Event Guide

Kasey Kahne

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Kasey began racing at the age 14 in a Micro Midget, and won four races in his first-ever season of competition.

Kahne won the 2000 USAC Midget championship, and was named the USAC Driver of the Year and Silver Bullet Series Rookie of the Year.

He won his first Busch Series race in his 54th-career start at the last event of the 2003 season at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Finishing seventh in the championship standings, Kahne ended the 2003 season with four top-five and 15 top-10 finishes and one win and one Bud Pole.

In 2004, Kahne assumed Bill Elliott's role as driver of the No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge where, at 24, he became the youngest Rookie of the Year winner since Jeff Gordon turned the trick at 22 years old in 1993.

Kahne, who finished 120 points ahead of Brendan Gaughan in the rookie standings, came close on five occasions to extending the rookie streak of at least one victory in each of the last five seasons by finishing second at Rockingham, Las Vegas, Texas, Michigan and California. His number of runner-up finishes tied Ryan Newman's 2002 rookie record.

Kahne equaled 2003 top rookie Jamie McMurray by finishing 13th in the final Cup Series point standings. He took Rookie of the Race honors 19 times including 12 of the last 16 races.

Although he won his first Cup race at Richmond, Kahne experienced the "sophomore slump" in 2005 after finishing 23rd in the final standings.

Kahne experienced a breakout campaign in 2006, as he not only won six times during the season, but also qualified for the “Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup” for the first time in his career. Although he did not win the championship, he did finish the season in eighth place – a career best – despite having to deal with a teammate change halfway through the year, as Jeremy Mayfield was replaced by Elliott Sadler.