Kasey Kahne
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Born: | April 10, 1980 | |
Birthplace: | Enumclaw, Washington | |
Awards: | 2000 USAC National Midget Champion | |
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Statistics | ||
Car #, Team | #9 - Evernham Motorsports | |
2006 NEXTEL Cup Position: | 8th | |
Best Cup Position: | 8th - 2006 (Nextel Cup) | |
First Race: | 2004 Daytona 500 (Daytona) | |
First Win: | 2005 Chevy American Revolution 400 (Richmond) | |
Last Win: | 2006 Bank of America 500 (Lowe's) | |
Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
7 | 41 | 11 |
NASCAR Busch Series Statistics | ||
Car #, Team | #9 - Evernham Motorsports | |
2006 NBS Position: | 31st | |
Best NBS Position: | 7th - 2003 (Busch Series) | |
First Race: | 2002 1-866RBCTerm.com 200 North Carolina) | |
First Win: | 2003 Ford 300 (Homestead) | |
Last Win: | 2006 Ameriquest 300 (California | |
Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
5 | 39 | 6 |
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Statistics | ||
2 races run over 1 years. | ||
Best NCTS Position: | 47th - 2004 (Craftsman Truck Series) | |
First Race: | 2004 Darlington 200 (Darlington) | |
Last Race: | 2004 Ford 200 (Homestead) | |
First Win: | 2004 Darlington 200 (Darlington) | |
Last Win: | 2004 Ford 200 (Homestead) | |
Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
2 | 2 | 0 |
All stats current as of November 19, 2006. |
Kasey Kenneth Kahne (born April 10, 1980 in Enumclaw, Washington) is a driver in NASCAR's NEXTEL Cup series. He currently drives the #9 Dodge Dealers / UAW Dodge Charger for Evernham Motorsports with teammates Scott Riggs and Elliott Sadler. Off the track, Kasey is active in charitable work and is a member of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation. Kahne resides in Mooresville, North Carolina with his younger brother Kale Kahne. Kasey also has an older sister, Shanon Adams. He is also an owner in the World of Outlaws series, fielding a car for Joey Saldana.
Contents |
[edit] Racing Career
[edit] The Beginnings
Kahne began racing open wheel sprint cars at Deming speedway in Deming,Washington ,before moving up to Skagit speedway in Alger,WA then he moved to USAC. He was hired by Steve Lewis, who had also employed future NASCAR drivers Jeff Gordon and Kenny Irwin, Jr.. In his first year on the circuit, he was named Rookie of the Year, as well winning the national midget championship, . After that season, he continued to run USAC, as well as the Toyota Atlantic Series and the World of Outlaws.
Kasey Kahne made 20 starts in the Busch Series driving the #98 Channellock Ford Taurus for Robert Yates Racing. His best finish was a tenth-place finish at Cabela's 250. In 2003, he moved to the #38 Great Clips Ford for Akins Motorsports. He won his first pole at Michigan International Speedway and his first Busch race at the Ford 300. He also made a pair of starts in the Craftsman Truck Series in the #2 Team ASE Racing Dodge Ram for Ultra Motorsports, winning in both starts.
[edit] NEXTEL Cup career
Kahne replaced Bill Elliott in the #9 Dodge at the end of 2003 when Elliott announced a part-time schedule starting with the 2004 season. Due to the fact that Kahne was still under contract with Ford, a lawsuit began when Kahne decided to go to Evernham, driving a car that was being sponsered by Dodge. Ford eventually got money from Kahne, allowing him to go to Dodge. In 2004, Kahne surprised many by nearly winning several races (including five second-place finishes and 13 top-fives), winning four poles and captured the Raybestos Rookie of the Year award. He drove 30 races for Akins in the Busch Series, finishing fifteenth in points.
He scored his first career NEXTEL Cup victory in his sophomore season of 2005, after a dominating performance in the Chevy American Revolution 400 at Richmond International Raceway. It was also the first victory for the Dodge Charger, which returned to NASCAR in 2005. He also scored two poles in back-to-back weeks at Darlington and Richmond during the same year. He made 22 starts in Busch, splitting time with Akins and Evernham's new #6 team. He won at Texas and Kansas Speedway.
On Monday, March 20, 2006, Kahne won the rain delayed Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Nearly three weeks later, he won the Samsung/Radio Shack 500 at Texas. He has won four races since, among them a season sweep at Lowe's Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 600 and the Bank of America 500, holding off Jimmie Johnson, who would go on to finish second in both events. He has also won at California and Michigan.
On September 9, 2006, Kahne successfully raced his way into the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup by finishing third at Richmond. When he qualified he for the Chase for the Championship Kahne was 10th, 16 points ahead of 2005 Nextel Cup Champion Tony Stewart who coincidently missed the Chase. He has won two Busch Series races this year. Kasey Kahne finished 8th in the points.
[edit] External links
- Official site
- KlubKahne.com - Kasey Kahne's Official Fan Klub Site
- Kasey Kahne at The Internet Movie Database
- Interview with Kasey Kahne about his charitable work
- Siemens website
Evernham Motorsports | |
Nextel Cup Drivers | Kasey Kahne (#9) | Scott Riggs (#10) | Elliott Sadler (#19) |
Driver development program participants | Kevin Swindell | Erin Crocker |
Partnerships and Affiliations | Petty Enterprises | FitzBradshaw Racing | Curb Agajanian Performance Group | Woodard Racing | Brevak Racing |
Other | Ray Evernham, Valvoline (#10) |
Preceded by: Jamie McMurray |
NASCAR Rookie of the year 2004 |
Succeeded by: Kyle Busch |