Kasey Kahne facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kasey Kahne |
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Kahne in 2017
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| Born | Kasey Kenneth Kahne April 10, 1980 Enumclaw, Washington, U.S. |
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| 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) |
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| Awards | 2004 Nextel Cup Series Rookie of the Year Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023) |
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| 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) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
| 215 races run over 16 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 | 2017 Sparks Energy 300 (Talladega) | ||||||
| First win | 2003 Ford 300 (Homestead) | ||||||
| Last win | 2014 Subway Firecracker 250 (Daytona) | ||||||
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| 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) | ||||||
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| Statistics current as of November 18, 2018. | |||||||
Kasey Kenneth Kahne (born April 10, 1980) is an American dirt track racing driver. He also used to be a professional stock car racing driver. He now races part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Richard Childress Racing. Kasey also competes in High Limit Racing with his own team, Kasey Kahne Racing.
Outside of racing, Kasey helps with charity work. He is part of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation. His race team, Kasey Kahne Racing, also competes in the World of Outlaws series. He has won the Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup twice. Kasey holds the fastest lap record at Skagit Speedway.
Kasey won 18 races in the Cup Series. This includes three Coca-Cola 600 races and the Brickyard 400 in 2017. He was named NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Rookie of the Year in 2004. He stopped full-time racing in 2018 due to health reasons.
Contents
Kasey's Racing Journey
Starting Out in Racing
Kasey Kahne started racing sprint cars at 17. He began at Deming Speedway in Deming, Washington. Then he moved to Skagit Speedway in Alger, Washington. After that, he joined USAC.
In 2000, Kasey won a race at Williams Grove Speedway. He was hired by Steve Lewis. Other famous NASCAR drivers also worked for Lewis. Kasey was named Rookie of the Year in his first year. He also won the national midget championship.
Racing in Xfinity and Truck Series
In 2002, Kasey raced in 20 Busch Series events. He drove the No. 98 Ford for Robert Yates Racing. His best finish was 10th place. The next year, 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. Kasey finished 7th in the points that year.
In 2005, Kasey won two Busch Series races. He won at Texas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway. On May 26, 2007, he won the Busch Series' Carquest Auto Parts 300. This was his first win of 2007. Later that year, he won another Busch race at Bristol. He passed Ryan Newman and Jason Leffler. This was his seventh career Busch Series win.
In 2014, Kasey had an exciting win. He won the Nationwide Series' Subway Firecracker 250. He passed his teammate Regan Smith on the last lap. He won by only 0.021 seconds.
Kasey has raced in six NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events. He won five of those races. His only non-victory was a second-place finish. In 2004, he won both Truck Series races he entered. He won at Darlington Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway. In 2015, he won the Charlotte Truck race. He beat Erik Jones by just 0.005 seconds. This was one of the closest finishes in Truck Series history.
Competing in the Cup Series
Kasey Kahne took over the No. 9 Dodge car in 2004. He replaced Bill Elliott at Evernham Motorsports. Kasey had been under contract with Ford. Ford filed a lawsuit against him. But a judge ruled that Kasey could join Evernham Motorsports.
Evernham Motorsports (2004–2007)
In 2004, Kasey had a great first year. He nearly won several races. He had five second-place finishes. He also earned four pole positions. Kasey won the Rookie of the Year Award. He just missed making the Chase for the Nextel Cup.
In 2005, Kasey got his first Cup Series win. He won the Chevy American Revolution 400 at Richmond International Raceway. This was also the first win for the Dodge Charger. It was the first time a Dodge won at Richmond since 1975. Kasey also became the first driver born in the 1980s to win a Cup Series race.
In 2006, Kasey won six races. He won at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Texas. He also won both races at Lowe's Motor Speedway. These were the Coca-Cola 600 and the Bank of America 500. He also won at California and Michigan.
Kasey made it into the Chase for the Cup in 2006. He was the last driver to qualify. But he had some bad luck in the Chase. He finished 8th in the final standings.
On November 27, 2006, Kasey was honored by the Seattle Seahawks. He raised the 12th Man flag before a football game. The Seahawks won the game.
In 2007, Kasey had a tough season. His car was found with some illegal changes before the 2007 Daytona 500. He finished 19th in points with no wins. His best finish was 2nd at Bristol.
Gillette Evernham Motorsports and Richard Petty Motorsports (2008–2010)
Kasey started 2008 strong. He finished 7th in the 2008 Daytona 500. He also finished 9th at Auto Club Speedway.
On May 17, 2008, fans voted Kasey into the Sprint All-Star Race. He went on to win the race. He earned over $1 million. He was the first driver to win the 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. This was his first points win of the season. He also won the Pocono 500 from the pole position.
Kasey missed the Chase for the Cup in 2008. He finished 14th in the final standings.
In 2009, Kasey's team merged with Petty Enterprises. It became Richard Petty Motorsports. Kasey won the Toyota/Save Mart 350. This was his first win on a road course. He also won the Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta. He made the Chase for the Championship. He finished 10th in points.
In 2010, Kasey drove a Ford Fusion. He won a qualifying race at Daytona. He finished 2nd in the Budweiser Shootout. He led the most laps at Atlanta. But mistakes and crashes hurt his season.
At Pocono, Kasey was in a big crash. His car landed on top of the outside wall. It hit a tree and spun back onto the track. Kasey was okay. He finished 2nd at Michigan the next race. He also earned the pole position at Sonoma.
Kasey left Richard Petty Motorsports in October 2010. He joined Team Red Bull. He had knee surgery after the season.
Red Bull Racing (2011)
In April 2010, Kasey announced he would join Hendrick Motorsports in 2012. He would drive the No. 5 car. For 2011, he drove the No. 4 Toyota for Team Red Bull. He won his first pole for Red Bull at Homestead in 2010.
Kasey led many laps at the Brickyard 400. But he spun late in the race. He finished 18th. He did not make the Chase in 2011.
On November 13, 2011, Kasey won at Phoenix. It was his first win in over two years. It was also his first win for Team Red Bull. He finished 14th in points in 2011.
Hendrick Motorsports (2012–2017)
In 2012, Kasey drove the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. He had a rough start to the year. He was in a crash at the Daytona 500.
Kasey also raced in the Truck Series in 2012. He won at Rockingham Speedway.
Kasey's Cup Series season improved. He had seven straight Top 10 finishes. He won the 2012 Coca-Cola 600. This was his first win with Hendrick Motorsports. He also won at Loudon. He made the Chase through a Wild Card spot. Kasey finished a career-best 4th in points in 2012. He had two wins and 12 Top 5 finishes.
In 2013, Kasey finished 2nd at Las Vegas. He then won at Bristol. He led many laps at the Coca-Cola 600. He almost won despite having the flu. He also won his second Pocono race. He finished 8th in points. He qualified for the Chase. But a crash at Loudon ended his championship hopes.
Kasey struggled in early 2014. He almost won at Pocono in June. But he hit the wall late in the race. Kasey said Kyle Busch was responsible for the crash.
Kasey won at Atlanta in 2014. He led the final 15 laps. This win secured his spot in the Chase. He finished 15th in the standings. Hendrick Motorsports extended his contract until 2018.
In 2015, Kasey returned to the Truck Series. He won at Charlotte by just 0.005 seconds. In the Cup Series, he had a tough year. He finished 18th in points.
Kasey had a difficult 2016 season. He finished 17th in points. He did not lead a single lap in any race that year.
Kasey's 2017 season started slowly. But he returned to Victory Lane in July. He won the Brickyard 400. He held off Brad Keselowski for his 18th Cup Series win. This was his first win in 102 races.
On August 7, 2017, Hendrick Motorsports announced Kasey would leave the team. William Byron replaced him. The No. 5 car was retired by Hendrick Motorsports. It later returned in 2020 with Kyle Larson. Kasey finished 15th in points in 2017. He announced he would drive the No. 95 for Leavine Family Racing in 2018.
Leavine Family Racing (2018)
Kasey joined Leavine Family Racing in 2018. He finished 10th in the All-Star race. He had a tough first half of the season. His best finish was 17th three times. He finished 4th at the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. This was his best finish of the season.
On August 16, 2018, Kasey said he would stop full-time racing. On September 6, 2018, he announced he would miss the 2018 Brickyard 400. This was due to heat exhaustion. Regan Smith replaced him. Kasey decided to sit out the rest of the year. This ended his 15-year Cup Series career early.
Returning to Dirt Racing
On March 29, 2019, Kasey was injured in a sprint car crash. He did not race for over a year. He returned to racing on May 8, 2020.
On December 22, 2021, Kasey announced he would race full-time. He would compete with the World of Outlaws in 2022. He would drive his own team's No. 9 car.
On December 3, 2023, Kasey announced he would race full-time with High Limit Racing in 2024.
Returning to NASCAR
On January 24, 2025, Kasey announced a return to the Xfinity Series. He will race one event at Rockingham. He will drive the No. 33 car for Richard Childress Racing.
Kasey's Life Outside Racing
Kasey Kahne likes to keep his personal life private. He has a son, born on October 13, 2015. He also has a daughter, born in early 2023.
Kasey in Movies and TV
Kasey was featured in a 2006 TV show called Driven to Win. It covered his childhood and racing career. He was also in two episodes of NASCAR 360.
In 2009, a movie called "The Rise of Kahne" was released. It showed his journey from open-wheel racing to NASCAR. It also showed his charity work.
Kasey's No. 9 Dodge car appeared in the 2005 Disney film Herbie: Fully Loaded. He was one of the drivers in the final race. He was also mentioned by name in the movie.
In 2010, Kasey appeared in a music video. It was for the song "Smoke a Little Smoke" by Eric Church.
Images for kids
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Kasey Kahne in 2017
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Kasey Kahne's 2004 No. 9 Dodge
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Kasey Kahne races by in the No. 9 Dodge Charger.
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Kasey Kahne in a pit stop during the 2007 Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
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Kasey Kahne's 2008 Sprint Cup Series racecar.
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Kasey Kahne receives his 2008 Pocono 500 trophy.
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Kasey Kahne in the No. 4 at Pocono Raceway in 2011.
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Kasey Kahne at the 2012 Kobalt Tools 400.
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Kasey Kahne's car during practice for the 2015 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
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Kasey Kahne's No. 95 at Sonoma Raceway in 2018.
See also
In Spanish: Kasey Kahne para niños
