Gillett Evernham proves its team has what it takes to win
By Rea White - Associate Editor
Monday, May 19, 2008
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Jim Fluharty / NASCAR Scene
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CONCORD, N.C. – Gillett Evernham Motorsports’ Kasey Kahne both dispelled the notion that the fan vote is overrated and proved that his team still has what it takes to win Saturday night at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
Kahne failed to race his way into the Sprint All-Star Race, but made it into the field thanks to the votes of his fans. But once in the
four-segment, 100-lap race, he took advantage of others' pitfalls and moved to the front to take the million-dollar prize. While there might not have been any points awarded for the victory, the team may find more value in the morale boost it found.
Starting at the rear as the last car in, Kahne found confidence in the fact that he was able to race his way to the front. Leaders Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin faltered because of engine problems, but Kahne moved past the rest of the contenders.
Kahne may not have gained Sprint Cup points, but he certainly might have gotten some traction on the season.
Kahne could certainly use it. He entered the race with one top-10 finish in the last six races. This was supposed to be the season when he and his Kenny Francis-led team got a handle on things. Instead, it’s proven to be a series of struggles of late.
So heading to victory lane did a lot for this group.
“To be that strong, to basically pass every car, just work our way to the front feels good,” he said. “Feels like we did a big deal tonight,
did a lot. You know, it gives us a lot of momentum. Gives me a ton of confidence and momentum as a driver. Just really looking forward to next week, the Nationwide race, as well as the 600 next Sunday night.”
Ray Evernham, who sold majority ownership of the team to George Gillett Jr. last season and now has a more open role within the
organization, said that he obviously felt good about the results.
He said that the team had been saying that it had better cars and this was finally a chance to prove just that.
“Tonight we've got the results to show it,” Evernham said. “As I said, I've got all the confidence in the world in these two guys. They can win the races, challenge for championships. We needed something to get confidence and momentum and things back to prove that we're not as bad as it looked, and tonight we did that.”
They also boosted the confidence of Kahne and company.
The driver admitted earlier in the weekend that he felt down about his season to this point. Two years after making the Chase For The Nextel Cup, Kahne is 14th in points – just a little outside Chase contention for this year – but he hasn’t been anywhere near a victory. He last won a points race in October 2006 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway – the season when he won six races.
So the people surrounding him certainly understand why the 28-year-old could be disappointed in his 2008 season.
“I can understand why Kasey is kind of down,” Francis said. “I get that way myself pretty bad. We got to realize we're racing – I feel like
we're racing the best drivers in the world. You can bring over Formula One guys or IndyCar, whatever.
“I feel like this series is the best in the world, and I feel like we're racing against some of the smartest crew members in the world. I feel
honored even to be here much less run in the top 10 or win races. … You always want to win. It's always disappointing when you go as long as we have without winning one.”
Now, the team has found a spark of hope, a moment of celebration and a way of showing the competition that Kahne and his group still have what it takes to get to the top.
As they prepare to return to the same track next weekend, though for a 600-mile race this time, Kahne says that win is worth more than the million-dollar payday it netted his group.
“Just winning tonight, I'm already looking forward to next weekend's 600,” Kahne said. “… It just gets me more excited. It gets me excited to come back to the track next week. It gets me excited to go test Wednesday wherever we're testing.
“I think it's good. I know it's good for myself, and I definitely know it's good for the team and for the guys that work on the car. They need to win once in a while to be like, ‘Man, I'm putting in so much time, so many hours, and it pays off’. We won a really big race. So, yeah, I think it's really big for everybody.”
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Kasey Kahne
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