No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger Race Facts
Darlington Raceway --- Dodge Charger 500
Driver: Kasey Kahne
Team Director: Tommy Baldwin
Team Owner: Ray Evernham
Chassis: No. 106
Info: Raced at California in Feb.
KASEY KAHNE QUOTES
“We’ll be in the mix to win (at Darlington). I’d really like to win at Darlington. I like the surface. The track is difficult to drive. It’s real narrow and slippery. It’s just an exciting and fun racetrack. You’ve got to be on top of it all day long. It’s a drivers’ track.
“We’ve come close a lot of times to winning. We had a dominant car at Dover, Charlotte, several times this year. We had a dominating car at Texas. We had to start eighth in line with 30 laps to go and we ran second by a foot. That’s a dominating racecar. We had it a lot of times. We just never capitalized on it and never made it to the end. We’re just going to try to keep qualifying up front and finishing the races.“
STATS & FACTS
KASEY KAHNE AT DARLINGTON
This weekend will mark Kahne’s third NASCAR Nextel Cup Series start at Darlington Raceway. Kahne started on the pole and finished 13th at Darlington in March 2004. Kahne led four times for 24 laps, and fought back from a blown tire to return to the lead lap and finish running in the top 15.
Kahne started 13th and had his best finish of fifth at Darlington in November 2004.
DARLINGTON POLE
Kahne is the defending Bud Pole winner for the Dodge Charger 500. He lapped Darlington Raceway in 28.638 seconds at 171.716 mph in last year’s spring race.
The pole was the second of Kahne’s Nextel Cup career, making him just the fifth driver to record his second Bud Pole in only five career attempts. Later in the year, Kahne tied Art Watts (1957) for the quickest any driver has reached four career poles – 14 races.
ADDING UP THE POINTS
After Kahne’s finish of 24th at Talladega he stands 22nd in the Nextel Cup Series point standings, just 11 points out of 20th place and 166 out of 10th.
CREW CHANGES
The No. 9 Dew Crew roster has added Brent Wentz as catch can man and Kyle Turner as rear tire changer starting this weekend at Darlington.
PASSING GRADE
Kahne passed 33 cars for position in this month’s Martinsville race. He moved from 35th to finish second. The number of positions gained in a single race (33) is a Cup Series career-high for Kahne.
