Race 2 Win: Nationwide Series Race Notes

Nationwide Series

Sharpie Mini 300 - Kasey Kahne Notes

No. 9 Ragu Dodge Charger Bristol Preview

Kasey Kahne and the No. 9 Ragu Dodge Charger race at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend in Saturday’s Sharpie Mini 300. In August, Kahne worked the high line to lead 10 of the race’s 300 laps on the newly resurfaced track en route to his first Bristol victory.

At Atlanta Motor Speedway last week the No. 9 team rallied back from falling a lap down early in the race to finish ninth, its second top-10 in as many races. The finish bumped the Ultimate Chargers team up two spots to 19th in owner points

DRIVER KASEY KAHNE QUOTES:
A RECAP FROM LAST WEEK’S PERFORMANCE “The team really came through for the Ragu Dodge Charger last week. I know we had a top-5 car but it took us too long to get our lap back. The team worked hard and we still managed a top-10, which is the type of performance that the Ragu team is used to.”

LOOKING AHEAD TO BRISTOL “Everyone is energized heading back to Bristol. We won there in the fall and we have high hopes of doing well this week. It was such an exciting race last year. At one point Newman, Leffler and I were running three wide, so it was pretty intense. Luckily we came out on top, but the race could have gone either way.”

WHAT MAKES YOU SO GOOD AT BRISTOL “Since they added the variable banking last year, I really feel comfortable running the high groove there. It allows you to pull a lot more momentum off turns two and four and get position heading into the next corner. It also allows you to keep the guys running the bottom pinned down so they can’t carry their speed out to the wall. If our car works well up top again, that’s where you’ll probably see us running.”

NOTES
Chassis

Kahne will drive chassis No. 11 at Bristol. Backup is No. 27

Bristol Motor Speedway

Kahne has nine starts, one win, two top-fives and two top-10s. He has averaged a finishing position of 18.1 and a starting spot of 14.7. Additionally, Kahne has led 109 laps at BMS.

Kahne won the fall race at Bristol in the Nationwide Series last season. He muscled his way around Ryan Newman and Jason Leffler in the closing laps to take the checkered flag.

2008 Season

The No. 9 Ragu Dodge Charger gained two spots in Owner’s Points last weekend. The team is currently ranked 19th, 54 points outside of the top-10.

Kahne went a lap down early at Atlanta last week, but the Ragu Dodge crew persevered, made lightning fast pit stops, and earned their second straight top-10.

Patrick Carpentier earned the Ultimate Chargers team their first to-10 of the season after finishing eighth at Las Vegas. Carpentier didn’t have any practice laps in the car before taking the green flag.

History

The Ultimate Chargers team had two victories last year. They came at Charlotte and Bristol with Kahne behind the wheel.

Since joining forces with Gillett Evernham Motorsports in 2005, Kahne has won at least two races each season in the Nationwide Series.

Gillett Evernham Motorsports

Ray Evernham served as Jeff Gordon’s crew chief from 1992-’99 winning 47 races and three Cup championships.

Evernham founded Evernham Motorsports in 2000 and began first full season of competition in 2001 serving as the cornerstone of Dodge’s return to NASCAR.

George Gillett Jr. became co-owner with Evernham in October 2007. Gillett also owns the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL and the Liverpool soccer team in the English Premier League.

Gillett Evernham Motorsports campaigns Kasey Kahne in the No. 9, Patrick Carpentier in the No. 10, and Elliott Sadler in the No. 19 in NASCAR Sprint Cup competition.

The organization also fields the No. 9 in NASCAR Nationwide Series races with its Sprint Cup drivers plus rookie Chase Miller.