Kahne confident of Chase spot despite tight nature of points standings
By SceneDaily Staff
Saturday, July 12, 2008
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JOLIET, Ill. – Positioned eighth in the Sprint Cup Series standings, Kasey Kahne has little breathing room between himself and several drivers he’s competing with for a spot in the Chase For The NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Just 34 points separate Kahne and 13th-place Kevin Harvick. Behind Harvick several drivers, including Roush Fenway Racing’s David Ragan and Red Bull Racing’s Brian Vickers, could feasibly rally into the Chase field with strong outings over the final eight races of NASCAR’s regular season.
It seems, at least, that Kahne might would be worried about staying in Chase position with so many competitors nipping at his heels. But as of right now, that's not the case.
“I don’t really feel the pressure yet,” Kahne said at Chicagoland Speedway, site of Saturday night’s LifeLock.com 400. “I remember in 2006 we were fighting for that 10th [and last Chase] spot at the time and there was a ton of pressure the last three races. Right now I don’t feel it. I feel like we’re one of the top six or seven cars in the top 12.
“I really feel that way about our team and our cars right now. ... We're sitting in eighth – it’s really close back to 13th – but at the same time, I think that we’re one of the better cars. We can definitely have ourselves in a good position when the Chase starts.”
Kahne’s confidence stems from a recent series of strong performances. The Gillett Evernham Motorsports driver has two wins this season, both of which have come in the last two months.
Kahne also won the non-points-paying Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte and has two poles. While his Chase spot may not be mathematically secured, Kahne believes he’ll have no problem qualifying as long his team performs at the level at which it is capable of performing.
"I know that we are progressing as a team, as a company,” he said. “All the cars are better and the things that we are doing to the race cars are much different from what we did four months ago. So I think, as a company, we are definitely progressing. I’ve really learned a lot about the [car of tomorrow] and how to make it turn and still be on the race track."
Kahne, whose points wins came at Charlotte and Pocono, says he’s had cars capable of going to victory lane on days when circumstances prevented it.
“Even at Sonoma and New Hampshire where we run 31st and 33rd, we qualified well at Sonoma but had an issue in the race. At New Hampshire, I didn’t qualify that well but drove all the way up to second passing cars,” Kahne said. “The cars have been there. We’re still very close. We’re just as good as we were at the [Coca-Cola] 600 and Pocono. I’m really looking forward to this next eight-race stretch. Those tracks should all be good for us. I feel like we're still learning, still getting better. We’ve got some great race cars.”
Rather than being concerned about falling out of the top 12, Kahne is focused on improving his position for the Chase.
“It’s a great time of the season, a great time of the year for us to show that we deserve to be in that top 12 in points and hopefully win a couple more times before the Chase rolls around,” he said.
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Kasey Kahne
Comments
1 response to "Kahne confident of Chase spot despite tight nature of points standings"
said:
Jul 14, 2008 at 7:25 PMI've got faith, he can do it! GO KASEY!!
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