No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger Race Facts
Dover Int'l Speedway --- NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
Driver: Kasey Kahne
Team Director: Kenny Francis
Car Director: Mike Shiplett
Engineer: Keith Rodden
Team Owner: Ray Evernham
Chassis: No. 112
Info: Raced at Darlington.
KASEY KAHNE QUOTES
“The win at Lowe’s Motor Speedway was great for the No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger team. We had a three-race span where we didn’t score a lot of points and it appeared we were having problems. Actually, we’ve only had one race – Darlington – where we didn’t have the car competitive. At Richmond and Talladega, our car was very good. We were running third at Richmond when we had the mechanical problem and we were in the top 10 at Talladega, but ended up in an accident. We’ve had great cars every week. With the exception of Darlington, we had cars capable of winning any race.
“Evernham Motorsports has had success at Dover. Jeremy (Mayfield, Kahne’s teammate) has had fast cars there. He has the track qualifying record. He’s had three top-10 finishes in the last four races. Kenny (Francis, the No. 9 team director who was with Mayfield’s No. 19 team previously) likes Dover and has a great understanding of the setup the track demands. For a brief time, it appeared I might get my first Nextel Cup victory at Dover back in 2004, my rookie season. I was leading late in the race, but got in some oil between turn three and four and slid into the wall. We had a good car there last fall, starting second, but didn’t get the finish we expected.
“My crew has been awesome this year with pit stops. Kenny, Mike (Shiplett, car director) and Keith (Rodden, engineer) have made great calls on the setup. They’ve been on target with the adjustments during the race, keeping up with the changing track conditions. Last week at Lowe’s, the key to the win was the changes that were made during the last pit stop. The car had been good and we were in position to challenge for the win, but the changes Kenny and the crew made turned the No. 9 Dodge Charger into an awesome racecar.”
STATS & FACTS
KASEY KAHNE AT DOVER INT'L SPEEDWAY
Sunday’s race marks Kahne’s fifth start at Dover International Speedway. His best finish of 16th came in the fall event last year.
Kahne appeared to be in position for his first career victory in his first encounter with “The Monster Mile” in June, 2004. Kahne took the lead on lap 346 and looked to be in control with 20 laps to go. However, another car dropped oil between turns three and four ahead of Kane on lap 381. Unaware of the hazard and before it had been detected by officials, the No. 9 Dodge lost traction with the back end of the car making contact with the outside retaining wall.
KAHNE OFF TO GOOD START IN 2006
Kahne has three wins, five top-five and seven top-10 finishes in the first 12 races this season.
KAHNE DOESN'T HAVE TO START FROM POLE TO WIN
Kahne’s wins at Atlanta and Texas this year came from the Bud Pole. He also started from the Bud Pole at Richmond last year when he scored his first career victory. However, Kahne started ninth in his win at Lowe’s Motor Speedway Sunday night.
STARTING UP FRONT IMPORTANT AT DOVER INT'L SPEEDWAY?
Nine of the last 10 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Dover have been won from a top-10 starting position, including seven from the top five. Forty five of 72 Cup races at Dover have been won from a top-five starting spot. Only 13 races have been won from a starting position outside the top 10.
