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Kasey Kahne
Born April 10, 1980 (1980-04-10) (age 43)
Hometown Enumclaw, Washington
Awards 2004 NASCAR Rookie of the Year
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series statistics
Best pts finish 4th (2012)
First race 2004 Daytona 500
Last race 2018 Bojangles' Southern 500
First win 2005 Chevy American Revolution 400
Last win 2017 Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400
NASCAR Xfinity Series statistics
Best pts finish 7th (2003)
First race 2002 1-866RBCTerm.com 200
Last race 2017 Sparks Energy 300
First win 2003 Ford 300
Last win 2014 Subway Firecracker 250

Kasey Kenneth Kahne (born April 10, 1980) is a retired American stock car racing driver. He last competed in the Monster Energy Cup Series, driving the #95 Chevrolet Camaro for Leavine Family Racing.

Off the track, Kahne is active in charitable work and is a member of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation. He also owns his own race team Kasey Kahne Racing in the World of Outlaws series, fielding a car for Joey Saldana. Kahne is also a 3-time Skagit Speedway winner of the Annual Jim Raper memorial Dirt Cup and holds the current record for the fastest lap at Skagit.

Early career[]

Birthdate: 04/10/1980

Birthplace: Enumclaw, Wash.

Resides: Mooresville, N.C.

Background: Driver, No. 5, Hendrick Motorsports (2012); Chase for the Sprint Cup participant (2006 and 2009); 11-time Sprint Cup race winner (2005-09); 20-time Sprint Cup pole winner (2004-2010); Richard Petty Motorsports and Red Bull Racing Team (2009-10); Evernham Motorsports and Gillett Evernham Motorsports (2004-08); NASCAR Nationwide Series (2002-03); USAC National Midget champion, National Midget Driver of the Year (2000); various open-wheel series (1994-2002).

Gaining ground[]

A Northwest Mini-Sprints championship and track title at Hannigan Speedway were nice, but if Kasey Kahne were going to make it in sprint cars he’d have to go to the competition.

At age 17, only three years after he first strapped into one of father Kelly’s cars, he left his native Washington state for the Midwest — a region just as famous for sprints and midgets as the Southeast is stock cars. From 1998 to 2002, Kahne sharpened his skills in the winged sprinters of the World of Outlaws, All-Star Circuit of Champions, Gumout Racing Series and Northern Sprint Tour.

Kahne, as they say, arrived in 2000.

He opened with an upset victory at Williams Grove Speedway and closed with the USAC National Midget Series championship and National Midget Driver of the Year honors. A year later, Kahne won four USAC midget races — including the Belleville Midget Nationals — on top of 10 top-five finishes in 11 starts. He also matched sprint car-turned-NASCAR star Jeff Gordon by claiming his second consecutive victory in the prestigious Night Before the 500 at O’Reilly Raceway Park.

Like many young and talented American open-wheelers, Kahne soon was plugged into the NASCAR pipeline.

In 2002, as a part-time driver for an outmanned and underfunded No. 98 car at Robert Yates Racing, Kahne managed only one top 10 in 20 starts in the NASCAR Busch Series. The next season he earned full-time status in Akins Motorsports’ No. 38, totaling a pole, four top fives, 14 top 10s and a breakthrough victory in the Homestead finale.

Chasing the Cup[]

Enter Ray Evernham, an ex-champion crew chief who, when Dodge returned to Cup racing in 2001, formed a team of his own. After veteran driver Bill Elliott downgraded to a part-time role at the end of 2003, Evernham Motorsports had a vacancy in the No. 9 and the owner always had his eye on the kid from Enumclaw.

It’s fair to say Kahne adapted quickly to the Cup level. In two of his first three races — at Rockingham and Las Vegas — Kahne finished second to then-defending series champion Matt Kenseth. He ended 2004 as the Rookie of the Year with four poles and 13 top-fives. He just missed the Chase, too, by a mere 28 points. In 2005, he led 242 laps to win his first Cup race in May at Richmond and had an impressive second-place run at Indianapolis, but nine DNFs spelled doom and a 23rd-place finish in points.

Kahne emerged as a championship threat in 2006, winning a series-high six races and earning an eighth-place finish in points after racing his way into the Chase as the 10th and final qualifier. Statistically, 2006 ranks as Kahne’s best: six wins (including a sweep at Charlotte), six poles, 12 top fives, 19 top 10s, and 744 laps led.

The next two seasons were largely disappointing. He was shut out of victory lane in 2007, and in 2008 an All-Star/600 sweep at Charlotte and a victory at Pocono could only partly make up for missing the Chase for the second consecutive season.

Homecoming[]

In 2011, it was announced that Kasey Kahne would join Hendrick Motorsports and driver the #5 Farmers Insurance Chevy Impala.

2012 was an amazing year for Kasey and he proved that Rick Hendrick made the right choice in hiring him as Kasey won multiple races including the famed Coca-Cola 600 and qualified for the chase. The chase, however, was disappointing for Kasey but everyone agreed that he had a bright future ahead of him.

The disappointment, however, carried over for the first part of the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Kahne crashed in the Daytona 500 along with Kyle Bush and Kevin Harvick. Once the series made its way to Bristol, however, Kasey's luck turned around as he picked up a victory in the Food City 500. Kasey got his next win at Pocono Raceway in the GoBowling.com 400 after making a pass on Jeff Gordon during a Green-White-Checkered battle for the win.

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