Kahne confident he can rally back into top 12 of Cup standings

By SceneDaily Staff
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
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Kevin C. Cox
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Time is running out for Kasey Kahne.

With just two races left before the Chase For The NASCAR Sprint Cup gets under way, the Gillett Evernham Motorsports driver is 14th in the series standings entering Sunday night’s Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway.

To be a part of the championship-contending group, Kahne needs to overtake two drivers ahead of him in the points. While that may not be easy, California could bode well for Kahne’s bid to rebound from consecutive 40th-place finishes that have sent the driver tumbling six spots in the standings.

Kahne has been the strongest throughout his career on the 1.5- and two-mile tracks similar to Auto Club Speedway. And his nine previous starts at California have produced one win, three top-five finishes and six top-10s.

“I like California,” he said. “We’ve usually been pretty strong on that type of track, and we’ve had some success there before, so coming off of a disappointing weekend at Bristol, it’s definitely good to be going to a track you feel you can run well at.”

Kahne is 56 points behind 12th-place Clint Bowyer and 44 behind 13th-place David Ragan.

“We ran into some problems the last two weeks that set us back,” Kahne said of the engine failure and crash that ruined potentially good finishes at Michigan and Bristol. “I was looking at sixth in points and being able to get there [before the Chase]. Now, we’re a little further behind.

"I’m just excited to be in the position that we’re in. I have a real legitimate shot at making the Chase and a great shot at running well this weekend.”

Kahne is also traditionally strong at Richmond, site of the final race of the regular season. And for that reason, he remains upbeat about his Chase prospects.

“California is a good track for us, and so is Richmond,” he said. “I’m just looking forward to the challenge and seeing how it all works out.”

Mentioned Drivers: Kasey Kahne

Comments

7 responses to "Kahne confident he can rally back into top 12 of Cup standings". Post a Comment.
  1. 1
    Jimmy Rouse said:
    Aug 27, 2008 at 2:51 PM

    if he makes it he makes it

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  2. 2
    Kelsey Hannigan said:
    Aug 27, 2008 at 7:59 PM

    Kahne's a great driver, and when he makes it you know its him not the car that is performing. With his skill I have no doubt that he will make it this year.

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  3. 3
    said:
    Aug 28, 2008 at 10:10 AM

    Kahne is an awesome driver! I believe he will make the chase!

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  4. 4
    Jennifer Nelsen said:
    Aug 28, 2008 at 11:32 AM

    I beleive Kasey will make the chase. He is a great driver. He does great at Claifornia and won his first race at Richmond. He also was in this prosition in 2006 and he won at california and then finished second at Richmond and made the chase. I think he will do great the next 2 weeks and make the chase. GO KASEY GO!!!!!!!

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  5. 5
    cory moore said:
    Aug 29, 2008 at 1:58 PM

    I think everybody has forgotten that this team was in this same situation 2 years ago and he ended up winning at california and finished in the top 5 at richmond to make the chase.

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  6. 6
    Helen Varga said:
    Aug 30, 2008 at 10:10 AM

    Kasey's got a great shot at getting back in; he's too good to stay down. GO KASEY!

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  7. 7
    said:
    Aug 30, 2008 at 10:42 AM

    I'm with Corey! Kasey has won at this track before, and has a long record of doing well here. I know and hope that he does great here! NUMBER 9 BABY, MAKE US PROUD!!!

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2009 Sprint Cup Race for the Chase Standings

Driver Standings after the AMP Energy 500

1 Jimmie Johnson 6248
2 Mark Martin -184
3 Jeff Gordon -192
4 Juan Pablo Montoya -239
5 Tony Stewart -279
6 Kurt Busch -312
7 Greg Biffle -340
8 Ryan Newman -402
9 Kasey Kahne -414
10 Carl Edwards -437
11 Denny Hamlin -448
12 Brian Vickers -556

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