Kasey Kahne, “I just want to race”

Kasey Kahne explains where his heads at as the #5 team struggles

Kasey Kahne is a bit of a ghost. You rarely see or hear from him.

In 2017, 14 races in, He has two top 5’s. But an average finish of 18th.

Kahne hasn’t won a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race since 2014. In fact in 2015 and 2016, he only collected six top 5’s, three in each season.

Kasey Kahne's last win - Atlanta Motor Speedway
Kasey Kahne’s last NASCAR Cup Series win came at Atlanta Motor Speedway on August 31, 2014 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Kasey Kahne talks about the recent struggles with Claire B. Lang on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, “I would say over the last 3 weeks, we’ve had part failures and a wreck. There was a lot of cars in that wreck, it started in the front. I was part of it, I was in about 12th at the time at Dover.The last 3 weeks haven’t ended well at all.”

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“All I really want to do is preform. I want to run well, I want to be up front. I think we can do that if we do all the little things right.”

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Kasey Kahne doesn’t always explain his situation. He tends to leave the fans in the dark, only because he’s a quiet guy. But at the same time, that leaves people to speculate.

Kasey talks about twitter, “Over twitter, I mean I can talk. But there isn’t near enough spaces to explain what the heck’s actually going on. Just a little bit only gets people pointed in the wrong direction half the time. It’s kinda like texting instead of calling in certain situations. Sometimes you need to call.”

“I don’t like putting people down. But it’s kinda just the way our last 3 weeks have been. The cars actually got pretty decent speed. Hopefully we have that again in Michigan.”

Kasey Kayne and Tanner Kayne
Kasey Kayne and Tanner Kayne (son)

Kasey Kahne is focused on 2017, “People can debate, or wonder. But if you know me, you know all I wanna do is race. All I think about is racing and Tanner (his son) and that’s it.”

“It’s the one’s that think, ‘Maybe he’s not into it.’ that have no clue who I am or anything about that. They just look at the outside and just wonder, he’s not into it.”

“That’s their opinion. You get so many opinion out there (on social media). You just don’t always know what’s exactly real. Unless you know the person or I make a statement.”

So what’s Kasey Kahne’s statement?, “I love racing. All I want to do is race. And I’m going to win again in the Cup Series.”

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Kasey Kahne Highside - Bristol Motor Speedway
Kasey Kahne Highside – Bristol Motor Speedway

Kasey Kahne used to be glued to the highside of the racetrack. In fact, after Bristol’s re-pave. He was the first one to make a pass for the lead on the highside. He passed on the outside in turns 1-2 on the final lap.

At that time, it shook the Bristol crowd to it’s core. It was confusing to fans that watched people run around the bottom, for years. Kasey Kahne went on to win that NASCAR Nationwide Series (Now NASCAR Xfinity Series) event. Until the use of VHT at Bristol, the highside was the place to be on the re-configured Bristol Motor Speedway.

However, fans have noticed that Kasey Kahne isn’t always located at the top of the racetrack. His driving style has changed. But has he? If so, why?

Kasey Kahne
Kasey Kahne

Kasey Kahne is adapting, “I probably have a little bit. I used to always just think, high. Because other people didn’t really go up there. Today, so many more people race up high.”

The NASCAR drivers have migrated into Kasey’s lane, “When I first came in the sport. It was like me, Michael Waltrip and Dale Jr once in awhile up high. Then, everybody else was on the bottom. It’s just changed a lot today. Everybody knows the momentum and knows to be up high the majority of the time.”

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“You gotta figure out how to make your car handle in the right areas. So, I’m probably not up high as much as I used to be. But, that’s because the rest of the fields up there.”

2012 New Hampshire July NASCAR Sprint Cup Kasey Kahne burnout
LOUDON, NH – JULY 15: Kasey Kahne, driver of the #5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 15, 2012 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

“I just want to win. I’m going to keep working hard to make that happen. I work for Hendrick Motorsports. A team that should win, more than they do win. Thankfully, Jimmie Johnson wins or we would hardly ever win. As a company we need to always be getting better.”

“There’s a lot of good there. It’s just making it all come together. We just all need to step it up. We have 4 of the best drivers in the cup series, and teams, crew chiefs, engineers, all that.”

“It’s all there. It’s just a matter of doing it and not making mistakes when it’s crunch time.”

In 2006, Kasey Kahne won six races in a single season. The 2017 season is Kasey Kahne’s 14th year in the premier series of the NASCAR ladder. Over that time, he’s collected 17 wins.

Author: Shane Walters

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