New Kid on the NASCAR Block – Kasey Kahne
Sunday, April 6th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
Though Kasey Kahne is still fairly new to NASCAR, he is not at all new to car racing. The 26 year-old from Washington State has been racing since his early teen years, and of course, winning since then. Kahne entered the NASCAR world for the first time in 2002, running a few series races that year. In the 2004 season is when his NASCAR career exploded into action.
The beginning of the 2004 season was a typically unmarked time for Kahne. Young and enthusiastic, it didn’t matter to him that nobody knew the name Kasey Kahne; they didn’t know it yet, but they would soon be saying it at every race. The season began slowly and Kahne was basically an unknown driver outside of a small circle of those immediately around him. During the course of the season, he skyrocketed to the top of the charts, finishing 13th overall for the season. There was no question in anyone’s mind that he would be named Rookie of the Year, which, indeed, he was.
The 2004 season brought 13 top-five race finishes—no small feat for a rookie, and four poles. Everyone, fittingly, seemed to be talking about this talented young driver who drives on the Dodge team under Evernham. Recent changes to Dodge and recent changes to NASCAR regulations made his 2005 not as successful as 2004, finishing 23rd in the overall yearly rating, but his tenacity certainly showed him through the year, driving aggressively throughout the season despite some troubles with the car’s handling. Everyone from Kahne himself to the team director and the car’s engineer are working together to make the results of the 2006 season more on par with Kahne’s rookie 2004 season.
Currently, his 2006 season is looking up. Everyone thought he was basically out of the running for the 2006 Chase at the end of September, but the last three races have turned everything around. Good handling in his Dodge #9 as well as sheer youthful optimism are currently leading the way toward a much more successful end to the 2006 season than was thought just one month ago. There are four more races to go, and the team is optimistic because a few of those remaining races are at tracks on which Kahne has already won a race this season. His standing is currently on the upward swing, and hopefully, that trend will continue for him as the season comes to an end.
Since his 2004 successful season, Kahne has become a household name and one of the most popular NASCAR drivers. He was even named one of America’s most eligible bachelor’s by People Magazine. His youth and his success are magnets for the NASCAR fan base. Of course, women are enamored with his young, sweet face, but men are also very positive about Kahne based on his hard-core grit attitude and his aggressive driving despite his youth. Everyone loves a success story, and extra kudos if the successful one is so young.
It is possible to buy just about anything with Kahne’s face and number splashed across it. NASCAR is one of the heaviest sports when it comes to fans collecting random gear associated with their favorite drivers, and despite Kahne’s relatively new presence in NASCAR, all those goodies are available with the Kahne name splashed across it. In any case, the young driver has continued to turn heads despite the downswing of the 2005 season. Even if the 2006 season doesn’t turn out to be as successful as the 2004 season, everyone still loves Kasey Kahne and everyone’s rooting for a successful season finish.
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