Kasey Kahne facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kasey Kahne
Kahne at Phoenix International Raceway in 2017
Born	Kasey Kenneth Kahne (1980-04-10) April 10, 1980 (age 45) Enumclaw, Washington, U.S.
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	145 lb (66 kg)
Achievements	2000 USAC National Midget Series champion 2006, 2008, 2012 Coca-Cola 600 winner Sprint All-Star Race XXIV winner 2010 Gatorade Duel winner 2017 Brickyard 400 winner Has won with three separate engine manufacturers in NASCAR (Toyota, Chevy, Dodge)
Awards	2004 Nextel Cup Series Rookie of the Year Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023)
NASCAR Cup Series career
529 races run over 15 years
2018 position	30th
Best finish	4th (2012)
First race	2004 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Last race	2018 Bojangles' Southern 500 (Darlington)
First win	2005 Chevy American Revolution 400 (Richmond)
Last win	2017 Brickyard 400 (Indianapolis)
Wins Top tens Poles 18 176 27
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
216 races run over 17 years
Car no., team	No. 33 (Richard Childress Racing)
2017 position	97th
Best finish	7th (2003)
First race	2002 1-866RBCTerm.com 200 (Rockingham)
Last race	2025 North Carolina Education Lottery 250 (Rockingham)
First win	2003 Ford 300 (Homestead)
Last win	2014 Subway Firecracker 250 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles 8 87 9
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series career
6 races run over 5 years
2015 position	84th
Best finish	47th (2004)
First race	2004 Darlington 200 (Darlington)
Last race	2015 North Carolina Education Lottery 200 (Charlotte)
First win	2004 Darlington 200 (Darlington)
Last win	2015 North Carolina Education Lottery 200 (Charlotte)
Wins Top tens Poles 5 6 1
Statistics current as of April 19, 2025.

Kasey Kenneth Kahne (born April 10, 1980) is an American professional dirt track racing and stock car racing driver. He used to compete full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series. Currently, Kahne races part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Richard Childress Racing. He also competes in High Limit Racing with his own team, Kasey Kahne Racing.

Kasey Kahne has won 18 races in the Cup Series. This includes three Coca-Cola 600 victories (in 2006, 2008, and 2012). He also won the Brickyard 400 in 2017. In 2004, he was named the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Rookie of the Year. He stopped full-time racing in 2018 due to health reasons.

Off the track, Kahne helps with charity work. He is part of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation. He also owns Kasey Kahne Racing, which races in the World of Outlaws and High Limit Racing series. His team has two sprint cars for himself and Brad Sweet. Kahne won the Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup twice (2002 and 2003). He also holds the fastest lap record at Skagit Speedway.

Racing Career Highlights

Early Racing Days

Kasey Kahne started racing open-wheel sprint cars at age 17 in Washington. He then moved up to bigger tracks like Skagit Speedway. Later, he joined USAC. In 2000, he won a race at the famous Williams Grove Speedway in Pennsylvania.

He was hired by Steve Lewis, who also helped other future NASCAR stars. In his first year, Kahne was named Rookie of the Year. He also won the national midget championship. He continued racing in USAC and other series like the World of Outlaws.

Success in Xfinity and Truck Series

In 2002, Kahne began racing in the Busch Series (now Xfinity Series). He drove for Robert Yates Racing. His best finish that year was 10th place. In 2003, he raced full-time for Akins Motorsports. He won his first pole position at Michigan International Speedway. He also won his first Busch Series race at the Ford 300. Kahne finished 7th in the points standings that year.

In 2005, he won two more Busch Series races. These were at Texas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway. In 2007, Kahne won the Busch Series' Carquest Auto Parts 300 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. He also won the Food City 250 at Bristol that same year.

In 2014, Kahne had an exciting win in the Nationwide Series' Subway Firecracker 250. He passed his teammate Regan Smith on the very last lap. He won by only 0.021 seconds, which is a super close finish!

Kasey Kahne has also raced in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He has six starts and won five of them. His only non-victory was a second-place finish at Pocono Raceway in 2010. In 2015, he won the Charlotte Truck race by just 0.005 seconds. This was the second-closest finish in Truck Series history.

NASCAR Cup Series Journey

Kasey Kahne joined the Cup Series full-time in 2004. He replaced Bill Elliott in the No. 9 Dodge for Evernham Motorsports.

Evernham Motorsports (2004–2007)

Kahne's 2004 No. 9 Dodge

In 2004, Kahne had a great rookie year. He finished second five times and had 13 top-five finishes. He also won four pole positions. He earned the Rookie of the Year Award. He just missed making the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

In 2005, Kahne got his first Cup Series win at Richmond International Raceway. This was also the first win for the Dodge Charger in NASCAR. He became the first driver born in the 1980s to win a Cup Series race.

Kahne races by in the No. 9 Dodge Charger.

The year 2006 was very successful for Kahne. He won six races, including both races at Lowe's Motor Speedway (the Coca-Cola 600 and the Bank of America 500). He made it into the Chase for the Cup. He finished 8th in the final standings.

In 2007, Kahne had a tougher season. He finished 19th in points with no wins. He did have one top-five finish and eight top-ten finishes.

Gillette Evernham Motorsports and Richard Petty Motorsports (2008–2010)

Kahne's 2008 Sprint Cup Series racecar

In 2008, Kahne started strong with a 7th place finish in the 2008 Daytona 500. He won the Sprint All-Star Race XXIV after fans voted him in. He was the first driver to win the All-Star race after being voted in by fans.

On May 25, 2008, he won his second Coca-Cola 600. He passed Tony Stewart with two laps left. He also won the Pocono 500 from the pole position. Kahne finished 14th in points that year.

Kahne receives his 2008 Pocono 500 trophy.

In 2009, Kahne's team merged to become Richard Petty Motorsports. He won his first road course race at the Toyota/Save Mart 350. He also won the Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta. Kahne made the Chase for the Championship and finished 10th in points.

In 2010, Kahne won the Gatorade Duel No. 2 at Daytona. He had a strong car at Atlanta, leading the most laps and finishing in the top five. Later that year, he was involved in a big crash at Pocono. His car landed on top of the outside wall after being hit by other cars.

Red Bull Racing (2011)

Kasey Kahne in the No. 4 at Pocono Raceway in 2011.

In 2011, Kahne joined Team Red Bull. He won his first race in over two years at Phoenix International Raceway. He held off Carl Edwards in the final laps. Kahne finished the 2011 season 14th in points.

Hendrick Motorsports (2012–2017)

In 2012, Kahne moved to Hendrick Motorsports. He had a slow start but then had seven straight top-ten finishes. He won the 2012 Coca-Cola 600, which was his first win with Hendrick Motorsports. He also won the 2012 Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at Loudon.

Kahne at 2012 Kobalt Tools 400

Kahne finished a career-best fourth place in the points in 2012. He had two wins, four pole positions, 12 top-five finishes, and 19 top-ten finishes.

In 2013, Kahne won at Bristol. He also had a strong run at Las Vegas, leading many laps and finishing second. He had some incidents with Kyle Busch during the season. At the Coca-Cola 600, Kahne led the most laps despite having the flu. He nearly won the race.

He won his second Pocono race in August 2013. He finished 12th in the points standings. Later, he revealed he had a concussion from a crash at Loudon.

Kahne's car during practice for the 2015 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway

In 2014, Kahne won his only race of the season at Atlanta. This win secured his spot in the Chase. He finished 15th in the standings. He also signed a new contract with Hendrick Motorsports until 2018.

The 2015 and 2016 seasons were challenging for Kahne. He had fewer top-five and top-ten finishes. In 2016, he did not lead a single lap in any race.

Kahne's 2017 season started slowly. However, he returned to Victory Lane at the 2017 Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400. He survived a crash-filled race and held off Brad Keselowski for the win. This was his 18th Cup Series win and his first in 102 races.

After this win, Hendrick Motorsports announced Kahne would not return for 2018. The No. 5 car, a historic number for Hendrick, was retired until 2020.

Leavine Family Racing (2018)

Kahne's No. 95 at Sonoma Raceway in 2018

In 2018, Kahne drove the No. 95 for Leavine Family Racing. He had a season-best fourth-place finish at the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona.

On August 16, 2018, Kahne announced he would step away from full-time racing at the end of the year. He later sat out the rest of the season due to heat exhaustion. This ended his 15-year full-time Cup Series career early.

Return to Dirt Racing

After leaving NASCAR, Kasey Kahne returned to dirt sprint car racing. In March 2019, he was injured in a crash at Williams Grove Speedway. He did not race for over a year.

In December 2021, Kahne announced he would race full-time with the World of Outlaws in 2022. He drove his own Kasey Kahne Racing No. 9 car. In December 2023, he announced he would compete full-time with High Limit Racing in 2024.

Return to NASCAR

Kasey Kahne returned to NASCAR for one race in the Xfinity Series. This happened at Rockingham Speedway on April 19, 2025. He drove the No. 33 car for Richard Childress Racing. His car got some damage during the race. Despite this, he finished in 14th place.

Personal Life

Kasey Kahne likes to keep his personal life private. He and his former girlfriend, Samantha Sheets, had a son born on October 13, 2015. They have a friendly relationship. Later, Kahne started dating Amy Long in 2020. They had a baby girl in early 2023.

Film and Television Appearances

Kahne was featured in a TV show called Driven to Win in 2006. This show covered his childhood and start in NASCAR. He also appeared in NASCAR 360.

Kasey Kahne Racing helped make a movie called "The Rise of Kahne" in 2009. It was about his racing career and his charity work.

His No. 9 Dodge car appeared in the 2005 Disney movie Herbie: Fully Loaded. Kahne was one of the drivers in the final race. He also made a brief appearance in the music video "Smoke a Little Smoke" by Eric Church in 2010.

Daytona 500 Results

See also

In Spanish: Kasey Kahne para niños