NASCAR: Kasey Kahne turned down possible Stewart-Haas Racing ride for 2019
By Asher Fair
Kasey Kahne reportedly turned down a chance to discuss potentially driving for Stewart-Haas Racing in the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Leavine Family Racing’s Kasey Kahne announced earlier this week that the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season will be his final season as a full-time driver in the sport. The 38-year-old Enumclaw, Washington native is currently in his first season driving the #95 Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet, and he is in his 15th season as a full-time Cup Series driver.
Kahne drove for Evernham Motorsports from the 2004 season through the majority of the 2007 season before they became known as Gillett Evernham Motorsports later in the 2007 season.
Kahne continued driving for the team in the 2008 season, and he continued driving for them in the 2009 season as well when they became known as Richard Petty Motorsports. His final season driving for the team was the 2010 season. He then spent the 2011 season driving for the Red Bull Racing Team.
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From the 2012 season through the 2017 season, Kahne drove for Hendrick Motorsports, by far the highest caliber team that he has driven for in his Cup Series career. Moving from Hendrick Motorsports to Leavine Family Racing is not a move that many drivers would look forward to. In fact, Kahne currently sits in 28th place in the championship standings. Last season, he qualified for the playoffs with a Brickyard 400 victory.
But according to Motorsport.com, Kahne’s decision to not return to full-time Cup Series competitive reportedly did not have anything to do with the competitiveness (or lack thereof) of his race team, as he reportedly had the chance to discuss possibly returning to a top-tier team next season.
A Stewart-Haas Racing representative recently reached out to speak to Kahne about potentially replacing Kurt Busch as the driver of the #41 Ford, as Busch’s future with Stewart-Haas Racing is far from certain.
In fact, there are already reports suggesting that Busch will be leaving the team at the end of the 2018 season and replacing Jamie McMurray at Chip Ganassi Racing as the driver of the #1 Chevrolet starting next season, although nothing has been confirmed as far as Busch’s 2019 contract is concerned.
Busch currently sits in fourth place in the championship standings in what has been one of the most consistent seasons of his Cup Series career.
But Kahne reportedly told this Stewart-Haas Racing representative that his mind was already made up and there was no chance that he would return to the Cup Series as a full-time driver next season.
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Who will end up driving the #41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford in the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season? One thing that we now know for certain is the fact that Kasey Kahne is officially out of the mix. Will Kurt Busch return to the team next year?