Kahne: The Michigan Repave Increased The Track Speed

Kasey Kahne
No. 95 WRL General Contractors Camaro ZL1 Notes:

·       THE GRANDDADDY OF THEM ALL: Kasey Kahne is spending the week at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa for the annual Knoxville Nationals sprint car event.  Kahne will race on Wednesday night (8/8) in an attempt to qualify for the feature event which is on Saturday night (8/11).  Kahne will be behind the wheel of the No. 4 Ollie’s Bargain Outlet car with his Kasey Kahne Racing team.

·       KAHNE BY THE NUMBERS: In 29 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career starts at Michigan, Kasey Kahne has an average start of 13.0 and an average finish of 16.8.  He’s completed 5,357 of 5,612 (95.5 percent) career laps and has led for a total of 78 laps.  Kahne has earned one win, eight top-five, 10 top-10 finishes, and three poles at the 2.0-mile track.

·       RACE INFO: The Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway (2.0-mile) begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 12th. The race will be broadcast live on NBCSN, Sirius XM Channel 90 and MRN Radio.

 

 

Kahne’s Career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Stats at Michigan:

Date                Event:                                                 S          F         Laps               Status

06/20/04          DHL 400                                              34        2         200/200           Running

08/22/04          GFS Marketplace 400                         11        5         200/200           Running

06/19/05          Batman Begins 400                             4         18        200/200           Running

08/21/05          GFS Marketplace 400                         3          29       199/200           Running

06/18/06          3M Performance 400                          1          1         129/129           Running

08/20/06          GFS Marketplace 400                         15        4         200/200           Running

06/17/07          Citizens Bank 400                               36        32       197/200           Running

08/21/07          3M Performance 400                          3          31       201/203           Running

06/15/08          LifeLock 400                                       9          2         203/203           Running

08/17/08          3M Performance 400                          32        40       162/200           Engine

06/14/09          LifeLock 400                                       8          21       200/200           Running

08/16/09          Carfax 400                                          10        11       200/200           Running

06/13/10          Heluva Good! 400                               4          2         200/200           Running

08/15/10          Carfax 400                                          1          14       200/200           Running

06/19/11          Heluva Good! 400                               8          28       199/200           Running

08/21/11          Pure Michigan 400                              14        7         203/203           Running

06/17/12          Quicken Loans 400                             4          33       151/200           Crash

08/19/12          Pure Michigan 400                              5          3         201/201           Running

06/16/13          Quicken Loans 400                             3          38       103/200           Crash

08/18/13          Pure Michigan 400                              31        7         200/200           Running

06/15/14          Quicken Loans 400                             13        5         200/200           Running

08/17/14          Pure Michigan 400                              15        16       200/200           Running

06/14/15          Quicken Loans 400                             1          15       138/138           Running

08/16/15          Pure Michigan 400                              11        15       200/200           Running

06/12/16          FireKeepers Casino 400                     23        13       200/200           Running

08/28/16          Pure Michigan 400                              11        14       200/200           Running

06/18/17          FireKeepers Casino 400                     16        21       200/200           Running

08/13/17          Pure Michigan 400                              23        38       138/202           Crash

06/10/18          FireKeepers Casino 400                     29        23       133/133           Running

 

Kahne’s Career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Stats at Michigan:

                        Races     Wins     Top 5s    Top 10s       Poles

Cumulative        29           1             8             10                3

 

 

 

Kahne’s 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Season Stats:

Starts         Wins        Top-5’s     Top-10’s       Poles        Laps Led        Avg. Start       Avg. Finish

22                0                 1                 1                 0                  30                  25.8                 23.0

 

 

Kahne’s Career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Stats:

Starts         Wins        Top-5’s     Top-10’s         Poles        Laps Led         Avg. Start       Avg. Finish

526               18               93              176                 27               4,678               14.5                17.7

 

 

From the Driver’s Seat:

Kasey Kahne: “Michigan has always been fast, but since they repaved it, the track has really picked up a lot of speed.  You carry that speed into the corner, you carry that speed through the center of the corner, and off the exit.  It’s a fast and smooth track with a lot of grip.  Restarts are critical at Michigan, and usually if you’re on the outside, it works out better as long as you can hold your position through Turn 2, and then carry the speed down the backstretch into Turn 3.  It just seems like you can pass a little bit more if you can make that all happen on a restart. The inside can work as well, especially if someone gets bottled up on the inside lane and slides up in front of the outside row in (Turns) 1 and 2, which can happen pretty easily.  Restarts at Michigan are critical to gain spots, and if you’re in a tough position, it’s really easy to lose spots.”

 

From the Pit Box:

Jon Leonard: “We have some momentum heading into Michigan coming off of Watkins Glen. We didn’t get the finish we wanted, but it was one of our newest car builds that we ran this past weekend, and it proves the direction that we’ve been going the past few weeks is correct. We’re taking the same car we raced at Michigan in June with us this weekend, but with a different set-up theory and body build. The notebook from our first Michigan race definitely helps leading into this weekend because it gets us closer on tire settings, directional changes, and things we needed to focus on. We struggled a bit into the corner the last time we raced Michigan, and we’ve focused on that while still keeping turn in the center. Not much changes from the June to August races at Michigan.  They’re both summer races, and both are hot and slick tracks, so that helps in how we approach going back for this weekend since the conditions and trends are so similar.  To have a good car at Michigan you need to be able to get into the corner and get back to the gas as soon as possible. It’s such a momentum racetrack that one little slip, one little bobble, one second off the gas can mean a lot over those long straightaways. We’ve really focused on getting speed into these cars since the last event, and hopefully, that effort shows this weekend.”

 

 

No. 95 WRL General Contractors Camaro ZL1 Team:

Driver: Kasey Kahne                          Crew Chief: Jonathon Leonard

Car Chief: Ben Leslie                         Spotter: Doug Campbell

Engineer: Ben Lynch                         Hauler Driver: Damon Lopez

Shock Specialist: Tim Lambert        Mechanic: James Melick

Mechanic: Matt Kimball                     Mechanic: Ryan Dextraze

Tire Specialist: Tony Ramierz          Jackman: Richie Williams

Fueler: Ryan Dextraze                       Rear Changer: Cory Baldwin

Front Changer: Weston Lovejoy       Front Carrier: Justin Kirby

 

 

About WRL General Contractors:

WRL is a competitive and reputable General Contractor based in East Texas with decades of experience in educational, commercial, faith-based, and industrial construction and over $1 billion of completed projects. Comprised of a team of experienced professionals, WRL has a standing reputation of completing jobs on time and on budget. For more information go to www.wrl-gc.com, like our Facebook page and/or follow us on Twitter @WRL_GC.

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

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