Kasey Kahne

Kasey Kahne
Kahne in 2017
Born	Kasey Kenneth Kahne (1980-04-10) April 10, 1980 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
215 races run over 16 years
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)
Wins Top tens Poles 8 87 9
NASCAR Craftsman 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 November 18, 2018.

Kasey Kenneth Kahne (/keɪn/; born April 10, 1980) is an American dirt track racing driver and former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2018, driving the No. 95 Dumont Jets/Procore Technologies Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Leavine Family Racing. Currently, Kahne competes in the High Limit Racing series, driving the No. 9 sprint car for his own team, Kasey Kahne 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, which competes in the World of Outlaws series, fielding two World of Outlaws sprint cars for himself, and Brad Sweet. Kahne is a 2-time Skagit Speedway winner of the Annual Jim Raper memorial Dirt Cup (2002 and 2003) and currently holds the fastest lap record there. Kahne scored 18 career wins in the Cup Series, including 3 Coca-Cola 600s in 2006, 2008, and 2012, and the Brickyard 400 in 2017. He also was the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Rookie of the Year in 2004. He retired from racing before the end of the 2018 Cup Series season for health reasons and was replaced at Leavine Family Racing by Regan Smith.

Racing career

Beginnings

Kahne began racing open wheel sprint cars at Deming Speedway at 17 in Deming, Washington, before moving up to Skagit speedway in Alger, Washington, and then he moved to USAC. In 2000, Kahne made a trip to Pennsylvania where he won the season opener at the historic Williams Grove Speedway. He was hired by Steve Lewis, who had also employed future NASCAR drivers Jeff Gordon, Jason Leffler, Tony Stewart and Kenny Irwin Jr. In his first year on the circuit, he was named Rookie of the Year, as well as winning the national midget championship. He continued to run USAC, as well as the Toyota Atlantic Series and the World of Outlaws.

Xfinity and Truck Series

In 2002, Kahne made 20 starts in the Busch Series driving the No. 98 Channellock Ford Taurus for Robert Yates Racing. His best finish was a 10th-place finish at Cabela's 250. A year later, he moved to the No. 38 Great Clips Ford for Akins Motorsports full-time. He won his first pole at Michigan International Speedway and his first Busch Series race at the Ford 300. Kahne finished 7th in the points standing. With his move to full-time competition in the Cup Series in 2004, he also drove 30 races for Akins in the Busch Series, finishing 13th in points. In 2005, he made 22 starts in the Busch Series, splitting time with Akins and Evernham's new No. 6 team. He won the O'Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway and the United Way 300 at Kansas Speedway.

On May 26, 2007, Kahne won the Busch Series' Carquest Auto Parts 300 race at Lowe's Motor Speedway for his first win of 2007. On August 24, 2007, Kahne won the pole for the Cup Series' Sharpie 500 at Bristol, his second pole of the 2007 Nextel Cup Series season. Later that night, during the Busch Series' Food City 250, Kahne passed Ryan Newman on the top side in a 3-wide pass that included Jason Leffler on the bottom. He held off the hard-charging Leffler to score his seventh career Busch win and his second of 2007.

In 2009, Kahne ran fewer events in other NASCAR series than previous seasons, only seven (four in the Nationwide Series, three in the Whelen Modified Tour). With less distractions, Kahne's Sprint Cup stats slightly improved that year.

During the 2014 Nationwide season, Kahne scored an upset win at the Nationwide Series' Subway Firecracker 250 passing teammate Regan Smith on the final lap. The margin was 0.021 seconds.

Kahne has six career starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, winning five of them; his lone non-victory is a second-place run at Pocono Raceway in 2010. In 2004, he made a pair of starts in the series at Darlington Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway, driving the No. 2 Team ASE Racing Dodge Ram for Ultra Motorsports, winning both races. At the 2015 Charlotte Truck race, he held off Erik Jones for the win by .005 seconds, the second-closest margin in Truck Series history.

Cup Series

Kahne replaced Bill Elliott in the No. 9 Dodge for Evernham Motorsports at the end of the 2003 season when Elliott announced a part-time schedule starting with the 2004 season. Since Kahne was still under contract with Ford, the manufacturer filed a lawsuit against him after he joined Evernham Motorsports. U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland ruled in favor of Kahne; citing a clause in his contract with Ford that stipulated that the manufacturer had to provide Kahne with a full-time ride on a Ford team that both parties mutually agreed upon. That clause also stipulated, that if an agreement could not reached by either party, then Kahne could seek a ride with a different manufacturer, without breaking the terms of his contract with Ford.

Evernham Motorsports (2004–07)

Kahne's 2004 No. 9 Dodge

In 2004, Kahne surprised many by nearly winning several races (including five 2nd-place finishes and 13 Top 5’s), winning four poles, and captured the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award. He narrowly missed the Chase for the Nextel Cup after Jeremy Mayfield, his teammate, claimed the final spot.

In 2005, Kahne scored his first career Nextel Cup victory in his sophomore season of 2005, after a dominating performance in the Chevy American Revolution 400 at Richmond International Raceway. It was also the first win for the Dodge Charger, which returned to NASCAR that year. It was the first time a Dodge won a race at Richmond International Raceway since Richard Petty did so in 1975. In addition, he became the first driver born in the 1980s to win a race in NASCAR's premier series. He also scored two poles in back-to-back weeks at Darlington and Richmond during the same year. Despite this, he was plagued with inconsistency and slumped to 23rd in the points.

Kahne races by in the No. 9 Dodge Charger.

On March 20, 2006, Kahne won the rain-delayed Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Nearly three weeks later, he won the Samsung/Radio Shack 500 at Texas. After that, he won four more races — a season sweep at Lowe's Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 600 and in the Bank of America 500 holding off Jimmie Johnson (who finished second in both races) and victories at California and Michigan.

On September 9, 2006, Kahne successfully raced his way into the Chase for The Cup after finishing third in Richmond. He was the 10th and last qualifier to make the Chase. He edged defending Nextel Cup Champion Tony Stewart out by 16 points, but a disappointing 16th-place finish at New Hampshire, a crash at Dover, and running out of gas at Kansas ended his hopes for his first championship title. Kahne finished strong with five Top 10’s in the remaining seven races including winning the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

On November 27, 2006, Kahne was honored by being invited to raise the traditional 12th Man flag prior to the Seattle Seahawks Monday Night Football game against the Green Bay Packers at Qwest Field in Seattle. The ceremony has been ongoing since 2003, and involves a different Seattle-area sports hero and/or beloved member of the community kicking things off before every Seahawks home game. The Seahawks beat the Packers 34–24.

Kahne in a pit stop during the 2007 Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

During the qualifying for the 2007 Daytona 500, officials found holes in the wheel-wells of his Dodge Charger. A crew member said it was just tape that had fallen off of a hole in the tire. Officials said that the tape had been cut. He was one of the four drivers among Matt Kenseth and his two teammates, Scott Riggs and Elliott Sadler, whose cars had been found with aerodynamic-improving modifications. His team was one of the six teams found with illegal modifications in the Daytona festivities.

At the Sharpie 500, a day after winning the pole and the Busch race, Kahne dominated most of the race leading 305 out of 500 laps and finished 2nd to Carl Edwards. This was his best finish of the 2007 season. After a disappointing 2007 season, Kahne finished 19th in points with zero wins, one Top 5, eight Top 10’s, and an average finish of 22.2.

Gillette Evernham Motorsports and Richard Petty Motorsports (2008–10)

Kahne's 2008 Sprint Cup Series racecar

With the new sponsor Budweiser, Kahne started off the 2008 season strong by finishing in the Top 10 in both the Budweiser Shootout and the Gatorade Duel. As a result of 4th-place finish in the duel, Kahne started 10th in the 50th Daytona 500 on February 17, 2008. He finished 7th behind teammate Elliott Sadler in the 2008 Daytona 500; this was a repeat of the 2007 race where they both also finished sixth and seventh respectively.

In the early laps of the Auto Club 500, Kahne worked his way from 20th to 14th, but brushed the wall on lap 7. However, he was able to finish 9th after the race went under a long rain delay. Kahne had to start in the back due to an engine change in the UAW-Dodge 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but he did go on to finish 6th.

On May 17, 2008, Kahne was voted into the Sprint All-Star Race XXIV by his fans via cell phone text messaging and online voting. After making a required "stop-and-go" pit stop, Kahne began the fourth segment second on old tires. He went on to win the race and earn $1,012,975. Kahne became the first driver to win the race from the fan vote and the third driver to race in the Sprint Showdown and go on to win the All-Star race.

On May 25, 2008, he won his second Coca-Cola 600 passing Tony Stewart with two laps to go, as Stewart had a flat tire going into turn 1. This was Kahne's first points-paying win of the season. He also became the sixth driver to win the 600 and the Sprint All-Star Race in the same season.

Kahne receives his 2008 Pocono 500 trophy.

On June 6, 2008, Kahne won the Pocono 500 from the pole despite being 38th at one point during the race after a miscue in the pits. On June 20, 2008, he won another pole for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway, his second pole in three races. However, after handling issues early in the race, Kahne fell victim to pit road, went a lap down, and finished 33rd.

Following two consecutive 40th-place finishes (a Bristol Motor Speedway wreck caused by miscommunications between Casey Mears and his spotter, and an engine failure at Michigan International Speedway), Kahne found himself sitting outside of the Top 12, out of contention for the Chase. At the start of the last regular season race, at Richmond International Raceway, he, David Ragan, and Clint Bowyer were vying for that 12th spot. Unfortunately for him, Kahne was not able to make up enough points to put him into the Chase for the Sprint Cup. He missed the 2008 Chase by 69 points and ended the season finishing 14th.

Kahne's new team for 2009, Richard Petty Motorsports, was the result of a merger between his team's previous incarnation, Gillett Evernham Motorsports and Petty Enterprises. The year started off inconsistent for Kahne, with early Top 10 finishes at Atlanta and Bristol. Kahne won the Toyota/Save Mart 350 event on June 21, 2009, for his first road course win.

After a hot summer streak that saw three Top 10s in a row, Kahne climbed into Chase contention. During the Pep Boys Auto 500 on September 6, 2009, Kahne made a late race pass and held off Kevin Harvick for his second win of the season. Following the first 26 races of the season Kahne was in the Top 12 in points, earning him a place in the Chase for the Championship. He was seeded 4th in points. After suffering an engine failure at New Hampshire and a crash in California, Kahne struggled to get back into contention for the championship and finished 10th in the final season standings, despite finishing second in the AMP Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

On September 10, 2009, it was announced that Richard Petty Motorsports would merge with Yates Racing. Kahne would remain as one of four drivers of RPM alongside his current teammates Sadler and Allmendinger, as well as Yates Racing driver Paul Menard. The team changed manufacturers to Ford and received Roush-Yates engines and other equipment from Roush Fenway Racing.

Driving the new Ford Fusion car, Kahne won the Gatorade Duel No. 2 at Daytona International Speedway on February 11, 2010. He also finished in second position in the 2010 Budweiser Shootout. Kahne ended up 30th in the Daytona 500 after being wrecked late in the race. He had been running up front for most of the race and had the fastest lap of the race. Kahne had a strong car at the Auto Club 500; however he spun late in turn 4.

Kahne had a good run at Atlanta a few weeks later where he led the most laps in the race, and finished inside the Top 5. During the following couple of months, Kahne would be unable to compete for race wins as mistakes and wrecks put a dent into the team's Chase hopes.

During the Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 at Pocono Raceway he had a Top 5 car all race long, but due to a late race caution, some teams stayed out on track instead of joining the leaders on pit-road. This put Kahne in the back end of the Top 20, and during the green-white-checkered finish Kahne tried to make it three-wide while battling for 10th place. However, he was blocked and ran down into the wet grass by his teammate A. J. Allmendinger. Kahne spun back into the racing surface and was hit by Greg Biffle and Mark Martin. The No. 9 car took off and landed on top of the outside wall, hit a tree behind the wall and span back onto the track on all four wheels. Kahne and Biffle both put the blame on Allmendinger for causing the huge crash.

Kahne rebounded from the disappointment at Pocono by leading laps in the following race at Michigan and finishing second, behind the dominant Denny Hamlin. He also qualified on pole for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway the following week; and converted the pole position into a solid fourth-place finish; after bouncing back from a poor first stint, to post back-to-back Top 5 finishes.

In qualifying for the 2010 Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Kahne earned his second pole position of the season. On October 3, 2010, Kahne started the Price Chopper 400 at Kansas Speedway from the pole position.

On October 20, 2010, Kahne was released from the remainder of his contract with Richard Petty Motorsports. The next day, it was announced that Kahne would drive for Team Red Bull for the remainder of the season as well as the full 2011 season starting with the TUMS Bring It On 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

After the 2010 season finale in Homestead, Kahne went in for knee surgery due to discomfort and pain caused by plica syndrome.

Red Bull Racing (2011)

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

On April 13, 2010, Kahne announced that he would be leaving Richard Petty Motorsports at the end of the 2010 season to race in 2012 with Hendrick Motorsports, driving the No. 5. On August 10, 2010, Team Red Bull officially announced that Kahne would drive one of their cars for the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, a tenure that would start in the 2010 season after Kahne was released from RPM. Kahne used the number 4 for his Red Bull Toyota, an homage to the number he used in Sprint Cars. Prior to the acquisition, the No. 4 was made famous by Morgan-McClure Motorsports. Kahne won his first pole for Red Bull Racing the year prior at the 2010 season finale at Homestead driving the #83. On June 9, 2011, it was announced that Farmers Insurance Group would sponsor Kahne for 22 races in 2012. It was also announced that his current crew chief Kenny Francis will join him at Hendrick.

Kahne dominated the early stages of the Brickyard 400, but spun late in the race and had to settle for 18th position. He led 48 laps, a race-high.

He did not make it into the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup, resting at 21st in points following the cut-off race, the Wonderful Pistachios 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 10, 2011.

On November 13, 2011, at the newly configured Phoenix International Raceway, Kahne held off Carl Edwards in the closing laps to take his first victory of the season, his first victory for Team Red Bull, and Kahne's first victory in over two years. Kahne only led the final 14 laps of the race.

Kahne finished the 2011 season 14th in points.

Hendrick Motorsports (2012–17)

In 2012, Kahne drove the No. 5 Farmers Insurance/Quaker State/HendrickCars.com Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, consequent with Mark Martin's move to Michael Waltrip Racing. In the Budweiser Shootout, he was involved in an early accident in the first segment. His teammates Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were eliminated in crashes during the second segment. Kahne qualified and ran well in his Gatorade Duel, but in the Daytona 500 was taken out in a crash on lap 188 involving Jamie McMurray, Regan Smith, Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, Tony Stewart, and Aric Almirola. He finished 29th.

Kahne at 2012 Kobalt Tools 400

Kahne announced in late-March that he would compete for Turner Motorsports in the Camping World Truck Series at Rockingham Speedway in April, driving the No. 4 in the Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200. In that race, he led 47 laps and went on to win.

Kahne had a rough start to 2012, finishing no better than 14th in the first five races. However, he rebounded with seven straight Top 10 finishes, including a win in the 2012 Coca-Cola 600 in his 300th Sprint Cup Start. This was also his first win with Hendrick Motorsports. On July 15, 2012, Kahne won the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at Loudon, and along with teammate Jeff Gordon made the Chase through the two Wild Card spots. During the Chase, Kahne won poles at Talladega and Kansas. He ended the season a career-best fourth place in the points, with two wins, four poles, 12 Top 5’s, and 19 Top 10’s.

Kahne had a slow start to 2013, finishing 36th and 19th at Daytona and Phoenix, respectively. However, at Las Vegas, he led 114 laps (which was almost twice the number of laps he had led in all of his previous Vegas starts) and finished second to Matt Kenseth despite an impressive charge in the last laps. Kahne was able to redeem himself for this near-miss the following week by winning at Bristol. After Bristol, he had a strong run at Auto Club Speedway in which he finished 9th—he then had an even stronger run at Martinsville, where he had one of the best cars and finished 4th. He then finished 11th at Texas. At Kansas, Kahne again finished 2nd to Kenseth in a finish very similar to the finish at Las Vegas.

Kahne's season also started with a number of run-ins with Kyle Busch, who wrecked him in three of the first 11 races: at the Daytona 500, Kahne was running in the Top 5 when Busch turned him approaching turn 1 on lap 33, resulting in a seven-car wreck also collecting Tony Stewart, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jamie McMurray, and other cars. At Talladega, on lap 43, Kahne was in the outside lane when Busch turned him into the wall again heading towards turn 1. Kahne bounced off the wall and back into Busch and collected an additional 14 cars, including Kevin Harvick, David Reutimann, Brian Vickers, Tony Stewart, Marcos Ambrose, Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, Casey Mears, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, David Stremme, and Scott Speed. Later, at Darlington, another incident happened when Busch sent Kahne into the wall while being challenged for the lead late-race, causing a caution. At the Coca-Cola 600, Kahne had influenza and there was doubt he could finish the race. This didn't stop him from leading the most laps and nearly winning the race, but Kevin Harvick got by him on a restart with 11 laps to go. At Michigan, Kahne led the race, but slid into the turn 2 wall, and the car caught fire. Kahne finished 38th, and dropped down four spots in the points standings to 12th.

Following the DNF at Michigan, Kahne rebounded with a 6th-place finish at Sonoma and an 11th-place finish at Kentucky. At Daytona, Kahne was running behind Jimmie Johnson for most of the race until he got tagged by Marcos Ambrose on a late restart, sending him into the inside wall on the back straightaway and relegating him to a 32nd-place finish. This was followed by an 11th-place finish at New Hampshire, and a 3rd-place finish at Indianapolis.

At Pocono in August, Kahne started 18th. He led 66 laps of the race and was involved in a tight battle with Tony Stewart for the lead in the final laps. A decision by Gordon to take the final restart on lap 158 on the inside lane gave Kahne the opportunity to draft past Gordon in turn 1 and then sail away to his second career Pocono race victory and second win of the 2013 season, bringing him up to 8th place in the points. His form didn't carry to Watkins Glen, though, where he was wrecked by Matt Kenseth on a late restart that saw him collide with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and finish 34th. Kahne then had a 7th-place finish at Michigan, and then a runner-up finish at Bristol behind Kenseth for the third time in 2013.

He qualified for the Chase, but any chance of him winning ended with a crash at Loudon. Early in the 2013 Sylvania 300, Kahne got loose, wheel-hopped and hit a barrier extremely hard. Kahne was uninjured but caused controversy when he acted like he could not hear a reporter in his interview which led many to speculate that Kahne suffered a head injury. Kahne apologized for causing the false alarm and said he was too angry to talk about it and that he was not injured.

Kahne struggled in the first half of the 2014 season. He came close to a win at Pocono in June but hit the outside barrier late in the event, costing him his shot at the win. Kahne said that Kyle Busch was yet again responsible for the crash and Busch himself took responsibility that night. When Kahne heard that Busch apologized for the wreck he shrugged it off and said "I don't care to talk to him anymore about our wrecks. Tired of his aggressiveness and the fact that his performances are affecting my own results."

Kahne began ending rumors of his departure from Hendrick Motorsports with a sponsorship extension with Farmers Insurance for 12 races in the 2015–2017 seasons. At the Brickyard 400, Kahne led 70 laps due to great track position but lost the lead on a restart with 17 laps left to Jeff Gordon and ended up 6th.

At Atlanta, Kahne controlled the final 15 laps of the race. With three laps to go, it seemed like he lost it when a caution came out. He lost four spots on pit road, but after two more cautions, sped by Matt Kenseth and won the race to clench a spot in the Chase. It was his first only win of 2014. He finished 15th in the standings being eliminated from round 2 of the Chase. Kahne received a three-year contract extension with HMS in November, which would run until the conclusion of the 2018 season. It was announced a day earlier that long time engineer and Jamie McMurray's 2014 crew chief, Keith Rodden, would return to HMS and replace Kenny Francis as Kahne's crew chief. Francis had been Kahne's crew chief since the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Replacing Francis ended the second-longest driver/crew chief pairing in NASCAR in the first two decades of the 21st century.

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

Kahne made his return to the Camping World Truck Series driving the No. 00 Haas Automation Silverado for JR Motorsports at Charlotte. Kahne beat 18-year-old Erik Jones by 0.005 seconds which was tied for the second closest finish in NASCAR Truck Series competition. The win was Chevrolet's 200th win in the Camping World Truck Series. In the Cup series, Kahne would start off with a 9th-place finish in the Daytona 500. He would struggle throughout most of the year, and would only get 10 Top 10’s and three Top 5’s, his best finish being 4th at Phoenix, Dover, and the Kansas Chase race. Kahne finished the season in 18th-place in the final points standings.

Kahne experienced a difficult 2016 season as he finished 17th in the final points standings with only three Top 5’s and 13 Top 10’s. During the season, Kahne did not lead a single lap in any race despite completing the most laps in the series.

Kahne's 2017 Season started off similar to previous years, but did manage to lead laps over compared to the previous year. After disappointing races at the beginning of the year, things began to look up. In July 2017, Kahne returned to Victory Lane at the Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400, surviving a crash-laden race that took out many contending cars, including holding off Brad Keselowski on an overtime restart that ended under caution. It was Kahne's 18th win in the Cup Series and first in 102 races. The race was also the reason that the NASCAR sanctioning body eliminated the Overtime Line.

On August 7, 2017, Hendrick Motorsports announced Kahne would not be returning to the team for the 2018 season, and two days later, William Byron was announced as Kahne's replacement. It was simultaneously announced that the No. 5 car, Hendrick's original entry in NASCAR, would disappear from Hendrick Motorsports going forward. In 2020, the No. 5 car returned when it was assigned to Kyle Larson.

After the opening race in the chase at Chicagoland Speedway, crew chief Keith Rodden was replaced with Darian Grubb after many lackluster finishes. Right away, Kahne was one of the fastest cars at Loudon, but bad luck plagued the No. 5 team in the Playoffs and had an early playoff exit. At the end of the season, he ended up with a career low in Top 10's with six and tied his career low of Top 5's with three. He also led 41 laps in 2017, his second career lowest after the aforementioned 2016 season where he didn't lead a lap at all. Kahne announced he would drive the 95 Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in 2018, replacing Michael McDowell.

Leavine Family Racing (2018)

Kahne's No. 95 at Sonoma Raceway in 2018

On September 19, 2017, Kahne announced he would be driving the No. 95 for Leavine Family Racing in 2018. In the offseason, Leavine announced he would pair up with Hendrick Motorsports team engineer Travis Mack who previously substituted for Greg Ives when he Crew Chiefed for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to his best run in 2017. Kahne finished 10th in the All Star race after going four laps down from a wreck. After a very disappointing first half, that included his best run of 17th place on three occasions and a firing of crew chief Travis Mack for lead engineer John Leonard. He led a season high 17 laps and scored the most points at the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona, on the final restart, Kahne tried to make a move to the lead but stalled out due to not getting help. He fell back in line and finished 4th, a season best for him, tying the team's best finish as well as moving up three spots in the standings to 25th.

On August 16, 2018, Kahne stated his intention to step away from full-time competition at the end of the year. On September 6, 2018, after heat exhaustion from the race before at Darlington, Kahne announced that he would sit out the 2018 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis and be replaced by Regan Smith, which would be the first race Kahne had not raced in since he began his full time career in the Cup Series. Following the Brickyard race, it was announced that Kahne would continue to sit out for the next three races with Smith still filling in.

On October 9, 2018, he announced on Twitter that he would sit out for the remainder of the year, ending his 15-year career prematurely.

Return to dirt racing

On March 29, 2019, Kahne was injured in a hard sprint car accident at Williams Grove Speedway, and Australian driver James McFadden replaced him. Kahne did not race again for over a year, with his first race back coming at Knoxville Raceway on May 8, 2020; he finished 11th in the last chance qualifier.

On December 22, 2021, Kahne announced that he would compete full-time with the World of Outlaws in 2022 driving the Kasey Kahne Racing No. 9 car.

Personal life

During most of his time in NASCAR, Kahne preferred to keep his personal life private, and rarely revealed any details aside from his racing career. Although he has not married, Kahne and his former girlfriend Samantha Sheets became parents to a son, on October 13, 2015. The couple is known to have an amicable relationship following their split sometime before 2018. Later, Kahne began dating Amy Long, a former sports reporter, in 2020. Kahne and Amy had a baby girl in early 2023.

Film and television

Kahne was featured in the premiere episode of the 2006 Biography Channel series Driven to Win. This 30-minute program covered Kahne's childhood and entry into NASCAR, as well as his 2004 Rookie of the Year season and his first win in 2005. He was also featured in two episodes of the second season of NASCAR 360 on the FX Network.

Kasey Kahne Racing, NASCAR Media Group and Motorsports Management International partnered to produce the 2009 release, "The Rise of Kahne." This 90-minute biographical profile features interviews with Kahne, his family and other NASCAR personalities. Footage covers the stock-car racer's open-wheel roots and successes leading up to his June 2009 win at Infineon Raceway, his first for Richard Petty Motorsports. The DVD also shows his work with the Kasey Kahne Foundation and his own sprint car race team.

Kahne's No. 9 Dodge Dealers car appeared in the 2005 Disney film Herbie: Fully Loaded, with Kahne as one of the four drivers who boxed Herbie in and pummeled him in the final race. He is mentioned by name by one of the race announcers.

In 2010, Kahne made a brief appearance in the music video "Smoke a Little Smoke" by Eric Church.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Monster Energy Cup Series

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	MENCC	Pts	Ref
2004	Evernham Motorsports	9	Dodge	DAY 41	CAR 2	LVS 2	ATL 3	DAR 13	BRI 40	TEX 2*	MAR 21	TAL 30	CAL 13	RCH 28	CLT 12	DOV 21	POC 14	MCH 2	SON 31	DAY 25	CHI 36	NHA 8	POC 3	IND 4	GLN 14	MCH 5	BRI 21	CAL 2	RCH 24	NHA 4	DOV 42	TAL 27	KAN 12	CLT 32*	MAR 15	ATL 5	PHO 5	DAR 5	HOM 38	13th	4274
2005				DAY 22	CAL 40	LVS 38	ATL 5	BRI 14	MAR 2	TEX 35	PHO 17	TAL 24	DAR 3	RCH 1*	CLT 26	DOV 35	POC 27	MCH 18	SON 41	DAY 16	CHI 41	NHA 6	POC 27	IND 2	GLN 17	MCH 29	BRI 42	CAL 6	RCH 8	NHA 38	DOV 16	TAL 13	KAN 19	CLT 23	MAR 17	ATL 35	TEX 42	PHO 27	HOM 16	23rd	3611
2006				DAY 11	CAL 4	LVS 4	ATL 1	BRI 10	MAR 35	TEX 1	PHO 6	TAL 39	RCH 34	DAR 21	CLT 1*	DOV 7	POC 7	MCH 1	SON 31	DAY 25	CHI 23	NHA 8	POC 31	IND 36	GLN 22	MCH 4	BRI 12	CAL 1*	RCH 3	NHA 16	DOV 38	KAN 33	TAL 2	CLT 1*	MAR 7	ATL 38	TEX 33	PHO 7	HOM 4*	8th	6173
2007				DAY 7	CAL 38	LVS 35	ATL 39	BRI 19	MAR 25	TEX 20	PHO 31	TAL 12	RCH 40	DAR 20	CLT 23	DOV 11	POC 22	MCH 32	SON 23	NHA 25	DAY 9	CHI 32	IND 40	POC 27																19th	3489
	Gillett Evernham Motorsports																								GLN 26	MCH 31	BRI 2*	CAL 10	RCH 8	NHA 20	DOV 32	KAN 9	TAL 16	CLT 8	MAR 15	ATL 9	TEX 18	PHO 40	HOM 24
2008				DAY 7	CAL 9	LVS 6	ATL 28	BRI 7	MAR 17	TEX 25	PHO 36	TAL 23	RCH 10	DAR 22	CLT 1	DOV 31	POC 1*	MCH 2	SON 33	NHA 30	DAY 7	CHI 15	IND 7	POC 7	GLN 14	MCH 40	BRI 40	CAL 8	RCH 19	NHA 11	DOV 26	KAN 21	TAL 36	CLT 2	MAR 33	ATL 33	TEX 24	PHO 13	HOM 6	14th	4085
2009	Richard Petty Motorsports			DAY 29	CAL 12	LVS 11	ATL 7	BRI 5	MAR 19	TEX 19	PHO 13	TAL 36	RCH 29	DAR 23	CLT 7	DOV 6	POC 15	MCH 21	SON 1*	NHA 10	DAY 15	CHI 3	IND 7	POC 5	GLN 17	MCH 11	BRI 28	ATL 1	RCH 12	NHA 38	DOV 8	KAN 6	CAL 34	CLT 3	MAR 32	TAL 2	TEX 33	PHO 15	HOM 17	10th	6128
2010			Ford	DAY 30	CAL 34	LVS 9	ATL 4*	BRI 34	MAR 17	PHO 39	TEX 5	TAL 21	RCH 21	DAR 20	DOV 20	CLT 12	POC 27	MCH 2	SON 4	NHA 36*	DAY 2	CHI 6	IND 13	POC 19	GLN 17	MCH 14	BRI 5	ATL 32	RCH 29	NHA 14	DOV 28	KAN 37	CAL 4	CLT 38						20th	3961
	Team Red Bull	83	Toyota																																MAR 14	TAL 26	TEX 13	PHO 30	HOM 6
2011		4		DAY 25	PHO 6	LVS 14	BRI 9	CAL 9	MAR 39	TEX 21	TAL 37	RCH 3	DAR 4*	DOV 36	CLT 22	KAN 14	POC 12	MCH 28	SON 20	DAY 4	KEN 13	NHA 6	IND 18*	POC 28	GLN 26	MCH 7	BRI 11	ATL 34	RCH 38	CHI 12	NHA 15	DOV 4	KAN 2	CLT 4	TAL 6	MAR 25	TEX 3	PHO 1	HOM 7	14th	1041
2012	Hendrick Motorsports	5	Chevy	DAY 29	PHO 34	LVS 19	BRI 37	CAL 14	MAR 38	TEX 7	KAN 8	RCH 5	TAL 4	DAR 8	CLT 1	DOV 9	POC 29	MCH 33	SON 14	KEN 2	DAY 7	NHA 1	IND 12	POC 2	GLN 13	MCH 3	BRI 9	ATL 23	RCH 12	CHI 3	NHA 5	DOV 15	TAL 12	CLT 8	KAN 4	MAR 3	TEX 25	PHO 4	HOM 21	4th	2345
2013				DAY 36	PHO 19	LVS 2*	BRI 1	CAL 9	MAR 4	TEX 11	KAN 2	RCH 21	TAL 42	DAR 17	CLT 2*	DOV 23	POC 36	MCH 38	SON 6	KEN 11	DAY 32	NHA 11	IND 3	POC 1*	GLN 34	MCH 7	BRI 2	ATL 36	RCH 14	CHI 12	NHA 37	DOV 13	KAN 15	CLT 2*	TAL 36	MAR 27	TEX 5	PHO 2	HOM 13	12th	2283
2014				DAY 31	PHO 11	LVS 8	BRI 8	CAL 41	MAR 22	TEX 11	DAR 37	RCH 14	TAL 8	KAN 3	CLT 14	DOV 19	POC 42	MCH 5	SON 6	KEN 8	DAY 27	NHA 11	IND 6*	POC 10	GLN 12	MCH 16	BRI 35	ATL 1	RCH 17	CHI 13	NHA 23	DOV 20	KAN 22	CLT 10	TAL 12	MAR 40	TEX 38	PHO 21	HOM 12	15th	2234
2015				DAY 9	ATL 14	LVS 17	PHO 4	CAL 17	MAR 11	TEX 8	BRI 37	RCH 6	TAL 34	KAN 17	CLT 12	DOV 4	POC 13	MCH 15	SON 8	DAY 32	KEN 27	NHA 19	IND 24	POC 43	GLN 42	MCH 15	BRI 16	DAR 12	RCH 18	CHI 24	NHA 9	DOV 6	CLT 43	KAN 4	TAL 19	MAR 9	TEX 20	PHO 26	HOM 19	18th	939
2016				DAY 13	ATL 23	LVS 10	PHO 22	CAL 28	MAR 22	TEX 8	BRI 17	RCH 4	TAL 39	KAN 16	DOV 4	CLT 22	POC 6	MCH 13	SON 9	DAY 30	KEN 14	NHA 25	IND 18	POC 15	GLN 20	BRI 13	MCH 14	DAR 7	RCH 6	CHI 7	NHA 9	DOV 12	CLT 3	KAN 10	TAL 35	MAR 11	TEX 8	PHO 13	HOM 37	17th	898
2017				DAY 7	ATL 4	LVS 12	PHO 20	CAL 20	MAR 14	TEX 38	BRI 20	RCH 22	TAL 5	KAN 15	CLT 35	DOV 17	POC 35	MCH 21	SON 24	DAY 18	KEN 38	NHA 28	IND 1	POC 11	GLN 16	MCH 38	BRI 24	DAR 24	RCH 12	CHI 21	NHA 35	DOV 14	CLT 9	TAL 8	KAN 15	MAR 16	TEX 11	PHO 19	HOM 33	15th	2198
2018	Leavine Family Racing	95	Chevy	DAY 34	ATL 21	LVS 19	PHO 24	CAL 24	MAR 24	TEX 17	BRI 34	RCH 29	TAL 17	DOV 17	KAN 21	CLT 20	POC 36	MCH 23	SON 20	CHI 27	DAY 4	KEN 25	NHA 19	POC 30	GLN 21	MCH 26	BRI 15	DAR 24	IND	LVS	RCH	ROV	DOV	TAL	KAN	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM	30th	358

Daytona 500

Year	Team	Manufacturer	Start	Finish
2004	Evernham Motorsports	Dodge	27	41
2005			37	22
2006			27	11
2007			28	7
2008	Gillett Evernham Motorsports		10	7
2009	Richard Petty Motorsports		15	29
2010		Ford	4	30
2011	Team Red Bull	Toyota	11	25
2012	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	20	29
2013			6	36
2014			5	31
2015			13	9
2016			13	13
2017			26	7
2018	Leavine Family Racing	Chevrolet	26	34

Xfinity Series

NASCAR Xfinity Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	NXSC	Pts	Ref
2002	Robert Yates Racing	98	Ford	DAY	CAR 31	LVS	DAR	BRI 32	TEX 36	NSH	TAL	CAL 18	RCH 30	NHA	NZH	CLT 29	DOV 20	NSH	KEN	MLW	DAY 25	CHI 25	GTY	PPR	IRP 15	MCH 10	BRI DNQ	DAR 18	RCH 15	DOV 19	KAN 27	CLT 32	MEM	ATL 21	CAR 16	PHO 18	HOM 21		33rd	1887
2003	Akins Motorsports	38	Ford	DAY 8	CAR 26	LVS 11	DAR 8	BRI 13	TEX 9	TAL 37	NSH 29	CAL 4	RCH 18	GTY 31	NZH 12	CLT 6	DOV 8	NSH 25	KEN 11	MLW 16	DAY 38	CHI 28	NHA 9	PPR 10	IRP 14	MCH 2	BRI 14	DAR 6	RCH 12	DOV 4	KAN 30	CLT 8	MEM 15	ATL 7	PHO 27	CAR 18	HOM 1		7th	4104
2004			Dodge	DAY 43	CAR 26	LVS 2	DAR 11	BRI 27	TEX 32	NSH 3	TAL 38	CAL 5	GTY 13	RCH 10	NZH 16	CLT 25	DOV 7	NSH 6	KEN 17	MLW	DAY 6	CHI 4	NHA 4	PPR	IRP	MCH 5	BRI 34	CAL 4	RCH 9	DOV 3	KAN 13	CLT 36	MEM	ATL 4	PHO 11	DAR 11	HOM 18		11th	3698
2005				DAY 5	CAL	MXC	LVS 20	ATL 5			TEX 1			DAR 34			DOV 13	NSH	KEN	MLW	DAY 25	CHI 12						MCH 27						CLT 12	MEM				21st	2511
	Evernham Motorsports	6	Dodge						NSH 15	BRI		PHO 28	TAL 31			CLT 41											GLN 13		BRI 19	CAL 5	RCH	DOV	KAN 1			TEX	PHO 38	HOM 39
		79													RCH 4								NHA 12	PPR	GTY	IRP
2006		9		DAY 33	CAL	MXC	LVS 1	ATL 2	BRI	TEX 11	NSH	PHO	TAL	RCH 40	DAR 11	CLT 16	DOV 22	NSH	KEN	MLW	DAY 35	CHI 30	NHA	MAR	GTY	IRP	GLN	MCH	BRI 4	CAL 1	RCH	DOV	KAN 16	CLT 43	MEM 8	TEX 24	PHO	HOM 8	31st	1959
2007				DAY 41	CAL	LVS	ATL 28	BRI 7	NSH 19	TEX	PHO 28	MXC	TAL 21	RCH	DAR	CLT 1	DOV 12	NSH	KEN	MLW	NHA	DAY 6	CHI 12	GTY	IRP	CGV	GLN												27th	2199
	Gillett Evernham Motorsports																											MCH 31	BRI 1	CAL 6	RCH 9	DOV	KAN 12	CLT 17	MEM	TEX	PHO 6	HOM 25
2008				DAY 35	CAL	LVS	ATL 9	BRI 2	NSH	TEX 21	PHO	MXC	TAL	RCH 14	DAR	CLT 16	DOV 10	NSH	KEN	MLW	NHA	DAY 6	CHI	GTY	IRP	CGV	GLN	MCH	BRI	CAL	RCH	DOV	KAN 7	CLT 11	MEM	TEX	PHO	HOM	41st	1277
2009	Braun Racing	10	Toyota	DAY	CAL	LVS	BRI	TEX	NSH	PHO	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	NHA	DAY 5	CHI	GTY	IRP	IOW	GLN	MCH	BRI 37	CGV	ATL 11	RCH	DOV	KAN	CAL			TEX 30	PHO	HOM	71st	562
		43																																CLT 8	MEM
2010		38		DAY 9	CAL	LVS	BRI 32	NSH	PHO	TEX	TAL	RCH	DAR 4	DOV 27	CLT 26	NSH	KEN	ROA	NHA	DAY	CHI	GTY	IRP	IOW	GLN	MCH	BRI 37	CGV	ATL 19	RCH	DOV	KAN	CAL	CLT	GTY	TEX	PHO		55th	816
	Turner Motorsports		Chevy																																			HOM 38
2011		30		DAY 11	PHO	LVS	BRI 2	CAL	TEX 11	TAL	NSH	RCH	DAR 7	DOV	IOW													BRI 19	ATL 5	RCH		DOV 4	KAN	CLT 28	TEX	PHO	HOM		106th	01
		38														CLT 22	CHI	MCH	ROA	DAY											CHI 33
	JR Motorsports	7	Chevy																		KEN 4	NHA 3	NSH	IRP	IOW	GLN	CGV
2012	Turner Motorsports	38	Chevy	DAY 9	PHO 18	LVS 10	BRI 2	CAL	TEX 3	RCH 10	TAL	DAR 18	IOW	CLT 17	DOV	MCH	ROA	KEN	DAY	NHA 6	CHI	IND 25	IOW	GLN 7	CGV	BRI 14	ATL 28	RCH	CHI	KEN	DOV 8	CLT	KAN	TEX	PHO 5	HOM			111th	01
2013	JR Motorsports	5	Chevy	DAY 20	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	TEX 8	RCH	TAL 3	DAR 9	CLT 2	DOV 6	IOW	MCH	ROA	KEN	DAY	NHA 19	CHI	IND 26	IOW	GLN 18	MOH	BRI 8	ATL 4	RCH	CHI	KEN	DOV	KAN	CLT	TEX	PHO	HOM			100th	01
2014				DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	TEX	DAR	RCH	TAL 22	IOW	CLT	DOV	MCH	ROA	KEN	DAY 1	NHA	CHI 4	IND	IOW	GLN	MOH	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	KEN	DOV	KAN	CLT	TEX	PHO	HOM			85th	01
2015		88		DAY	ATL	LVS	PHO	CAL	TEX	BRI	RCH	TAL 33	IOW		DOV 5	MCH	CHI	DAY 4	KEN	NHA	IND	IOW	GLN	MOH	BRI	ROA	DAR	RCH	CHI 12	KEN	DOV	CLT 12	KAN	TEX	PHO 10	HOM			90th	01
		5												CLT 3
2016				DAY 3	ATL	LVS	PHO	CAL	TEX	BRI	RCH	TAL	DOV	CLT	POC	MCH	IOW	DAY	KEN	NHA	IND	IOW	GLN	MOH	BRI	ROA	DAR	RCH	CHI	KEN	DOV	CLT	KAN	TEX	PHO	HOM			98th	01
2017		88		DAY 2	ATL	LVS	PHO	CAL	TEX	BRI	RCH	TAL 15	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	IOW	DAY	KEN	NHA	IND	IOW	GLN	MOH	BRI	ROA	DAR	RCH	CHI	KEN	DOV	CLT	KAN	TEX	PHO	HOM			97th	01

Camping World Truck Series

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	NCWTC	Pts	Ref
2004	Ultra Motorsports	2	Dodge	DAY	ATL	MAR	MFD	CLT	DOV	TEX	MEM	MLW	KAN	KEN	GTW	MCH	IRP	NSH	BRI	RCH	NHA	LVS	CAL	TEX	MAR	PHO	DAR 1*	HOM 1*	47th	380
2010	Kyle Busch Motorsports	18	Toyota	DAY	ATL	MAR	NSH	KAN	DOV	CLT	TEX	MCH	IOW	GTY	IRP	POC 2	NSH	DAR	BRI	CHI	KEN	NHA	LVS	MAR	TAL	TEX	PHO	HOM	77th	175
2011				DAY	PHO	DAR 1*	MAR	NSH	DOV	CLT	KAN	TEX	KEN	IOW	NSH	IRP	POC	MCH	BRI	ATL	CHI	NHA	KEN	LVS	TAL	MAR	TEX	HOM	86th	01
2012	Turner Motorsports	4	Chevy	DAY	MAR	CAR 1	KAN	CLT	DOV	TEX	KEN	IOW	CHI	POC	MCH	BRI	ATL	IOW	KEN	LVS	TAL	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM				80th	01
2015	JR Motorsports	00	Chevy	DAY	ATL	MAR	KAN	CLT 1	DOV	TEX	GTW	IOW	KEN	ELD	POC	MCH	BRI	MSP	CHI	NHA	LVS	TAL	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM			84th	01

Camping World East Series

NASCAR Camping World East Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	NCWEC	Pts	Ref
2008	Dave Davis Motorsports	9	Dodge	GRE	IOW 2	SBO	GLN	NHA	TMP	NSH	ADI	LRP	MFD	NHA	DOV	STA	51st	175

Whelen Modified Tour

NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour results
Year	Car owner	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	NWMTC	Pts	Ref
2009	John Holland	96	Chevy	TMP	STA	STA	NHA 31	SPE	RIV	STA							45th	179
	Alan Heinke	98	Chevy								BRI 28	TMP	NHA	MAR	STA	TMP

^* Season still in progress
¹ Ineligible for series points

ARCA Re/Max Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Re/Max Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	ARSC	Pts	Ref
2002	Robert Yates Racing	98	Ford	DAY	ATL	NSH	SLM	KEN	CLT	KAN	POC	MCH	TOL	SBO	KEN	BLN	POC	NSH	ISF	WIN	DSF	CHI	SLM	TAL 14	CLT	127th	160

Superstar Racing Experience

(key) * – Most laps led. ¹ – Heat 1 winner. ² – Heat 2 winner.

Superstar Racing Experience results
Year	No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	SRXC	Pts
2023	9	STA	STA II	MMS	BER 11	ELD	LOS	23rd	01

External links

• Official website
• Kasey Kahne Racing
• Kasey Kahne driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Kasey Kahne at IMDb