ROCKINGHAM, N.C. — For his first NASCAR start in almost seven years, Kasey Kahne looked like he hadn’t missed a beat with a 14th-place finish Saturday’s (April 19) NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Rockingham Speedway.
“I enjoyed it,” Kahne said. “I’ve really looked forward to [the race] and put a lot into it. It was really fun working with the Richard Childress Racing group, going up to the shop again. Just being a part of a NASCAR team again like that was really cool, and all the people at RCR were great.”
For Kahne, Rockingham is a sentimental place. It was the site of his Xfinity debut in 2002, and he was just .01 seconds away from winning in his first — and — only Cup start there in 2004. He won the first Craftsman Truck Series race at Rockingham in 2012, and he received a hero’s welcome from a sold-out local crowd in driver introductions for his first NASCAR appearance since 2018.
He started the weekend on a high note, as he qualified fourth and dazzled with some of the fastest laps in Friday’s (April 18) practice session. Kahne and the No. 33 team looked poised to contend for a top five, if not a win, in Saturday’s 250-miler, and he was doing just that by running fifth in stage one until he received damage in a lap 50 crash with William Sawalich and Katherine Legge.
“I was directly behind the No. 18 (Sawalich), and their bumpers are so big, I could not see anything in front of him at the time until he slowed way up,” Kahne explained. “So then I slowed way up and went left, and then the car in front of him (Legge) came left and I hit [her]. I couldn’t see any of it happening until I started to go left.”
The No. 33 car received heavy right front damage in the incident, and Kahne dropped to 35th, one lap down, after repairs. From that point on, the team’s race was a grind to rebound as much as they could.
“That was definitely a handful once the car was tore up,” Kahne said. I think we’re easy top five car prior to that, maybe even better, but once the front end was torn off the right side … it was just a battle from that point.”
It was a battle made easier by a rash of cautions in the final stage. Kahne got back on the lead lap on lap 129, and with 14 cautions (a Rockingham Xfinity record), cars running out of fuel left and right at the finish and multiple big restart crashes at the front of the field, Kahne was able to climb as high as 14th in the final laps before crossing the line in 15th; he was ultimately credited with 14th following Jesse Love’s disqualification.
“I thought we did a good job of getting back to the lead lap and just avoiding wrecks and kind of salvaging the best we could at that point.”
For Kahne — who retired from NASCAR in mid 2018 due to health issues relating to dehydration — Rockingham marked a physical challenge. He made it through the entire race, but it wasn’t a Sunday drive either.
“I was hot on lap 60, and then I got some ice bags and started drinking more water,” Kahne remarked. “Was fine from there, but I haven’t been that hot in a long time — seven years.”
All in all, he impressed in his return with top five speed and powered through all the obstacles thrown at him — damage, heat and all — for a solid finish.
With his performance at Rockingham, could we see Kahne back for another NASCAR start down the road? He was noncommittal, but at the same time, he didn’t shut the door.
“I don’t know about more in the future, but I’m really glad I did this,” Kahne said.
“… I just want to have a good Easter tomorrow, look at things Sunday, Monday, talk to the team this week and then start sprint car racing again. And yeah, maybe there’d be [another] chance down the road.”
Stephen Stumpf is the NASCAR Content Director for Frontstretch and is a three-year veteran of the site. His weekly column is “Stat Sheet,” and he formerly wrote "4 Burning Questions" for three years. He also writes commentaries, contributes to podcasts, edits articles and is frequently at the track for on-site coverage.
Find Stephen on Twitter @stephen_stumpf