For Kahne, it's all 'relative'

By Kenny Bruce
Monday, November 06, 2006

Sure, there was that one time that his brother was just a little bit late getting to the race track. With the motorhome. Just a little bit, mind you.

"That was pretty entertaining," Kasey Kahne, driver of the Evernham Motorsports No. 9 Dodge and 2006 Chase For The Nextel Cup contender, says.

"There was some yelling going on when it finally did get there. I think he had a long night the night before and had to sleep in or something."

The tardy motorhome driver just happened to be Kale Kahne, Kasey's younger brother and one of several relatives who have been swept up on the magic carpet ride that has landed the Enumclaw, Wash., racer smack-dab in the middle of NASCAR.

"I don't think that could happen unless the driver was your brother," Kasey, 26, says, smiling at the recollection. "I think in any other case the guy would probably get fired."

Kale, 23, owns up to the late arrival when asked about the matter.

"I had a little fun the night before," he says. "Didn't get up on time, didn't show up at Richmond on time.

"[Kasey] got to the track and called me. He said, 'Where are you?' I said, 'I'm just pulling in.'

"And he said, 'Well, you better get your ass over here. I'm sitting in your [parking] spot.'

"But really, it wasn't any big deal."

It was, actually, just another day in the lives of the Kahne clan, if not one of the largest then certainly one of the tightest, groups of kinfolk on the Cup circuit today.

The list of relatives tied to this year's leading race winner includes a brother, uncle, cousins, sister, mother and grandmother. Each performs a specific duty - from running Kahne's ever-growing fan club to working on the team's cars to helping oversee his Sprint Car effort. But they do it not because it's a job, but because it's a job working with family.

"I've had people tell me to be careful with having too much family [involvement]," Kasey says, "because it's hard to get a family to work together in certain ways. But the relationship I have with my family is not like that at all. It's a great relationship."

And as he continues to work his way through his first appearance in the Chase - NASCAR's 10-race, championship-determining format - he says having relatives share in the excitement and the fun allows him to enjoy the experience that much more. But it's no different, he says, than having them around during the rest of the year.

"They're about the only people I do really talk to, and it's pretty nice," he says. "You can tell them anything you want to and know that it's not going any further.

"I think it's a benefit throughout the entire season. Nothing's really changed during the Chase, other than the fact that everybody's excited that we are in it this year. Everything's the same. My motorhome still shows up to the track on time. Everything's good."

The family has always been close, but didn't begin working together until Kahne began his climb up NASCAR's ladder. Before his racing career began to gain altitude, Kale was already on the road, spending six months working in the World of Outlaws Series for Mark Kinser. When Kasey was tabbed for the No. 38 Akins Motorsports Busch ride, the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place.

Older cousin Kole serves as Kasey's race-day spotter while Kale, in addition to driving the motorhome, spots for Kasey during Busch and Cup practice sessions. During races, he works as part of the pit support group, catching tires, handing the pit sign and cleaning the car's grille during stops when needed.

Sandy Kahne, an uncle, works on Kahne's Cup team, and is a part-time truck driver for Evernham Motorsports. Cousin Willie Kahne heads up Kasey's own open-wheel operation, which currently fields a winged Sprint entry for driver Joey Saldana. Kasey says that outfit is expanding, with hopefully two USAC teams joining the operation for 2007.

Sister Shannon Adams runs the Kasey Kahne Foundation, which raises funds for charitable organizations aimed at helping chronically ill children and their families. Meanwhile, Kahne's mother, Tammy, and grandmother run his fan club and online store.

While Kasey might be the one getting headlines for his exploits on the track, the family seems comfortable with the role each person plays. The family feuds, he says, are few and far between.

"I understand that I get a lot more of the spotlight than, say, my brother or my cousins, and that could make some people jealous," he says. "But I'm fortunate in that they aren't like that. They're happy with who they are, that we all get to do what we do each week.

"We have a blast hanging out. It's not a big concern, that's what's cool about it."

"He may yell at me more than the average person," Kale says, "but that's just because I'm his younger brother and he knows he can take it out on me or whatever. That part sort of stinks. But we just split up for 10 minutes or whatever and then we're fine. It's good."

In the end, Kasey says, "it's better to have 350 great days [with your family] and 15 days when you want to kill each other."

Mentioned Drivers: Kasey Kahne

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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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