NASCAR Winner Spotlight: Kasey Kahne Wins at Indianapolis
After much disappointment in 2017, Kasey Kahne broke through as a race winner at Indianapolis last weekend.
For the first time since 2014, Kasey Kahne can call himself a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series winner. Kahne struck gold as he kissed the bricks after winning the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis, snapping a 102-race winless streak. His last win came at Atlanta back in 2014. This was his 18th career victory in the Cup Series.
The feeling doesn't get better #brickyard400 win. The high fives from my team on front stretch proved how good it felt for all. Thank you! pic.twitter.com/s7kiIpakYr
— Kasey Kahne (@kaseykahne) July 24, 2017
This season has been full of disappointment for Kahne. Before the win, he only had three top 10 finishes and five DNFs. The only way to turn that kind of season around is by driving into Victory Lane. Kahne did just that, vaulting himself into a playoff position. It was looking like Kahne could only sneak into the playoffs with a win, as he was 22nd in points before the race.
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The Brickyard 400 looked like it was going to be a shootout between Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr., with everyone else racing for 3rd place. That all changed when the two wrecked racing for the lead early in the final stage. After that, it became anyone’s race.
Kahne, Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson found themselves on a different pit strategy from the leaders. The three needed a caution before they came to pit road. That yellow flag came as Kahne was exiting pit road. Ultimately, it put Kahne out front for a restart with Keselowski. Johnson took it three-wide before losing control of the No. 48 and wrecking.
With dark skies rolling in on a race that had a lengthy weather delay, there wasn’t much time for too many more restarts. On the final restart, Kahne got the best of Keselowski and made it to the overtime line before a final caution came ending the race. There was some controversy with the timing of the flag, but we will not discuss that here because it should not take away from what Kahne accomplished.
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The No. 5 team is usually overlooked at Hendrick Motorsports due to the fact that it shares a garage with three iconic cars. Kahne’s future with that team is uncertain due to his contract said to be expiring soon and his lack of production in the last few seasons. No matter what happens, Kahne has made it known to the racing world that he can still win on the sport’s highest level.