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Birthdate:               April 10, 1980 
Marital Status:      Single
Birthplace:             Enumclaw, Wash.
Children:               N/A
Residence:           Mooresville, N.C.
Height:                   5’ 9”
Weight:                  145 lbs.

Drivers successfully making the transition from sprint cars to stock cars used to be the exception. While the list of drivers that have found success in sprint cars and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars isn’t long, Kasey Kahne is on it. As Kahne embarks in his fifth season of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition, he looks to the 2008 season as being a “new year with new beginnings.” He begins 2008 with a new sponsor and a new car design in a newly titled series. While the No. 9 Budweiser/Gillett Evernham Motorsports Team is all for ushering in the new, they aim to return to the form that made Kahne NASCAR’s Rookie of the Year in 2004 and one of the most promising young drivers in the Cup Series.

Contending for championships is something with which Kahne has become well acquainted. Before making a name for himself in NASCAR, Kahne was a sprint car star in his own right. With support from his father, Kelly, Kahne started racing at the age of 14, competing in a limited number of micro-midget car events near his hometown of Enumclaw, Wash. Just two years later, in 1996, Kahne got his first taste of success by capturing the Hannigan (WA) Speedway Mini-Sprints championship and the Northwest Mini Sprints championship.

Kahne honed his skills from 1998 to 2002 when he competed in the World of Outlaws, All-Star Circuit of Champions, Gumout Racing Series and Northern Sprint Tour winged sprint car series. In 2000 he enjoyed a breakout season, winning the USAC Midget Series championship and earning the title of National Midget Driver of the Year. Kahne built on those accomplishments the following season by scoring four wins and 10 top-five finishes in just 11 USAC Midget Series starts. He also won his second consecutive “Night before the 500” Classic at Indianapolis Raceway Park, a feat previously achieved by only one other driver – Jeff Gordon.

By 2001, Kahne’s successes in sprint cars had started to capture the attention of the NASCAR community. As a result, Kahne landed a part-time NASCAR Busch Series ride during the 2002 season. Without an abundance of resources behind him, Kahne made the most of the year, highlighted by a top-10 finish at Michigan International Speedway in August. One year later, Kahne earned his first Busch Series win and scored four top-five and 14 top-10 finishes in route to a seventh-place finish in the series point standings.

With less than two years of stock car racing experience under his belt, Kahne’s talent and track record had attracted the attention of team owner and former crew chief Ray Evernham. Evernham saw great potential in the young driver, and his intuition proved to be correct.

Kahne burst onto the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series scene in 2004 by contending for wins on a weekly basis. The 2004 Rookie of the Year recorded 13 top-five finishes and completed the season 13th in the point standings, missing the Chase for the Cup (?) by a mere 28 points. Kahne followed the 2004 season up by scoring his first career Cup Series win during the 2005 season at Richmond International Raceway, followed by a close second to Tony Stewart in the prestigious Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

During the 2006 NASCAR season Kahne established himself as a contender. He won a series-high six races and started from the Bud Pole six times. He finished the year with 12 top-five and 19 top-10 finishes and earned an eighth-place finish in the driver point standings after qualifying for the Chase for the Cup (?).

The No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Team looks to build on what it accomplished during the latter part of the 2007 NASCAR season. Kahne won Bud Poles at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway, finishing a season-best second at Bristol after starting from the pole. Late in 2007, marketing giant Anheuser-Busch announced that it would sponsor Kahne and the No. 9 Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge Team with its Budweiser brand beginning with the 2008 NASCAR season. Armed with a new sponsor, Kahne and the No. 9 Budweiser team look for redemption in 2008.

Kasey Kahne
Statistics

Starts:  141     Wins: 7      Poles:  6     Top-5 finishes: 25       Top-10 Finishes: 48

2005 -- Claimed first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victory at Richmond, winning from the pole. Finished second at the Brickyard 400. Won back-to-back poles at Darlington and Richmond.

2004 -- Claimed the 2004 Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year title; missed making it into the Chase field by just 28 points; scored 13 top-five finishes including five runner-up finishes.  Won back-to-back races at Darlington and Miami in the NASCAR Truck Series in his only two starts.

2003 -- In 34 races, scored four top-five and 14 top-10 finishes in the Busch Series. Won his first Busch Series race in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.  Earned first Busch Series pole position at Michigan International Speedway in August.   Finished seventh in the final Busch Series point standings.  Won the 2003 Jim Raper Dirt Cup at Skagit Speedway for the second consecutive year.  He became the first Washington native to win back-to-back titles at the Dirt Cup, which is held in Alger, Washington.    

2002 -- In 20 NASCAR Busch Series races, scored one top-10 finish at Michigan International Speedway in August.

Other Accomplishments

• Raced limited schedules with the Atlantic Series and the Formula Ford 2000 Series in 2001
• Competed in the World of Outlaws, All-Star Circuit of Champions, Gumout Racing Series and Northern Sprint Tour winged sprint car series from 1998-2002
• Scored 10 top-five finishes including four wins and a second-consecutive Belleville Midget Nationals victory in 11 USAC Midget Series starts during the 2001 season
• Won the "Night before the 500" Classic at Indianapolis Raceway Park in 2000 and 2001, becoming the first driver to post back-to-back victories in the annual event since Jeff Gordon did so in 1989-90
• Earned two wins in one night at the USAC Midget Series/Sprint Car Series doubleheader at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway in October 2001
• Hired by long-time motorsports car owner Steve Lewis, who has fielded cars for Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, to compete in the USAC Sprint, Midget and Silver Crown Series during the 2000 season
• Won the 2000 USAC Midget Series championship and was named the National Midget Driver of the Year.
• Finished 10th in the 2000 USAC Silver Crown Series point standings, earning Rookie-of-the-Year honors
• Won the 2000 USAC Midget Series championship and was named the Arizona Sport Shirts National Midget Driver-of-the-Year after picking up nine victories, including the Belleville Midget Nationals and the midget division of the 4-Crown Nationals.
• Won 11 of 14 Mini-Sprint events to earn the Hannigan (WA) Speedway championship as well as the Northwest Mini Sprints championship in 1996
• Began racing career in 1994, winning four micro-midget events in home state of Washington in car prepared by his father, Kelly.

Personal Facts

BIRTHDATE	April 10 ,1980
HOMETOWN	Enumclaw, Washington
RESIDES	Mooresville, North Carolina
HEIGHT	5’9”
WEIGHT	145 lbs.
FAVORITE ARTISTS	George Strait, Third Eye Blind
FAVORITE MOVIES	Tombstone, American Wedding
FAVORITE TV SHOWS	Speed News, Friends
FAVORITE ACTRESS	Jennifer Anniston, Christine Taylor
FAVORITE ACTOR	Harrison Ford, Colin Farrell
FAVORITE FOOD	Oven-roasted chicken, mashed potatoes/gravy
FAVORITE PLACE TO GET AWAY	Caribbean cruise
HEROES	Mario Andretti, Jeff Gordon (from the Thursday Night Thunder days on ESPN)
FAVORITE RACING MOMENT	“Winning my first Nextel Cup race at Richmond and the Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year title in 2004 ."
HOBBIES	Skiing, boating, riding snowmobiles, fishing and working out