Posted on March 27, 2007

Is Kahne Able?

by Ben Gunby About The Author	Email   Print

In 2004 Kasey Kahne emerged as one of the hottest young stars in Nextel Cup racing. His thirteen top five finishes, which included seven among the top three, announced his arrival on the premier motor sports circuit in America Finishing the year with three consecutive fifth place finishes prior to wrecking at Homestead led to a promising 2005. In 2005 the dreaded sophomore slump hit and Kahne struggled through a miserable season, despite notching his first win in May at Richmond. However, 2006 was a bit better as Kahne lived up to the promise he showed in his rookie season as he lead the series with six wins and made the Chase for the Cup. Expectations were high for 2007. Perhaps they’ve just yet to begin the 2007 season.

The season couldn’t have started much worse for Kahne and his team. Aside from Michael Waltrip, few people had an opening week much worse than Kahne. A 50 point dock in both owners and drivers points set the team back thanks to a penalty during qualifying. Worse than that was a four race suspension for team director Kenny Francis. Kahne was unable to build on the momentum his plate program gained with his runner-up at Talladega in 2006. The team qualified poorly, ran poorly in the Gatorade Duels and was never a factor in the Daytona 500. His seventh place finish was due entirely to his being able to fortunately avoid the wrecks that were littered during the final stages of the race. The car was completely uncompetitive, so while the finish was promising, the way they got it was not.

California though got off to a better start as Kahne qualified 2^nd and led early, but an engine problem led to a 38^th place finish. At Las Vegas the next week old demons came back up to haunt Kahne. Several times during the latter half of the season in 2006 Kahne got over aggressive trying to get too much out of his car and wound up taking top ten cars and finishing in the twenties or thirties (Indianapolis, Watkins Glen, Atlanta). Las Vegas was more of the same. Kahne had a top ten car, not a winning car, but a good car. However, with less than twenty laps to go, and still inside the top ten, Kahne pushed the issue with the lapped car of David Gilliland and wound up backed in the fence. Suddenly a top ten race, and good points recovery day became a 35^th place showing. Francis absence perhaps was its most evident the next week at Atlanta as Kahne struggled to find the handle at a track where success previously came pretty easy. He qualified well enough, but immediately went backwards and even lost a lap under green. Over the course of the afternoon they got the car running much, much better but Kahne just never could get that lucky dog back. Then, to hit the trifecta of misfortune, Kahne got caught up the Greg Biffle and David Reutimann wreck and wound up finishing 39^th. Mechanical failure, driver error, and just plain bad luck had sent Kahne reeling in points, so much so that they entered Sunday’s race having to race their way back into the top 35.

Friday was good to the 9 bunch as they qualified on the front row for the third time in five races. Like his Evernham counterparts, Kahne had a strong car and showed that by staying in the top 5 the first half of the race. However, an over adjustment led to a car that quickly began fading backwards through the field. Along the way to the back half of the top ten Kahne cut a left rear tire and spun into the wall in turn three. It looked like NASCAR’s next big star was going to be forced to sweat bullets next week via being out of the top 35. However, with Francis back atop the tool box, Kahne and his team went to work to do something they haven’t done a lot of lately, salvage the best finish they could get. They lost three laps thanks to the accident, but they managed to fix the car to a point where it was still very competitive. In fact, Kahne went from outside of the top 30 following his wreck to a 19^th place finish. It certainly wasn’t the showing they had hoped for considering their strong car, but it also wasn’t in the thirties.

So while Kahne got into the top 35 and his team can breathe easy heading to Martinsville, they are just one mishap on that half miler from being forced to qualify on speed the following race. With the expansion of the Chase to twelve teams; qualifying for the Chase isn’t out of the question. However, for Kahne to do so he and his team better get back on track, and quickly. In five races this year they’ve had a top five caliber car twice, failing to even finish on the lead lap both times. They’ve had a top ten car once, and Kahne wrecked it, and they’ve been junk twice, once managing a top ten. One finish better than 19^th in 5 races isn’t how you win titles. One lead lap finish in five starts isn’t how you win a championship. Forcing the issue and failing to finish races where he’s got a 10^th place car won’t win Kahne any titles either. Kahne can go fast, everyone knows that. However, this year is further proof; he’s still not prepared to win a championship. Winning championships requires knowing how to race; just being able to drive fast isn’t enough. Though the accident during the middle of the race didn’t indicate things were changing, their ability to get back into the top twenty by the end of the day is a good indication that perhaps they’ve realized what they have to do. Then again, the incident with David Ragan that caused the green-white-checkered says Kahne still has some learning to do, even though this time he avoided taking himself out. He’s got the talent, but does he really have what it takes to be a champion? In year four, if he doesn’t figure it out soon, it’s likely he never will.

You can contact Ben at bengunby@speedwaymedia.com

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