NASCAR: Kasey Kahne Has To Be Better In 2016

Kasey Kahne is one of NASCAR’s most overlooked talents, but in order to gain more respect, he is going to have to perform better.

For the past four seasons, Kasey Kahne has been the “other guy” in Hendrick Motorsports. Sharing a spot on a team with Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. is no easy task because of all the success that is constantly being pumped into a legendary team and organization.

When Kahne finished his first year with HMS, the pair looked to be promising. He won two races (Charlotte and Loudon) and added in 12 top-5’s, 19 top-10’s and four poles. He drove the No. 5 car to a fourth-place finish in the standings that season, finishing just behind his teammate Jimmie Johnson.

However, the years since then have not been kind to Kahne. From 2013-2014, he combined for three wins, 14 top-5’s and 25 top-10’s finishing 12th and 15th in the standings.

Kahne hit a new low in 2015. For the first time in five seasons, he failed to get to Victory Lane. He only led 66 laps all season long which was 120 laps less than his previous worst of 186 in 2008. To add to his misfortune, Kahne missed the Chase for the first time in his HMS career, ultimately finishing the season in 18th place.

Though his overall stats may say otherwise, Kahne did have a few races where he was contending for a win. He led laps at three of the four restrictor plate tracks, which HMS is always dominant at. He also fared well at other tracks like Dover, Phoenix and Richmond but was never able to pick up a win.

Despite his lack of success in the Sprint Cup Series, Kahne also competed in seven Xfinity races and one Camping World Truck Series race, which he won in spectacular fashion. The win came at Charlotte, a track that he tends to run well at.

Back in 2014, Kahne signed a contract extension with HMS to ensure him of a spot on the team through the 2018 season, meaning he has three more seasons to show Rick Hendrick that he is worth keeping around.

2016 is going to be a pivotal year for Kahne. Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are now the leaders of the team with Jeff Gordon retired and working as an analyst with FOX Sports. Also, Chase Elliott will be running his first full-time season in the Cup Series.

With all of these events taking place, there is an obvious hole within the team as they look for a third driver who is going to stay consistent and compete for championships alongside the No. 48 and No. 88 each and every season.

Entering the 2016 season, Kahne will have sponsors like Farmers Insurance, Great Clips, Liftmaster, Quicken Loans, Panasonic Toughbook (formerly with the No. 24) and Mountain Dew. Farmers Insurance, his most loyal sponsor, will only be with him for 12 races in 2016. Typically, it’s not a good sign when a driver does not have a clear-cut, No. 1 sponsor and that’s something to take note of.

Throughout the 2016 season, it will be critical for Kahne to find success again by not only winning races but also by having solid runs and improving on his 18.1 average finish in 2015. The bottom line is that he simply cannot keep racing with mediocrity and he must pull himself out of the middle of the pack.

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Though Kasey Kahne will remain with Hendrick Motorsports for the next few seasons, he is going to have to win a few more races and make some deep Chase runs in order to prove that he has the talent to win a Championship. 2016 is a perfect time to start working on that.