NASCAR's Kasey Kahne
by CHRIS DICICCO
Kasey Kahne always knew from a young age that he wanted to be a race car driver. He was born on April 10, 1980 in Enumclaw, Washington and now resides in Mooresville, North Carolina. He grew up racing on dirt tracks in his hometown of Enumclaw. He raced with his brother, Kale, cousins and friends. They would build tracks on their own although occasionally his father would build the tracks. Because he was brought up with a lot of land to play around on, these kids would enjoy nothing better than just racing around on their four wheelers.
He took to open wheel sprint cars at Deming Speedway at aged 17 in Deming, Washington. This was before he moved up to Skagit speedway which then had him moving to USAC. There he was approached to be hired by Steve Lewis who had in the past, employ some future NASCAR drivers. Kahne was formidable on the track and proved himself worthy of being a racecar driver when he was named Rookie of the Year and win the national midget championship. He then went on to make 20 starts in the Busch Series for Robert Yates Racing. Soon after, he went on to win his first pole at Michigan International Speedway and his first Busch race at the ford 300.
Kahne��s big break came when he had to replace Bill Elliot at the end of 2003 however, because Kahne was still under contract with Ford he was served with a lawsuit as Khane would have be driving a car that was being sponsored by Dodge. The kinks were worked out after some negotiations and Kahne then went on to do what he was good at doing. He won nearly all the races he participated in and managed to get the Raybestos Rookie of the Year award.
In his sophomore season, Kahne managed to bag his first career NEXTEL cup victory after gaining control in the Chevy American Revolution 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Because of the newly imposed tire and spoiler rule changes set in by NASCAR, Kahne had a couple of issues with the handling however, he had to pay the price with nine DNFs during the year some of which were contributed by accidents. Kahne however has learned to take the experience and turn it into results.
Not many rookies have been able to leave an impression as Kahne has. He became a household name at the end of his rookie season during the NASCAR NEXTEL runs. Even then he says that it hasn��t always been glitzy. His worst experience during his years of traveling and racing was his first in Busch when he had to stay at a motel in Darlington. He was so disgusted by the condition of the motel that he decided to sleep in his clothes. His fondest memory of NASCAR was when Jeff Gordon spun him on the pit road. When asked what his favorite racing moment was, Kahne said that winning the Dirt Cup in Washington for the second time in his career was one of the highlights in his life that he was proud of.
In 2005, Kahne created the Kasey Kahne Foundation which aims to help the chronically ill children, their families and under privileged youth. The Kasey Kahne Foundation wants to provide hope, encourage creativity and imagination for these children while they try to improve the lives of the less fortunate.
Besides being actively involved in the Kasey Kahne Foundation, Kahne also enjoys doing regular things with his friends. He skis, rides snowmobiles and fishes when he has free time on his off track days.
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