IndyCar: Could Kasey Kahne make the switch in 2018?

Kasey Kahne is still without a confirmed full-time ride in the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season. Could he try his hand at IndyCar?

Kasey Kahne has always had a temptation to race in the IndyCar Series, and he remains interested in doing so to this day. The 37-year-old currently does not have a full-time ride in the NASCAR Cup Series next season, as Hendrick Motorsports announced that William Byron will replace him next year after his sixth season with the team.

While there are still some possibilities out there as far as Kahne getting a full-time Cup Series ride next season goes, most notably one as the driver of the #95 Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet currently driven by Michael McDowell, if he is unable to secure one, could he potentially come to IndyCar next year?

Kahne has never driven an IndyCar competitively before, but he has come close several times. He expressed interest in doing so even before his NASCAR Cup Series career began back in 2004 and even before his NASCAR Busch Grand National Series (now Xfinity) Series career began back in 2002.

And, while not recently, he has had time behind the wheel of an IndyCar before back in 2001 on his 21st birthday in a test session set up by Dan Davis, who was the Ford Racing Technology boss at the time. Kahne tested an IndyCar at the Homestead Miami Speedway road course and had this to say about it:

"“I really didn’t know what to expect. I’d never driven a car like it, especially on a road course. I was pretty nervous at the start, but all the guys from Team Rahal were really good at helping me to feel comfortable in the car. The power of the car and how quickly it accelerated and braked was just amazing. It really opened my eyes.”"

Later that year in October, Kahne stated the following:

"“If I could get a lot of testing in over the winter, I’d love to run a Champ car in CART and also run the Indianapolis 500. That’s the only way I’d want to do it, though.”"

Well, that didn’t end up happening, as evidenced by the fact that Kahne went to the Busch Grand National Series in 2002 before getting his first full-time ride in the Cup Series in 2004. He has been a full-time Cup Series driven ever since 2004.

But that didn’t stop him from thinking about IndyCar. In 2011, more than 10 years after his IndyCar test at Homestead, when $5 million was on the table for a driver if said driver could start from last and win the IndyCar season finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kahne was extremely interested in being the driver who got the opportunity to do so.

However, Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports, told Kahne, who had signed with the team in 2010 to start driving full-time for the team in 2012 following Mark Martin’s departure, that he could not participate in the event, and Kahne obeyed his command.