Race 2 Win: NEXTEL Cup Series Race Notes

Nextel Cup Series

UAW-Ford 500 - Kasey Kahne Notes

Kasey Kahne
No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Avenger Race Facts
Nextel Cup Series --- Talladega Superspeedway

Driver: Kasey Kahne
Team Director: Kenny Francis
Engineer: Keith Rodden
Team Owner: George Gillett
Ray Evernham

KASEY KAHNE QUOTES:
“We’re here to have fun and win races. We haven’t had enough fun this year and haven’t won races. We had a good run at Kansas, so that was another step in the right direction. We have a good COT (Car of Tomorrow) program. It’s just a matter of getting the right setup that will get the car through the corners. We’re not there yet, but we’re certainly getting closer.

“I think this will be the best COT race because of the way the cars drive. Still, it’s Talladega. When we had the test there, we only had 10 or so cars in the draft. We’ll just have to see how things change with the whole field drafting together. There will be plenty of side-by-side racing and it will be exciting for the fans. I think it will be lots of fun too.

”We’ve made a lot of improvements with the No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Avenger. We’ll just have to see how it performs in the first COT race at a restrictor plate track.“

QUICK FACTS

Kahne led seven laps and finished second in the fall race at Talladega last season.

His average finish in the past two races at the 2.6-mile tri-oval is seventh.

Kahne had a strong run at Talladega in the spring and finished 12th.

In the past six races, Kahne and the No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Avenger team have four top-10 finishes.

Kahne is 22nd in the season point standings, 58 points out of 20th.

Kahne is in his fourth season with Gillett Evernham Motorsports. He posted a series-high six wins last year and earned a berth in the Chase for the Nextel Cup.