NASCAR community, The Final Score is here for you!!
Today's NASCAR chat begins with a comment from loyal Final Score reader GoKaseyKahne9. Please read and then discuss.
Tomorrow's topic? That's up to you. E-mail me at arieber@newsday.com and suggest one, or leave a suggestion in the comments section here, and this can be your home for NASCAR talk on Newsday.com.
And if IRL people want to get involved too, just let me know.
Here's today's topic. What do the rest of you think?
Kasey Kahne is a great driver. He came from sprint car racing, same roots as NASCAR greats like Tony Stewart. He won rookie of the year and then won his first race the year after.
Then he had that incredible season during which he won SIX races--the most of any other driver that year. And although he struggled last year, it looks like this year is picking up for his team.
He's won twice this season, and that win at the All-Star Challenge as the fan vote--what a win!!! I like Kahne because of his potential.
I can build loyalty for him because I know he's going to be around and winning races for a long time. He's no flash in the pan--he'll have bad seasons here and there, just like any other driver. But he's a great driver, destined for the record books.
Comments (2)
You're probably right, he does have potential and has won a lot in the past but it looks like all the Dodges are having trouble this year. That could be what's bringing him down. It's not just his GEM team but Penske too. And Newman's so fed up with it that he's leaving next year (I doubt he'll have much more luck at Stewart-Haas if that's where he winds up).
As of now Kahne's the only one in a Dodge who's making the chase and I wouldn't be surprised if he falls below the #12 spot to either Bowyer, who is great on the upcoming tracks or Vickers, who has surged during these past 6 races.
The all-star win was cool because he was voted in but keep in mind a lot of teams use this race to experiment with their cars due to the fact that points-wise, it means nothing. Gibbs built their own engines and their dominant cars wound up having engine trouble and fell out of the race that night. If this wasn't the case he probably wouldn't have been in position for the win.
I see him as a pretty good driver like the LaBontes or Martin. Not as legend as The King, Ironhead or Wonderboy (Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt or Jeff Gordon to outsiders).But the main thing in NA$CAR is to learn to push the product. A mediocrity like Michael Waltrip can last forever if he cabn learn to mention his sponsor 8 times in a 15 second clip. Kahne is overcoming his shyness and using his baby blues. Still don't think of him as a Bud man but with Belgians buying the firm, maybe they'll change their image.