Food City 500 - Kasey Kahne Notes

No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Race Facts
Food City 500 – Bristol Motor Speedway
Driver: Kasey Kahne
Team Director: Tommy Baldwin Team Owner: Ray Evernham

CHASSIS INFO:
Chassis No. 52 – Kahne tested it at Bristol, and the No. 9 Dew Crew fielded it in this race last year where it started fifth and finished 18th.

KASEY KAHNE QUOTES

What do you think about Bristol?
“I really like the track. It has great fans and great atmosphere. It’s a lot of fun to race there. I’ve never really had a great race there in the Busch Series, but I think we’re going to be good this weekend. We tested there and it went well.”

What is the key to success at Bristol?
“It is really important to qualify up front. There are so many cars on the track and you can really get mixed up in all that traffic. It’s not easy to pass there, so it’s better to get up front and stay up front. In the race, you need a car that handles good and can run wide open.”

Did your experience at Darlington help you prepare for this weekend?
“I think Darlington will really help me this weekend. I got lucky a couple of times when I spun and got the car pointed down the banking without hitting the wall or getting hit. I don’t think you can spin at Bristol without getting hit, so I’ll be working really hard to keep the fenders on the car and make it to the end of the race.”

How important are pit stops?
“Pit stops made the difference this past weekend for a lot of people. They’ll be critical this weekend. The Dew Crew is great, and they’ve been working really hard to get ready for this weekend. I made a mistake getting into the pits last weekend and that threw their rhythm off a little bit. So, it’s up to me to not make mistakes so they can do a good job.”

STATS & FACTS

KASEY KAHNE AT BRISTOL

· Kasey Kahne has competed three times at Bristol Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Busch Series. His best performance there came last March when he started seventh and finished 13th. He started 27th and finished 14th in the Busch race last August.

LAST WEEKEND

· Last Sunday at Darlington Raceway Kahne won his second NASCAR Nextel Cup Series career pole award for the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400. On raceway, Kahne held the top position for 11 laps until an early caution brought him into the pits. He led on three other occasions before his a right rear tire went flat on his No. 9 Dodge, sending him one lap down. Kahne and the Dew Crew were able to adjust the car and gain spots back on the field. He soon returned to the lead lap and worked his way up to the 11th spot before an on-track incident on lap 283 sent him spinning between turns three and four. Kahne skillfully kept the Dodge out of the SAFER barriers and brought it back to pit road. The Dew Crew made a quick tire change and repaired the damaged valance, and Kahne returned to the field with just four laps to go. Once again, he proved he has the focus to bring home great finishes by barreling through the field to finish 13th – the top rookie in the field.

CLIMBING THE RANKS

· Following last weekend’s Carolina Dodge Dealers 400, Kahne became the first Evernham Motorsports driver to place in the top four positions of the NASCAR Cup Series points race. Last week also marked the first time that both Evernham Motorsports drivers ranked within the top-10 of the driver standings together.

ADDING UP THE POINTS

· Kahne and the No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge team dropped one spot to fifth in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series point standings, but in turn have gained nearly 60 points on leader Matt Kenseth. They are 64 points out of first place and just 29 points from third.

HEAD OF THE CLASS

· After five races, Kahne has a 24-point lead in the Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year standings. He’s been the top rookie finisher in the past four races and the top rookie qualifier three times (Rockingham, Las Vegas, Darlington).

FAST ON FRIDAYS

· Kahne’s 8.80 average starting position is third best among all Nextel Cup drivers. He has two poles in that span, and has qualified in the top-five on three occasions.

QUICK OUT OF THE BOX

· Kahne earned his second career pole position last weekend at Darlington, making him one of only five NASCAR drivers to do so in their first five career starts (Mark Martin – ’81, Dick Hutcherson – ‘64, Bob Burdick – ‘59, John Kieper – ‘56). No driver had earned more than two poles in that span.

GIVE ME FIVE!

· Kahne’s string of three top-fives in his first four career starts makes him the first driver to accomplish the feat in more than 40 years of NASCAR racing. Most recently, Curley Barker notched three top-fives in his first four Grand National starts from May to September of 1963.

RECORD BREAKING RUN

· In this month’s UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kahne won his first NASCAR Nextel Cup pole position by posting a speed of 174.904 mph (30.874 sec.), shattering Bobby Labonte’s previous track record run of 173.016 mph. (31.211 sec.) by nearly two miles per hour.