Kahne nearly repeated McMurray's feat

Rookie came up three feet short on second career start

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. -- Kasey Kahne wasn't nervous until he got out of his No. 9 Dodge and faced the horde of cameras that had gathered on pit road after Sunday's Subway 400.

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Kahne had just finished the second NASCAR Nextel Cup race of his career, battling defending NASCAR champion Matt Kenseth to the checkered flag at North Carolina Speedway.

The final laps were tense, as rookie Kahne tried to find a way past Kenseth while trying to hold off third-place Jamie McMurray.

But nervous?

"I wasn't nervous at the time," Kahne said. "I was just racing. I try to stay as focused as possible. I'm probably more nervous right now with everybody in my face."

	Kahne was attempting to give Evernham his second straight win at The Rock. Credit: Autostock

Inside the car, though, Kahne was as cool as a winter day in Enumclaw, Wash. -- Kahne's hometown. The yellow stripes on the back of his No. 9 Dodge say he's a rookie, but Kahne didn't drive like one Sunday.

"I was just trying to control myself and stay calm and not overdrive a corner," Kahne said. "That's the biggest thing. You can overdrive a corner so easy on older tires."

Kahne didn't make any mistakes, but he still fell .010 seconds short of beating Kenseth after a banzai final-corner move.

Kahne was trying to duplicate what McMurray did two years ago: win in his second career race. While Kahne didn't lead a lap all day, he was a factor throughout, driving smart but hard.

Crew chief Tommy Baldwin brought Kahne an egg Saturday afternoon, telling his young driver to treat the throttle like an egg in Sunday's race. Kahne knew he had to be smooth at Rockingham, because the 1.017-mile track chews up tires like Atkins dieters chew up eggs.

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Kahne must've been plenty smooth, for he closed on Kenseth in the final laps -- even if they did go by too quickly.

"When I won my first Busch race at Homestead (last year), the last 10 laps seemed like a long, long time," Kahne said. "This race here, the last five laps were really short. It was like I needed a couple more laps. The laps were going by too quick."

Finally, Kahne made a move in Turn 4, darting to the inside of Kenseth.

"(Turn) 3 and 4 was where I wanted to make the move," Kahne said. "I didn't want to overdrive (Turn) 1 and 2. At the same time, I had to watch Jamie McMurray right behind me. There was a lot going on, but we were able to run it good through 1 and 2 and try to challenge Matt off Turn 4."

Kahne wasn't sure the move was going to work.

	Credit: Autostock

"At first I didn't, but then the car started creeping up on him," Kahne said. "I didn't know what to do. I didn't know if I should turn and start going low or stay right up against his door or what. It was close."

The photo finish camera showed it to be about three feet. It was so close that Kahne wasn't sure if he won or not. Baldwin didn't know what to tell him over the radio, either.

"I just didn't know what to do," Kahne said. "I wanted to be excited. I'm as happy as I can be to run second. Who wouldn't be at Rockingham? It's such a tough racetrack.

"I didn't know what to think. I just kind of pulled over on the backstretch. They were talking on the radio, and I was quiet. I decided to wait and see what was going on before I decided how happy to be."

He wasn't as happy as Kenseth, but Kahne still wore a wide smile.

Now, about those cameras ...