Hendrick Motorsports driver won at Atlanta in ’14 to lock up Chase spot
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HAMPTON, Ga. – Last year, Kasey Kahne used a win at Atlanta Motor Speedway to secure one of the 16 available positions in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Six months later, the Hendrick Motorsports driver is hoping for similar results. A win in Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (FOX, 1 p.m. ET) brings with it no guarantees, but it certainly would put the 34-year-old in a much less stressful situation.
Kahne was the final driver to secure a Chase spot by virtue of a victory here last August, however a schedule change now finds the 1.54-mile track hosting the season’s second stop.
A win would go a long way toward easing his team’s concerns as the 2015 Sprint Cup Series season begins to pick up steam.
“It would be a lot better and a lot less stress, but it is what it is,” Kahne said Friday as teams began preparations for Sunday’s race. “We’ll take it any way we can.”
There are goals this year that the ’14 effort failed to accomplish, he said. Winning and running up front more often for starters. Better results in practice and better qualifying results as well.
“It all starts this weekend,” Kahne said. “It would be great to come off with a win right away … and then just go from there.
The end of the ’14 season also signaled the end of the Kahne/Kenny Francis driver/crew chief pairing. The two had worked together, with two brief exceptions in ’07 (due to Francis’ suspension) and ’10, for a stretch of more than 300 races from the 2005 season finale at Homestead through ’14.
They have 17 wins in their respective positions, with 16 coming while working together. Francis earned his first win as crew chief with former driver Jeremy Mayfield; Kahne went to the winner’s circle for the first time with Tommy Baldwin Jr. calling the shots.
Today, Francis oversees car design and development as the vehicle technical director for Hendrick Motorsports.
Keith Rodden, crew chief for Jamie McMurray last season at Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, returned to the HMS fold to replace Francis on the No. 5 team.
He and Kahne have a history.
“I think the first time he was my engineer was 2004 in the XFINITY Series,” Kahne said of Rodden, “and we have kind of been on and off together ever since.
“There is a lot more to it than just the communication side. It’s kind of the preparation at the shop throughout the winter, how the guys look at things and how our cars are built. He’s done a really good job with all that stuff.”
Kahne, who agreed to a three-year contract extension last November, joined HMS in April of 2010 but didn’t officially make the move until 2012. Five wins have come since the move and he is a three-time winner at Atlanta.
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