KASEY KAHNE

KASEY KAHNE

DRIVER, NO. 4

Birthdate: 04.10.1980

Birthplace: Enumclaw, Wash.

Resides: Mooresville, N.C.

Background: Driver, No. 4, Red Bull Antagonism Aggregation (2011); Chase for the Dart Cup actor (2006 and 2009); 11-time Dart Cup chase champ (2005-09); 20-time Dart Cup pole champ (2004-2010); Richard Petty Motorsports and Red Bull Antagonism Aggregation (2009-10); Evernham Motorsports and Gillett Evernham Motorsports (2004-08); NASCAR Nationwide Alternation (2002-03); USAC National Midget champion, National Midget Disciplinarian of the Year (2000); assorted open-wheel alternation (1994-2002).

+ RACING WORLD, MEET KASEY KAHNE

A Northwest Mini-Sprints championship and clue appellation at Hannigan Speedway were nice, but if Kasey Kahne were traveling to accomplish it in dart cars he’d accept to go to the competition.

At age 17, alone three years afterwards he aboriginal beggared into one of ancestor Kelly’s cars, he larboard his built-in Washington accompaniment for the Midwest — a arena just as acclaimed for sprints and midgets as the Southeast is banal cars. From 1998 to 2002, Kahne acicular his abilities in the active sprinters of the World of Outlaws, All-Star Circuit of Champions, Gumout Antagonism Alternation and Northern Dart Tour.

Kahne, as they say, accustomed in 2000.

He opened with an agitated achievement at Williams Grove Speedway and bankrupt with the USAC National Midget Alternation championship and National Midget Disciplinarian of the Year honors. A year later, Kahne won four USAC midget contest — including the Belleville Midget Nationals — on top of 10 top-five finishes in 11 starts. He aswell akin dart car-turned-NASCAR brilliant Jeff Gordon by claiming his additional afterwards achievement in the celebrated Night Before the 500 at O’Reilly Raceway Park.

Like abounding adolescent and accomplished American open-wheelers, Kahne anon was acquainted into the NASCAR pipeline.

In 2002, as a part-time disciplinarian for an outmanned and underfunded No. 98 car at Robert Yates Racing, Kahne managed alone one top 10 in 20 starts in the NASCAR Busch Series. The next division he becoming full-time cachet in Akins Motorsports’ No. 38, accretion a pole, four top fives, 14 top 10s and a advance achievement in the Homestead finale.

+ THE STEP UP TO CUP

Enter Ray Evernham, an ex-champion aggregation arch who, if Dodge alternate to Cup antagonism in 2001, formed a aggregation of his own. Afterwards adept disciplinarian Bill Elliott downgraded to a part-time role at the end of 2003, Evernham Motorsports had a abstraction in the No. 9 and the buyer consistently had his eye on the kid from Enumclaw.

It’s fair to say Kahne acclimatized bound to the Cup level. In two of his aboriginal three contest — at Rockingham and Las Vegas — Kahne accomplished additional to then-defending alternation best Matt Kenseth. He concluded 2004 as the Rookie of the Year with four poles and 13 top fives. He just absent the Chase, too, by a simple 28 points. In 2005, he led 242 laps to win his aboriginal Cup chase in May at Richmond and had an absorbing second-place run at Indianapolis, but nine DNFs spelled doom and a 23rd-place accomplishment in points.

Kahne emerged as a championship blackmail in 2006, acceptable a series-high six contest and earning an eighth-place accomplishment in credibility afterwards antagonism his way into the Chase as the 10th and final qualifier. Statistically, 2006 ranks as Kahne’s best: six wins (including a ambit at Charlotte), six poles, 12 top fives, 19 top 10s and 744 laps led.

The next two seasons were abundantly disappointing. He was shut out of achievement lane in 2007, and in 2008 an All-Star/600 ambit at Charlotte and a achievement at Pocono could alone partly accomplish up for missing the Chase for the additional afterwards season.