Six years ago, Kasey Kahne announced that he would retire from racing immediately. He was in the middle of the 2018 season and still had a long way to the finale. However, health problems were mounting, and Kahne couldn’t find it in him to finish the job. Now set for a return to the game with the Xfinity Series on April 19, he reflects on those painful days.
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He told the press at the Rockingham Speedway’s media center, “The reason it was time was my body was just telling me it was time. My dehydration was so bad by the time I got to the center part of the year. I mean, the last few Cup races I ran, yeah, it was as bad as I’ve ever felt in my life.” When he called it quits, he still had 11 races left in the season.
The abrupt retirement did not hurt Kahne’s reputation as one of the greatest drivers of the modern era. Beginning in 2004, he won 18 races across his esteemed career. This resume helped him continue to race sprint cars after 2018. The extreme hydration problems were less of an issue in short-duration races.
He did not plan to race in NASCAR again, but the return of the Rockingham Speedway to the calendar changed his mind. He has fond memories of it, after all. The first laps he raced around the historic short track are what led him to NASCAR. He still remembers the day he tested for the Busch Series team ppc Racing there.
Kahne is excited to return to the race track where it all started
The story of how Kahne got to Rockingham for the test is brilliant. He’d won a sprint car race in Florida, drove through the night to reach Rockingham, slept in the track’s parking lot, and got to his test car the next morning. It was the first time he got to drive a stock car. Fortunately, he was good enough to get hold of the rope and climb up.
Now 44 years old and an accomplished racer, he is all smiles about his wonderful journey. He said, “It felt familiar coming in. There were familiar faces. Hanging out behind the trailer this morning felt pretty normal. When you put basically your whole life in this racing and then you take a little time off, it still feels familiar.”
Kahne will race in the N.C. Education Lottery 250 for Richard Childress Racing with the #33 Chevrolet. A good performance will make things come full circle for this iconic driver.
