BROOKLYN, Mich. -- With rain on the horizon and 37 cars between him and the lead, Kasey Kahne knew he had his work cut out Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.

"We knew we had a great car and we just started battling back," said Kahne, who fell behind on Lap 47 of the 3M Performance 400 when debris on his radiator caused his engine to overheat and sent the youngster to the pits under the green flag.

That knocked the popular 26-year-old racer, the 2004 Cup rookie of the year, back to 38th in the 43-car field, a lap behind the leaders. But a caution for light rain just seven laps later allowed Kahne to regain the lead lap and it didn't take long for him to drive back into contention.

"We took two tires there once and passed some cars on pit road and then we were able to get past some cars on the track," said Kahne, who started his No. 9 Evernham Motorsports Dodge from the pole and got back to the front before a downpour cut the race short by 71 laps on the 2-mile oval.

Kahne, earning a series-best fourth victory of the season and his third from the top qualifying spot, said, "It's pretty crazy to win in the rain and be in the right place there at the end. But we did have the best car."   More