Kasey Kahne will join Spire Motorsports to compete full time in the 2027 NASCAR FedEx Freight Truck Series, the team announced Wednesday.
Kahne, an 18-time winner in the NASCAR Cup Series, returns to the sport for a full season for the first time since retiring from full-time competition in 2018 due to health complications.
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Now 46, Kahne was named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023 for his success across the sport’s three national series, including crown-jewel victories in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (2006, 2008, 2012) and the 2017 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
In 2025, Kahne returned to NASCAR competition for the first time in seven years, driving the No. 33 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing at Rockingham Speedway in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. Kahne was running fifth when he was collected in a crash early in the contest but rallied for a 14th-place finish.
In addition to his Cup Series success and eight wins in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Kahne is a five-time winner in the Truck Series — made even more impressive considering he’s made just six starts in the series. The one race Kahne fell short of was in 2010 at Pocono Raceway, where he finished second.
Since departing NASCAR full time in 2018 after competing in 25 of 36 Cup races, the Enumclaw, Washington, native has returned to his dirt-racing roots in sprint cars, including a full-season campaign in the Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing series last year. A six-time World of Outlaws champion as a team owner, Kahne earned his first career World of Outlaws sprint car win in May 2026 at Williams Grove Speedway.
MORE: Spire Motorsports team site
Ahead of his return to NASCAR in 2025, Kahne said his health was “in a good place because I don’t do this all the time. I don’t do the long races, the heat.” While Truck Series races are longer than sprint car races, they are notably shorter than the O’Reilly or Cup counterparts.
Following his O’Reilly appearance at Rockingham, Kahne was asked if he would consider more NASCAR racing moving forward: “I don’t know about more in the future, but I’m really glad I did this.”
He is now slated to return in the 2027 season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 19.