NASCAR Cup Series: Will Kasey Kahne return in 2018?

Kasey Kahne has missed the last four races and is set to miss a fifth this weekend. Will he return before the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season ends?

Leavine Family Racing’s Kasey Kahne last made a NASCAR Cup Series start in the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway back on Sunday, September 2. But after starting his Cup Series career, which began back in 2004, with a streak of 529 consecutive starts, he has missed each of the four races that have taken place since this race.

The 38-year-old Enumclaw, Washington native suffered a case of extreme heat exhaustion following the 500-mile race at Darlington Raceway in the Darlington, South Carolina heat. Ever since that race, physicians have been monitoring and evaluating his health ever since.

Kahne’s first missed race since before his Cup Series career began was the 26th race of the 36-race 2018 season. This race, which was the regular season finale, took place at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Kahne then missed all three of the races in the first round of the playoffs, the round of 16. These races took place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Richmond Raceway and the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval.

More from NASCAR Cup Series

• NASCAR Cup Series: New team set to compete in 2024
• NASCAR: Surprising name continuously linked to new seat
• NASCAR driver at risk of missing the Daytona 500?
• NASCAR set for rare appearance last seen 13 years ago
• NASCAR team adds third car, names driver for 2024 Daytona 500

Cup Series veteran Regan Smith replaced Kahne behind the wheel of the #95 Chevrolet in each of the four races that he has missed, and he is set to do so once again this weekend, as Kahne is set to miss the Gander Outdoors 400 at Dover International Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

With just six races remaining on the schedule once this Sunday’s race at Dover International Speedway reaches its conclusion, will Kahne, who is set to retire from Cup Series competition once the 2018 season comes to an end, make another Cup Series start?

While we can never be sure when serious health issues are involved, things do look pretty hopeful as far as Kahne’s return is concerned. In fact, there was originally a good chance that he was going to return to this Sunday’s race at Dover International Speedway.

However, Kahne participated in a private medical test session at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Tuesday afternoon with his physicians that resulted in the conclusion being drawn that he is not quite ready to return to the Cup Series for a full race quite yet.

The fact that Kahne was able to take part in this test certainly shows a sign of progress, which could bode well for him as he continues to try to work his way back to competing in Cup Series races.

However, does the fact that there was a good chance that he would return to the Cup Series this weekend heading into the test combined with the fact that it was determined after the test that he will not be returning yet after all mean that his odds of returning in the future are small?

Knowing Kahne and understanding the fact that he missed zero of the 529 races that were contested from the time his Cup Series career began at the beginning of the 2004 season through the race at Darlington Raceway early last month, it would not be shocking to see him to return to Cup Series competition for at least a few more races this season before he retires.

While Kahne did turn down a potential offer from Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2019 season, which would lead many to believe that his heart isn’t in racing anymore, the fact that he participated in this test on Tuesday shows that he wants to get back to finish out this season.

Do you believe Kasey Kahne will return to competition before the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season comes to an end, or do you believe that his Cup Series career has already concluded? Our thoughts and prayers are with him as he continues to recover from his health issues and as he continues to try to return to Cup Series competition.