Kasey Kahne

Kasey Kenneth Kahne (; born April 10, 1980) is an American professional dirt track racing and stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 33 Chevrolet Camaro SS for Richard Childress Racing. Currently, Kahne competes in High Limit Racing, driving the No. 9 sprint car for his own team, Kasey Kahne Racing.

Off the track, Kahne is active in charitable work and is a member of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation. He also owns his own race team, Kasey Kahne Racing, which competes in the World of Outlaws and High Limit Racing series, fielding two sprint cars for himself and Brad Sweet. Kahne is a two-time Skagit Speedway winner of the Annual Jim Raper memorial Dirt Cup (2002 and 2003) and currently holds the fastest lap record there. Kahne scored 18 career wins in the Cup Series, including 3 Coca-Cola 600s in 2006, 2008, and 2012, and the Brickyard 400 in 2017. He was also the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Rookie of the Year in 2004. He retired from racing before the end of the 2018 Cup Series season for health reasons and was replaced at Leavine Family Racing by Regan Smith. In 2023 he was named as one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers.

Early life Kasey Kahne was born on April 10, 1980, in Enumclaw, Washington, to his parents Kelly and Tammy. His father Kelly was a mechanics enthusiast with a background in motorsports, and his mother Tammy, would later manage aspects of his early career. He has an older sister Shanon and a younger brother Kale. He grew up on a rural property where he rode four-wheelers and dirt bikes. Growing up he also participated in other sports like baseball and basketball, and he would drive snowmobiles in the mountains during the winter.

Racing career

Beginnings Kahne began racing open-wheel sprint cars at Deming Speedway at seventeen in Deming, Washington, before moving up to Skagit Speedway in Alger, Washington, and then he moved to USAC. In 2000, Kahne made a trip to Pennsylvania where he won the season opener at the historic Williams Grove Speedway. He was hired by Steve Lewis, who had also employed future NASCAR drivers Jeff Gordon, Jason Leffler, Tony Stewart and Kenny Irwin Jr. In his first year on the circuit, he was named Rookie of the Year, as well as winning the national midget championship. He continued to run USAC, as well as the Toyota Atlantic Series and the World of Outlaws.

Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series In 2002, Kahne made 20 starts in the Busch Series driving the No. 98 Channellock Ford Taurus for Robert Yates Racing. His best finish was a tenth place finish at Cabela's 250. A year later, he moved to the No. 38 Great Clips Ford for Akins Motorsports full-time. He won his first pole at Michigan International Speedway and his first Busch Series race at the Ford 300. Kahne finished seventh in the points standings. With his move to full-time competition in the Cup Series in 2004, he also drove 30 races for Akins in the Busch Series, finishing 13th in points. In 2005, he made 22 starts in the Busch Series, splitting time with Akins and Evernham's new No. 6 team. He won the O'Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway and the United Way 300 at Kansas Speedway.

On May 26, 2007, Kahne won the Busch Series' Carquest Auto Parts 300 race at Lowe's Motor Speedway for his first win of 2007. On August 24, 2007, Kahne won the pole for the Cup Series' Sharpie 500 at Bristol, his second pole of the 2007 Nextel Cup Series season. Later that night, during the Busch Series' Food City 250, Kahne passed Ryan Newman on the top side in a three-wide pass that included Jason Leffler on the bottom. He held off the hard-charging Leffler to score his seventh career Busch win and his second of 2007.

In 2009, Kahne ran fewer events in other NASCAR series than in previous seasons, only seven (four in the Nationwide Series, three in the Whelen Modified Tour). With fewer distractions, Kahne's Sprint Cup stats slightly improved that year.

During the 2014 Nationwide season, Kahne scored an upset win at the Nationwide Series' Subway Firecracker 250, passing teammate Regan Smith on the final lap. The margin was 0.021 seconds.

On January 24, 2025, NASCAR announced that Kahne would return to the driver's seat for the Xfinity Series race at Rockingham Speedway on April 19.

Kahne has six career starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, winning five of them; his lone non-victory is a second-place run at Pocono Raceway in 2010. In 2004, he made a pair of starts in the series at Darlington Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway, driving the No. 2 Team ASE Racing Dodge Ram for Ultra Motorsports, winning both races. At the 2015 Charlotte Truck race, he held off Erik Jones for the win by .005 seconds, the second-closest margin in Truck Series history.

Cup Series Kahne replaced Bill Elliott in the No. 9 Dodge for Evernham Motorsports at the end of the 2003 season when Elliott announced a part-time schedule starting with the 2004 season. Since Kahne was still under contract with Ford, the manufacturer filed a lawsuit against him after he joined Evernham Motorsports. U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland ruled in favor of Kahne, citing a clause in his contract with Ford that stipulated that the manufacturer had to provide Kahne with a full-time ride on a Ford team that both parties mutually agreed upon. That clause also stipulated that if an agreement could not be reached by either party, then Kahne could seek a ride with a different manufacturer, without breaking the terms of his contract with Ford.

Evernham Motorsports (2004–2007)

In 2004, Kahne surprised many by nearly winning several races (including five 2nd-place finishes and 13 Top 5's), winning four poles, and capturing the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award. He narrowly missed the Chase for the Nextel Cup after Jeremy Mayfield, his teammate, claimed the final spot.

In 2005, Kahne scored his first career Nextel Cup victory in his sophomore season 2005, after a dominating performance in the Chevy American Revolution 400 at Richmond International Raceway. It was also the first win for the Dodge Charger, which returned to NASCAR that year. It was the first time a Dodge won a race at Richmond International Raceway since Richard Petty did so in 1975. In addition, he became the first driver born in the 1980s to win a race in NASCAR's premier series. He also scored two poles in back-to-back weeks at Darlington and Richmond during the same year. Despite this, he was plagued with inconsistency and slumped to 23rd in the points.

On March 20, 2006, Kahne won the rain-delayed Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Nearly three weeks later, he won the Samsung/Radio Shack 500 at Texas. After that, he won four more races – a season sweep at Lowe's Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 600 and in the Bank of America 500 holding off Jimmie Johnson (who finished second in both races) and victories at California and Michigan.

On September 9, 2006, Kahne successfully raced his way into the Chase for The Cup after finishing third in Richmond. He was the tenth and last qualifier to make the Chase. He edged defending Nextel Cup Champion Tony Stewart out by sixteen points, but a disappointing sixteenth-place finish at New Hampshire, a crash at Dover, and running out of gas at Kansas ended his hopes for his first championship title. Kahne finished strong with five top-tens in the remaining seven races, including winning the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

On November 27, 2006, Kahne was honored by being invited to raise the traditional 12th Man flag prior to the Seattle Seahawks Monday Night Football game against the Green Bay Packers at Qwest Field in Seattle. The ceremony has been ongoing since 2003, and involves a different Seattle-area sports hero and/or beloved member of the community kicking things off before every Seahawks home game. The Seahawks beat the Packers 34–24.

During the qualifying for the 2007 Daytona 500, officials found holes in the wheel wells of his Dodge Charger. A crew member said it was just tape that had fallen off a hole in the tire. Officials said that the tape had been cut. He was one of the four drivers among Matt Kenseth and his two teammates, Scott Riggs and Elliott Sadler, whose cars had been found with aerodynamic-improving modifications. His team was one of the six teams found with illegal modifications in the Daytona festivities.

At the Sharpie 500, a day after winning the pole and the Busch race, Kahne dominated most of the race, leading 305 out of 500 laps and finishing second to Carl Edwards. This was his best finish of the 2007 season. After a disappointing 2007 season, Kahne finished nineteenth in points with zero wins, one top-five, eight top-tens, and an average finish of 22.2.

Gillette Evernham Motorsports and Richard Petty Motorsports (2008–2010)

With the new sponsor Budweiser, Kahne started off the 2008 season strong by finishing in the top-ten in both the Budweiser Shootout and the Gatorade Duel. As a result of a fourth place finish in the duel, Kahne started tenth in the 50th Daytona 500 on February 17, 2008. He finished seventh behind teammate Elliott Sadler in the 2008 Daytona 500; this was a repeat of the 2007 race, where they both also finished sixth and seventh, respectively.

In the early laps of the Auto Club 500, Kahne worked his way from twentieth to fourteenth, but brushed the wall on lap 7. However, he was able to finish ninth after the race went under a long rain delay. Kahne had to start in the back due to an engine change in the UAW-Dodge 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but he did go on to finish sixth.

On May 17, 2008, Kahne was voted into the Sprint All-Star Race XXIV by his fans via cell phone text messaging and online voting. After making a required "stop-and-go" pit stop, Kahne began the fourth segment second on old tires. He went on to win the race and earn $1,012,975. Kahne became the first driver to win the race from the fan vote and the third driver to race in the Sprint Showdown and go on to win the All-Star race.

On May 25, 2008, he won his second Coca-Cola 600 passing Tony Stewart with two laps to go, as Stewart had a flat tire going into turn 1. This was Kahne's first points-paying win of the season. He also became the sixth driver to win the 600 and the Sprint All-Star Race in the same season.

On June 6, 2008, Kahne won the Pocono 500 from the pole despite being 38th at one point during the race after a miscue in the pits. On June 20, 2008, he won another pole for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway, his second pole in three races. However, after handling issues early in the race, Kahne fell victim to pit road, went a lap down, and finished 33rd.

Following two consecutive 40th-place finishes (a Bristol Motor Speedway wreck caused by miscommunications between Casey Mears and his spotter, and an engine failure at Michigan International Speedway), Kahne found himself sitting outside of the Top 12, out of contention for the Chase. At the start of the last regular season race, at Richmond International Raceway, he, David Ragan, and Clint Bowyer were vying for that 12th spot. Unfortunately for him, Kahne was not able to make up enough points to put him into the Chase for the Sprint Cup. He missed the 2008 Chase by 69 points and ended the season finishing 14th.

Kahne's new team for 2009, Richard Petty Motorsports, was the result of a merger between his team's previous incarnation, Gillett Evernham Motorsports, and Petty Enterprises. The year started off inconsistently for Kahne, with early top-ten finishes at Atlanta and Bristol. Kahne won the Toyota/Save Mart 350 event on June 21, 2009, for his first road course win.

After a hot summer streak that saw three top-tens in a row, Kahne climbed into Chase contention. During the Pep Boys Auto 500 on September 6, 2009, Kahne made a late race pass and held off Kevin Harvick for his second win of the season. Following the first 26 races of the season, Kahne was in the top-twelve in points, earning him a place in the Chase for the Championship. He was seeded fourth in points. After suffering an engine failure at New Hampshire and a crash in California, Kahne struggled to get back into contention for the championship and finished 10th in the final season standings, despite finishing second in the AMP Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

On September 10, 2009, it was announced that Richard Petty Motorsports would merge with Yates Racing. Kahne would remain as one of four drivers of RPM alongside his current teammates Sadler and Allmendinger, as well as Yates Racing driver Paul Menard. The team changed manufacturers to Ford and received Roush-Yates engines and other equipment from Roush Fenway Racing.

Driving the new Ford Fusion car, Kahne won the Gatorade Duel No. 2 at Daytona International Speedway on February 11, 2010. He also finished in second position in the 2010 Budweiser Shootout. Kahne ended up 30th in the Daytona 500 after being wrecked late in the race. He had been running up front for most of the race and had the fastest lap of the race. Kahne had a strong car at the Auto Club 500; however, he spun late in turn 4.

Kahne had a good run at Atlanta a few weeks later where he led the most laps in the race, and finished inside the top-five. During the following couple of months, Kahne would be unable to compete for race wins as mistakes and wrecks put a dent into the team's Chase hopes.

During the Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 at Pocono Raceway he had a top-five car all race long, but due to a late race caution, some teams stayed out on track instead of joining the leaders on pit-road. This put Kahne in the back end of the Top 20, and during the green-white-checkered finish, Kahne tried to make it three-wide while battling for tenth place. However, he was blocked and ran down into the wet grass by his teammate A. J. Allmendinger. Kahne spun back into the racing surface and was hit by Greg Biffle and Mark Martin. The No. 9 car took off and landed on top of the outside wall, hit a tree behind the wall, and spun back onto the track on all four wheels. Kahne and Biffle both put the blame on Allmendinger for causing the huge crash.

Kahne rebounded from the disappointment at Pocono by leading laps in the following race at Michigan and finishing second, behind the dominant Denny Hamlin. He also qualified on pole for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway the following week; and converted the pole position into a solid fourth-place finish, after bouncing back from a poor first stint, to post back-to-back top-five finishes.

In qualifying for the 2010 Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Kahne earned his second pole position of the season. On October 3, 2010, Kahne started the Price Chopper 400 at Kansas Speedway from the pole position.

On October 20, 2010, Kahne was released from the remainder of his contract with Richard Petty Motorsports. The next day, it was announced that Kahne would drive for Team Red Bull for the remainder of the season as well as the full 2011 season starting with the TUMS Bring It On 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

After the 2010 season finale in Homestead, Kahne went in for knee surgery due to discomfort and pain caused by plica syndrome.

Red Bull Racing (2011)

On April 13, 2010, Kahne announced that he would be leaving Richard Petty Motorsports at the end of the 2010 season to race in 2012 with Hendrick Motorsports, driving the No. 5. On August 10, 2010, Team Red Bull officially announced that Kahne would drive one of their cars for the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, a tenure that would start in the 2010 season after Kahne was released from RPM. Kahne used the number 4 for his Red Bull Toyota, an homage to the number he used in Sprint Cars. Prior to the acquisition, the No. 4 was made famous by Morgan-McClure Motorsports. Kahne won his first pole for Red Bull Racing the year prior at the 2010 season finale at Homestead driving the No. 83. On June 9, 2011, it was announced that Farmers Insurance Group would sponsor Kahne for 22 races in 2012. It was also announced that his current crew chief Kenny Francis will join him at Hendrick.

Kahne dominated the early stages of the Brickyard 400, but spun late in the race and had to settle for 18th position. He led 48 laps, a race-high.

He did not make it into the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup, resting at 21st in points following the cut-off race, the Wonderful Pistachios 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 10, 2011.

On November 13, 2011, at the newly configured Phoenix International Raceway, Kahne held off Carl Edwards in the closing laps to take his first victory of the season, his first victory for Team Red Bull, and Kahne's first victory in over two years. Kahne only led the final fourteen laps of the race.

Kahne finished the 2011 season fourteenth in points.

Hendrick Motorsports (2012–2017) In 2012, Kahne drove the No. 5 Farmers Insurance/Quaker State/HendrickCars.com Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, consequent with Mark Martin's move to Michael Waltrip Racing. In the Budweiser Shootout, he was involved in an early accident in the first segment. His teammates Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were eliminated in crashes during the second segment. Kahne qualified and ran well in his Gatorade Duel, but in the Daytona 500 was taken out in a crash on lap 188 involving Jamie McMurray, Regan Smith, Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, Tony Stewart, and Aric Almirola. He finished 29th.

Kahne announced in late March that he would compete for Turner Motorsports in the Camping World Truck Series at Rockingham Speedway in April, driving the No. 4 in the Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200. In that race, he led 47 laps and went on to win.

Kahne had a rough start to 2012, finishing no better than fourteenth in the first five races. However, he rebounded with seven straight top-ten finishes, including a win in the 2012 Coca-Cola 600 in his 300th Sprint Cup Start. This was also his first win with Hendrick Motorsports. On July 15, 2012, Kahne won the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at Loudon, and along with teammate Jeff Gordon made the Chase through the two Wild Card spots. During the Chase, Kahne won poles at Talladega and Kansas. He ended the season a career-best fourth place in the points, with two wins, four poles, twelve top-fives, and nineteen top-tens.

Kahne had a slow start to 2013, finishing 36th and nineteenth at Daytona and Phoenix, respectively. However, at Las Vegas, he led 114 laps (which was almost twice the number of laps he had led in all of his previous Vegas starts) and finished second to Matt Kenseth despite an impressive charge in the last laps. Kahne was able to redeem himself for this near-miss the following week by winning at Bristol. After Bristol, he had a strong run at Auto Club Speedway in which he finished ninth—he then had an even stronger run at Martinsville, where he had one of the best cars and finished fourth. He then finished 11th at Texas. At Kansas, Kahne again finished second to Kenseth in a finish very similar to the finish at Las Vegas.

Kahne's season also started with a number of run-ins with Kyle Busch, who wrecked him in three of the first eleven races: at the Daytona 500, Kahne was running in the top-five when Busch turned him approaching turn 1 on lap 33, resulting in a seven-car wreck also collecting Tony Stewart, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jamie McMurray, and other cars. At Talladega, on lap 43, Kahne was in the outside lane when Busch turned him into the wall again heading towards turn 1. Kahne bounced off the wall and back into Busch and collected an additional fourteen cars, including Kevin Harvick, David Reutimann, Brian Vickers, Tony Stewart, Marcos Ambrose, Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, Casey Mears, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, David Stremme, and Scott Speed. Later, at Darlington, another incident happened when Busch sent Kahne into the wall while being challenged for the lead late in the race, causing a caution. At the Coca-Cola 600, Kahne had influenza and there was doubt he could finish the race. This didn't stop him from leading the most laps and nearly winning the race, but Kevin Harvick got by him on a restart with eleven laps to go. At Michigan, Kahne led the race, but slid into the turn 2 wall, and the car caught fire. Kahne finished 38th and dropped down four spots in the points standings to twelfth.

Following the retirement at Michigan, Kahne rebounded with a sixth-place finish at Sonoma and an eleventh place finish at Kentucky. At Daytona, Kahne was running behind Jimmie Johnson for most of the race until he got tagged by Marcos Ambrose on a late restart, sending him into the inside wall on the back straightaway and relegating him to a 32nd-place finish. This was followed by an eleventh place finish at New Hampshire and a third place finish at Indianapolis.

At Pocono in August, Kahne started eighteenth. He led 66 laps of the race and was involved in a tight battle with Tony Stewart for the lead in the final laps. A decision by Gordon to take the final restart on lap 158 on the inside lane gave Kahne the opportunity to draft past Gordon in turn 1 and then sail away to his second career Pocono race victory and second win of the 2013 season, bringing him up to eighth place in the points. His form didn't carry to Watkins Glen, though, where he was wrecked by Matt Kenseth on a late restart that saw him collide with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and finish 34th. Kahne then had a seventh place finish at Michigan, and then a runner-up finish at Bristol behind Kenseth for the third time in 2013.

He qualified for the Chase, but any chance of him winning ended with a crash at Loudon. Early in the 2013 Sylvania 300, Kahne got loose, wheel-hopped, and hit a barrier extremely hard. Kahne was uninjured but caused controversy when he acted like he could not hear a reporter in his interview, which led many to speculate that Kahne suffered a head injury. Kahne apologized for causing the false alarm and said he was too angry to talk about it and that he was not injured. He later revealed on a February 2025 episode of The Dale Jr. Download that he had suffered a concussion.

Kahne struggled in the first half of the 2014 season. He came close to a win at Pocono in June but hit the outside barrier late in the event, costing him his shot at the win. Kahne said that Kyle Busch was yet again responsible for the crash, and Busch himself took responsibility that night. When Kahne heard that Busch apologized for the wreck, he shrugged it off and said, "I don't care to talk to him anymore about our wrecks. Tired of his aggressiveness and the fact that his performances are affecting my own results."

Kahne began ending rumors of his departure from Hendrick Motorsports with a sponsorship extension with Farmers Insurance for twelve races in the 2015–2017 seasons. At the Brickyard 400, Kahne led seventy laps due to great track position but lost the lead on a restart with seventeen laps left to Jeff Gordon and ended up sixth.

At Atlanta, Kahne controlled the final fifteen laps of the race. With three laps to go, it seemed like he lost it when a caution came out. He lost four spots on pit road, but after two more cautions, sped by Matt Kenseth and won the race to clench a spot in the Chase. It was his first and only win of 2014. He finished fifteenth in the standings, being eliminated from round two of the Chase. Kahne received a three-year contract extension with HMS in November, which would run until the conclusion of the 2018 season. It was announced a day earlier that long-time engineer and Jamie McMurray's 2014 crew chief, Keith Rodden, would return to HMS and replace Kenny Francis as Kahne's crew chief. Francis had been Kahne's crew chief since the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Replacing Francis ended the second-longest driver/crew chief pairing in NASCAR in the first two decades of the 21st century.

Kahne made his return to the Camping World Truck Series driving the No. 00 Haas Automation Silverado for JR Motorsports at Charlotte. Kahne beat 18-year-old Erik Jones by 0.005 seconds, which was tied for the second closest finish in NASCAR Truck Series competition. The win was Chevrolet's 200th win in the Camping World Truck Series. In the Cup Series, Kahne would start off with a ninth-place finish in the Daytona 500. He would struggle throughout most of the year, and would only get ten top-tens and three top-fives, his best finish being fourth at Phoenix, Dover, and the Kansas Chase race. Kahne finished the season in 18th place in the final points standings.

Kahne experienced a difficult 2016 season as he finished seventeenth in the final points standings with only three top-fives and thirteen top-tens.. During the season, Kahne did not lead a single lap in any race despite completing the most laps in the series.

Kahne's 2017 Season started off similar to previous years, but did managed to lead laps compared to the previous year. After disappointing races at the beginning of the year, things began to look up. In July 2017, Kahne returned to Victory Lane at the Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400, surviving a crash-laden race that took out many contending cars, including holding off Brad Keselowski on an overtime restart that ended under caution. It was Kahne's eighteenth win in the Cup Series and first in 102 races. The race was also the reason that the NASCAR sanctioning body eliminated the Overtime Line.

On August 7, 2017, Hendrick Motorsports announced Kahne would not be returning to the team for the 2018 season, and two days later, William Byron was announced as Kahne's replacement. It was simultaneously announced that the No. 5 car, Hendrick's original entry in NASCAR, would disappear from Hendrick Motorsports going forward. In 2020, the No. 5 car returned when it was assigned to Kyle Larson.

After the opening race in the chase at Chicagoland Speedway, crew chief Keith Rodden was replaced with Darian Grubb after many lackluster finishes. Right away, Kahne was one of the fastest cars at Loudon, but bad luck plagued the No. 5 team in the Playoffs, and they had an early playoff exit. At the end of the season, he ended up with a career low in top-tens with six and tied his career low of top-fives with three. He also led 41 laps in 2017, his second career lowest after the aforementioned 2016 season, where he didn't lead a lap at all. Kahne announced he would drive the 95 Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in 2018, replacing Michael McDowell.

Leavine Family Racing (2018)

On September 19, 2017, Kahne announced he would be driving the No. 95 for Leavine Family Racing in 2018. In the offseason, Leavine announced he would pair up with Hendrick Motorsports team engineer Travis Mack who previously substituted for Greg Ives when he crew chiefed for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to his best run in 2017. Kahne finished tenth in the All-Star race after going four laps down from a wreck. After a very disappointing first half, which included his best run of seventeenth place on three occasions, and a firing of crew chief Travis Mack for lead engineer John Leonard. He led a season high seventeen laps and scored the most points at the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. On the final restart, Kahne tried to make a move to the lead but stalled out due to not getting help. He fell back in line and finished fourth, a season best for him, tying the team's best finish as well as moving up three spots in the standings to 25th.

On August 16, 2018, Kahne stated his intention to step away from full-time competition at the end of the year. On September 6, 2018, after heat exhaustion from the race before at Darlington, Kahne announced that he would sit out the 2018 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis and be replaced by Regan Smith, which would be the first race Kahne had not raced in since he began his full time career in the Cup Series. Following the Brickyard race, it was announced that Kahne would continue to sit out for the next three races with Smith still filling in.

On October 9, 2018, he announced on Twitter that he would sit out for the remainder of the year, ending his fifteen-year career prematurely.

Return to dirt racing On March 29, 2019, Kahne was injured in a hard sprint car accident at Williams Grove Speedway, and Australian driver James McFadden replaced him. Kahne did not race again for over a year, with his first race back coming at Knoxville Raceway on May 8, 2020; he finished eleventh in the last chance qualifier.

On December 22, 2021, Kahne announced that he would compete full-time with the World of Outlaws in 2022, driving the Kasey Kahne Racing No. 9 car.

On December 3, 2023, Kahne announced that he would compete full-time with High Limit Racing in 2024.

In late April 2026, it was announced that Kasey Kahne would replace Anthony Macri in the 39M 410 sprint car for ten races in May. The reason Kahne replaced Macri for ten races is because of an injury Macri sustained in a race at Williams Grove. Kahne's partnership through the first five races that he has ran with Macri Motorsports has been successful, with the highlight coming on May 8, 2026, with Kahne picking up his first ever World of Outlaws feature win as a driver, winning at Williams Grove Speedway. Kahne led all 25 laps in the event, but it did not come easy holding off drivers David Gravel and Sheldon Haudenschild.

Return to NASCAR On January 24, 2025, Kahne announced he would return to the Xfinity Series for one race at Rockingham in 2025, driving the Richard Childress Racing No. 33 car with sponsorship from HendrickCars.com. His car would get damage from contact with William Sawalich and Katherine Legge, but he ended up finishing in fourteenth place (originally fifteenth before Jesse Love was disqualified).

Personal life During most of his time in NASCAR, Kahne preferred to keep his personal life private and rarely revealed any details aside from his racing career. Although he has not married, Kahne and his former girlfriend, Samantha Sheets, became parents to a son on October 13, 2015. The couple is known to have an amicable relationship following their split sometime before 2018. Later, Kahne began dating Amy Long, a former sports reporter, in 2020. Kahne and Amy had a baby girl in early 2023.

Film and television Kahne was featured in the premiere episode of the 2006 Biography Channel series Driven to Win. This 30-minute program covered Kahne's childhood and entry into NASCAR, as well as his 2004 Rookie of the Year season and his first win in 2005. He was also featured in two episodes of the second season of NASCAR 360 on the FX Network.

Kasey Kahne Racing, NASCAR Media Group, and Motorsports Management International partnered to produce the 2009 release, "The Rise of Kahne." This 90-minute biographical profile features interviews with Kahne, his family, and other NASCAR personalities. Footage covers the stock-car racer's open-wheel roots and successes leading up to his June 2009 win at Infineon Raceway, his first for Richard Petty Motorsports. The DVD also shows his work with the Kasey Kahne Foundation and his own sprint car race team.

Kahne's No. 9 Dodge Dealers-sponsored car appeared in the 2005 Disney film Herbie: Fully Loaded, with Kahne as one of the four drivers who boxed Herbie in and pummeled him in the final race. He is mentioned by name by one of the race announcers.

In 2010, Kahne made a brief appearance in the music video "Smoke a Little Smoke" by Eric Church.

In 2013, Kahne alongside Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart voiced themselves in an episode of The Cleveland Show.

In 2016, Kahne voiced Fender in four episodes of the Nickelodeon series Blaze and the Monster Machines.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Monster Energy Cup Series Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Pts Ref 2004 Evernham Motorsports 9 Dodge DAY41 CAR2 LVS2 ATL3 DAR13 BRI40 TEX2* MAR21 TAL30 CAL13 RCH28 CLT12 DOV21 POC14 MCH2 SON31 DAY25 CHI36 NHA8 POC3 IND4 GLN14 MCH5 BRI21 CAL2 RCH24 NHA4 DOV42 TAL27 KAN12 CLT32* MAR15 ATL5 PHO5 DAR5 HOM38 13th 4274 2005 DAY22 CAL40 LVS38 ATL5 BRI14 MAR2 TEX35 PHO17 TAL24 DAR3 RCH1* CLT26 DOV35 POC27 MCH18 SON41 DAY16 CHI41 NHA6 POC27 IND2 GLN17 MCH29 BRI42 CAL6 RCH8 NHA38 DOV16 TAL13 KAN19 CLT23 MAR17 ATL35 TEX42 PHO27 HOM16 23rd 3611 2006 DAY11 CAL4 LVS4 ATL1 BRI10 MAR35 TEX1 PHO6 TAL39 RCH34 DAR21 CLT1* DOV7 POC7 MCH1 SON31 DAY25 CHI23 NHA8 POC31 IND36 GLN22 MCH4 BRI12 CAL1* RCH3 NHA16 DOV38 KAN33 TAL2 CLT1* MAR7 ATL38 TEX33 PHO7 HOM4* 8th 6173 2007 DAY7 CAL38 LVS35 ATL39 BRI19 MAR25 TEX20 PHO31 TAL12 RCH40 DAR20 CLT23 DOV11 POC22 MCH32 SON23 NHA25 DAY9 CHI32 IND40 POC27 19th 3489 Gillett Evernham Motorsports GLN26 MCH31 BRI2* CAL10 RCH8 NHA20 DOV32 KAN9 TAL16 CLT8 MAR15 ATL9 TEX18 PHO40 HOM24 2008 DAY7 CAL9 LVS6 ATL28 BRI7 MAR17 TEX25 PHO36 TAL23 RCH10 DAR22 CLT1 DOV31 POC1* MCH2 SON33 NHA30 DAY7 CHI15 IND7 POC7 GLN14 MCH40 BRI40 CAL8 RCH19 NHA11 DOV26 KAN21 TAL36 CLT2 MAR33 ATL33 TEX24 PHO13 HOM6 14th 4085 2009 Richard Petty Motorsports DAY29 CAL12 LVS11 ATL7 BRI5 MAR19 TEX19 PHO13 TAL36 RCH29 DAR23 CLT7 DOV6 POC15 MCH21 SON1* NHA10 DAY15 CHI3 IND7 POC5 GLN17 MCH11 BRI28 ATL1 RCH12 NHA38 DOV8 KAN6 CAL34 CLT3 MAR32 TAL2 TEX33 PHO15 HOM17 10th 6128 2010 Ford DAY30 CAL34 LVS9 ATL4* BRI34 MAR17 PHO39 TEX5 TAL21 RCH21 DAR20 DOV20 CLT12 POC27 MCH2 SON4 NHA36* DAY2 CHI6 IND13 POC19 GLN17 MCH14 BRI5 ATL32 RCH29 NHA14 DOV28 KAN37 CAL4 CLT38 20th 3961 Team Red Bull 83 Toyota MAR14 TAL26 TEX13 PHO30 HOM6 2011 4 DAY25 PHO6 LVS14 BRI9 CAL9 MAR39 TEX21 TAL37 RCH3 DAR4* DOV36 CLT22 KAN14 POC12 MCH28 SON20 DAY4 KEN13 NHA6 IND18* POC28 GLN26 MCH7 BRI11 ATL34 RCH38 CHI12 NHA15 DOV4 KAN2 CLT4 TAL6 MAR25 TEX3 PHO1 HOM7 14th 1041 2012 Hendrick Motorsports 5 Chevy DAY29 PHO34 LVS19 BRI37 CAL14 MAR38 TEX7 KAN8 RCH5 TAL4 DAR8 CLT1 DOV9 POC29 MCH33 SON14 KEN2 DAY7 NHA1 IND12 POC2 GLN13 MCH3 BRI9 ATL23 RCH12 CHI3 NHA5 DOV15 TAL12 CLT8 KAN4 MAR3 TEX25 PHO4 HOM21 4th 2345 2013 DAY36 PHO19 LVS2* BRI1 CAL9 MAR4 TEX11 KAN2 RCH21 TAL42 DAR17 CLT2* DOV23 POC36 MCH38 SON6 KEN11 DAY32 NHA11 IND3 POC1* GLN34 MCH7 BRI2 ATL36 RCH14 CHI12 NHA37 DOV13 KAN15 CLT2* TAL36 MAR27 TEX5 PHO2 HOM13 12th 2283 2014 DAY31 PHO11 LVS8 BRI8 CAL41 MAR22 TEX11 DAR37 RCH14 TAL8 KAN3 CLT14 DOV19 POC42 MCH5 SON6 KEN8 DAY27 NHA11 IND6* POC10 GLN12 MCH16 BRI35 ATL1 RCH17 CHI13 NHA23 DOV20 KAN22 CLT10 TAL12 MAR40 TEX38 PHO21 HOM12 15th 2234 2015 DAY9 ATL14 LVS17 PHO4 CAL17 MAR11 TEX8 BRI37 RCH6 TAL34 KAN17 CLT12 DOV4 POC13 MCH15 SON8 DAY32 KEN27 NHA19 IND24 POC43 GLN42 MCH15 BRI16 DAR12 RCH18 CHI24 NHA9 DOV6 CLT43 KAN4 TAL19 MAR9 TEX20 PHO26 HOM19 18th 939 2016 DAY13 ATL23 LVS10 PHO22 CAL28 MAR22 TEX8 BRI17 RCH4 TAL39 KAN16 DOV4 CLT22 POC6 MCH13 SON9 DAY30 KEN14 NHA25 IND18 POC15 GLN20 BRI13 MCH14 DAR7 RCH6 CHI7 NHA9 DOV12 CLT3 KAN10 TAL35 MAR11 TEX8 PHO13 HOM37 17th 898 2017 DAY7 ATL4 LVS12 PHO20 CAL20 MAR14 TEX38 BRI20 RCH22 TAL5 KAN15 CLT35 DOV17 POC35 MCH21 SON24 DAY18 KEN38 NHA28 IND1 POC11 GLN16 MCH38 BRI24 DAR24 RCH12 CHI21 NHA35 DOV14 CLT9 TAL8 KAN15 MAR16 TEX11 PHO19 HOM33 15th 2198 2018 Leavine Family Racing 95 Chevy DAY34 ATL21 LVS19 PHO24 CAL24 MAR24 TEX17 BRI34 RCH29 TAL17 DOV17 KAN21 CLT20 POC36 MCH23 SON20 CHI27 DAY4 KEN25 NHA19 POC30 GLN21 MCH26 BRI15 DAR24 IND LVS RCH ROV DOV TAL KAN MAR TEX PHO HOM 30th 358

Daytona 500 Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish 2004 Evernham Motorsports Dodge 27 41 2005 37 22 2006 27 11 2007 28 7 2008 Gillett Evernham Motorsports 10 7 2009 Richard Petty Motorsports 15 29 2010 Ford 4 30 2011 Team Red Bull Toyota 11 25 2012 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 20 29 2013 6 36 2014 5 31 2015 13 9 2016 13 13 2017 26 7 2018 Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 26 34

Xfinity Series NASCAR Xfinity Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Pts Ref 2002 Robert Yates Racing 98 Ford DAY CAR31 LVS DAR BRI32 TEX36 NSH TAL CAL18 RCH30 NHA NZH CLT29 DOV20 NSH KEN MLW DAY25 CHI25 GTW PPR IRP15 MCH10 BRIDNQ DAR18 RCH15 DOV19 KAN27 CLT32 MEM ATL21 CAR16 PHO18 HOM21 33rd 1887 2003 Akins Motorsports 38 Ford DAY8 CAR26 LVS11 DAR8 BRI13 TEX9 TAL37 NSH29 CAL4 RCH18 GTW31 NZH12 CLT6 DOV8 NSH25 KEN11 MLW16 DAY38 CHI28 NHA9 PPR10 IRP14 MCH2 BRI14 DAR6 RCH12 DOV4 KAN30 CLT8 MEM15 ATL7 PHO27 CAR18 HOM1 7th 4104 2004 Dodge DAY43 CAR26 LVS2 DAR11 BRI27 TEX32 NSH3 TAL38 CAL5 GTW13 RCH10 NZH16 CLT25 DOV7 NSH6 KEN17 MLW DAY6 CHI4 NHA4 PPR IRP MCH5 BRI34 CAL4 RCH9 DOV3 KAN13 CLT36 MEM ATL4 PHO11 DAR11 HOM18 11th 3698 2005 DAY5 CAL MXC LVS20 ATL5 TEX1* DAR34 DOV13 NSH KEN MLW DAY25 CHI12 MCH27 CLT12 MEM 21st 2511 Evernham Motorsports 6 Dodge NSH15 BRI PHO28 TAL31 CLT41 GLN13 BRI19 CAL5 RCH DOV KAN1 TEX PHO38 HOM39 79 RCH4 NHA12 PPR GTW IRP 2006 9 DAY33 CAL MXC LVS1 ATL2 BRI TEX11 NSH PHO TAL RCH40 DAR11 CLT16 DOV22 NSH KEN MLW DAY35 CHI30 NHA MAR GTW IRP GLN MCH BRI4 CAL1 RCH DOV KAN16 CLT43 MEM8 TEX24 PHO HOM8 31st 1959 2007 DAY41 CAL MXC LVS28 ATL7 BRI19 NSH TEX28 PHO TAL21 RCH DAR CLT1* DOV12 NSH KEN MLW NHA DAY6 CHI12 GTW IRP CGV GLN 27th 2199 Gillett Evernham Motorsports MCH31 BRI1 CAL6 RCH9 DOV KAN12 CLT17 MEM TEX PHO6 HOM25 2008 DAY35 CAL LVS ATL9 BRI2 NSH TEX21 PHO MXC TAL RCH14 DAR CLT16 DOV10 NSH KEN MLW NHA DAY6 CHI GTW IRP CGV GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH DOV KAN7 CLT11 MEM TEX PHO HOM 41st 1277 2009 Braun Racing 10 Toyota DAY CAL LVS BRI TEX NSH PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW NHA DAY5 CHI GTW IRP IOW GLN MCH BRI37 CGV ATL11 RCH DOV KAN CAL TEX30 PHO HOM 71st 562 43 CLT8 MEM 2010 38 DAY9 CAL LVS BRI32 NSH PHO TEX TAL RCH DAR4 DOV27 CLT26 NSH KEN ROA NHA DAY CHI GTW IRP IOW GLN MCH BRI37 CGV ATL19 RCH DOV KAN CAL CLT GTW TEX PHO 55th 816 Turner Motorsports Chevy HOM38 2011 38 DAY11 PHO LVS BRI2 CAL TEX11 TAL NSH RCH DAR7 DOV IOW BRI19 ATL5 RCH DOV4 KAN CLT28 TEX PHO HOM 106th 01 30 CLT22 CHI MCH ROA DAY CHI33 JR Motorsports 7 Chevy KEN4 NHA3 NSH IRP IOW GLN CGV 2012 Turner Motorsports 38 Chevy DAY9 PHO18 LVS10 BRI2 CAL TEX3 RCH10 TAL DAR18 IOW CLT17 DOV MCH ROA KEN DAY NHA6 CHI IND25 IOW GLN7 CGV BRI14 ATL28 RCH CHI KEN DOV8 CLT KAN TEX PHO5 HOM 111th 01 2013 JR Motorsports 5 Chevy DAY20 PHO LVS BRI CAL TEX8 RCH TAL3 DAR9 CLT2 DOV6 IOW MCH ROA KEN DAY NHA19 CHI IND26 IOW GLN18 MOH BRI8 ATL4 RCH CHI KEN DOV KAN CLT TEX PHO HOM 100th 01 2014 DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL TEX DAR RCH TAL22 IOW CLT DOV MCH ROA KEN DAY1 NHA CHI4 IND IOW GLN MOH BRI ATL RCH CHI KEN DOV KAN CLT TEX PHO HOM 85th 01 2015 88 DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL33 IOW DOV5 MCH CHI DAY4 KEN NHA IND IOW GLN MOH BRI ROA DAR RCH CHI12 KEN DOV CLT12 KAN TEX PHO10 HOM 90th 01 5 CLT3 2016 DAY3 ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL DOV CLT POC MCH IOW DAY KEN NHA IND IOW GLN MOH BRI ROA DAR RCH CHI KEN DOV CLT KAN TEX PHO HOM 98th 01 2017 88 DAY2 ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL15 CLT DOV POC MCH IOW DAY KEN NHA IND IOW GLN MOH BRI ROA DAR RCH CHI KEN DOV CLT KAN TEX PHO HOM 97th 01 2025 Richard Childress Racing 33 Chevy DAY ATL COA PHO LVS HOM MAR DAR BRI CAR14 TAL TEX CLT NSH MXC POC ATL CSC SON DOV IND IOW GLN DAY PIR GTW BRI KAN ROV LVS TAL MAR PHO 56th 23

Camping World Truck Series NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Pts Ref 2004 Ultra Motorsports 2 Dodge DAY ATL MAR MFD CLT DOV TEX MEM MLW KAN KEN GTW MCH IRP NSH BRI RCH NHA LVS CAL TEX MAR PHO DAR1* HOM1* 47th 380 2010 Kyle Busch Motorsports 18 Toyota DAY ATL MAR NSH KAN DOV CLT TEX MCH IOW GTW IRP POC2 NSH DAR BRI CHI KEN NHA LVS MAR TAL TEX PHO HOM 77th 175 2011 DAY PHO DAR1* MAR NSH DOV CLT KAN TEX KEN IOW NSH IRP POC MCH BRI ATL CHI NHA KEN LVS TAL MAR TEX HOM 86th 01 2012 Turner Motorsports 4 Chevy DAY MAR CAR1 KAN CLT DOV TEX KEN IOW CHI POC MCH BRI ATL IOW KEN LVS TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM 80th 01 2015 JR Motorsports 00 Chevy DAY ATL MAR KAN CLT1 DOV TEX GTW IOW KEN ELD POC MCH BRI MSP CHI NHA LVS TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM 84th 01

Season still in progress Ineligible for series points

ARCA Re/Max Series (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.) ARCA Re/Max Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Pts Ref 2002 Robert Yates Racing 98 Ford DAY ATL NSH SLM KEN CLT KAN POC MCH TOL SBO KEN BLN POC NSH ISF WIN DSF CHI SLM TAL14 CLT 127th 160

Camping World East Series NASCAR Camping World East Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pts Ref 2008 Dave Davis Motorsports 9 Dodge GRE IOW2 SBO GLN NHA TMP NSH ADI LRP MFD NHA DOV STA 51st 175

Whelen Modified Tour NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour results Year Car owner No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pts Ref 2009 John Holland 96 Chevy TMP STA STA NHA31 SPE RIV STA 45th 179 Alan Heinke 98 Chevy BRI28 TMP NHA MAR STA TMP

Superstar Racing Experience (key) * – Most laps led. 1 – Heat 1 winner. 2 – Heat 2 winner. Superstar Racing Experience results Year No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pts 2023 9 STA STA II MMS BER11 ELD LOS 23rd 01