Matt Kenseth wants to thank everyone.

“At first I took it as insult to myself or maybe felt a little bad about it,” Kenseth said. “But the more I thought about it, it’s more of a compliment than anything since the system has been in place for 30-some years and we did such a great job that they want to change it.”

While NASCAR officials tinkered with the system — they’d prefer if you didn’t call it a 10-race playoff — Kenseth went about preparing for another season of quiet conquest.

He celebrated his title by pocketing nearly $9.5 million in assorted winnings, presented at an awards dinner Dec. 5 in New York. He ate a hamburger at Sardi’s in the Theater District, toured the New York Fire Department’s Ladder 17 and the New York Police Department’s 17th precinct, and shared his recipe for bratwurst with Regis Philbin. (Producers of the show added vegetables to the mix).

“That wasn’t my recipe,” said Kenseth, a Wisconsin boy. “I would have just grilled ’em, thrown ’em on a bun and put some mustard on and onions, and it’d have been good.”

Two days after Christmas, Kenseth was honored with a parade in his hometown of Cambridge, Wis. He rode with his wife, Katie, on the top of a Cambridge Fire Department truck, greeted by thousands of people throughout the streets. A huge Green Bay Packers fan, Kenseth also went to the Packers’ NFL playoff game overtime victory against the Seattle Seahawks. He also attended the Packers’ matchup Nov. 10 against Philadelphia Eagles.

NASCAR driver Matt Kenseth, right, and crew chief Robbie Reiser inspect their car following a practice session. Kenseth, the defending series champion, worked on his car Tuesday at Daytona Beach, Fla.

Despite having access to a suite, Kenseth preferred to stand on the sideline in the sleet and rain because it was a first-time experience for him. After the Seattle game, he exchanged helmets with Packers quarterback Brett Favre.

“He was low key, but you could tell by looking at his eyes that this was an exciting moment for him,” said Mike Zizzo, NASCAR’s senior manager of communications, who went to both games.

Kenseth’s competitive charge during the 2003 season gave folks in Wisconsin another hero to embrace after the footballs were put away.

After a forgettable 20th-place finish in the season opener at Daytona, Kenseth rode his No. 17 Ford to top-10 finishes in 25 of 36 races. His only victory was in the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas.

And so the criticism.

Lost in the backhanded sniping was that Kenseth won more races than anyone during the 2002 season–five–but finished eighth in the standings.

Kenseth, 31, didn’t help his marketing plan with his quiet disposition.

“I think he gets a bad rap,” driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “What’s hurt Matt more than anything is he’s really private so people don’t know a lot about him. I, on the other hand, told everybody everything for a while. The contrast between us might have dampened everybody’s perception of Matt. He’s a pretty cool guy. He’s pretty wild when he wants to be.”

Kenseth never will let on.