FORT WORTH, Tex.—In NASCAR’s return to Rockingham Speedway on April 19, Kasey Kahne’s appearance in the Xfinity Series race nearly eclipsed the event.

Following a two-decade absence for stock car’s second-largest series at the 0.94-mile oval—and a dozen seasons away for the Craftsmen Truck Series—the North Carolina Sandhills region embraced the revival of The Rock. 

But the comeback of Kahne had fans with garage passes in a frenzy, attempting to capture a glimpse of the affable racer who exited the Cup Series prematurely seven years ago. The response from the grandstands was equally enthusiastic and heightened by Kahne piloting a Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.  

For Kahne, and his fans, there was unfinished business. When he elected to step away from stock cars in August of 2018, the grind of NASCAR had taken its toll physically and mentally. Kahne was still capable of winning, but racing for a single-car start-up team (Leavine Family Racing) against juggernauts like his former organization, Hendrick Motorsports, was an uphill climb. 

The rebirth of Rockingham could potentially serve as a resurrection for Kahne as well. 

And he took the challenge to heart. After Rockingham was repaved, Kahne tested for six hours in January with crew chief Andy Street. He was also reunited with his former Evernham and Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Keith Rodden, RCR’s current competition director. 

Kahne secured sponsorship from Rick Hendrick’s HendrickCars.com, Caravan Trailers, and long-time supporter Mike Curb’s Curb Records to underwrite the venture.

Between Kubota High Limit Racing and World of Outlaws races, Kahne also spent time in the simulator to reacquaint himself with the nuances of stock cars.

“I tried to put everything in it that I could,” Kahne said. “A lot of it just came from things I remembered—things that get very clear in your mind and happen week after week after week. 

“When you don’t do it a lot, you need to think about those things to make sure they can be as clear as possible when they do pop up in a race.”

At 45, Kahne had to be cognizant of his health. Dehydration affected the driver at the end of his Cup career. In addition to hydrating, the veteran maintains a clean pre-race diet.

Running 50-lap sprint car contests also kept Kahne sharp. He topped the speed chart for Best 10 Consecutive Lap Average in practice for the Xfinity race and qualified fourth. Unfortunately, his race took an unexpected twist when he was swept up in a wreck while running fifth. Fifty-one laps into the North Carolina Education Lottery 250, William Sawalich turned Katherine Legge directly into Kahne’s path. 

Although he dropped to 35th in the field over the final 192 laps, Kahne soldiered to a 14th-place finish with a damaged race car.

“It was tough,” Kahne said after the race. “It was torn up. Just tried to do the best we could the rest of the race. It was hard to turn…the front was a lot worse than where we started. I wanted to finish, get all the laps in. We got back on the lead lap and just kind of ran there.

“I was having a good time before it all went downhill. It was cool to be here.”

Kahne impressed the RCR principals. Rodden believed that Kahne was stronger than when he raced with him in Cup. Danny Lawrence, RCR’s Director NASCAR Xfinity Series, appreciated Kahne’s dedication and commitment

“Kasey was focused during the entire test and race,” Lawrence said. “He was strictly business. His lap times were so consistent.

“We would love to run him again. With his schedule, there are only a few options. I hope we can work something out.”

Kahne's first love has always been dirt racing. As a kid growing up in Washington State, he admired Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart on Thursday Night Thunder. He hoped to emulate their career paths to stock cars. 

When Ford Performance set off to find the next USAC standout, they recruited Kahne in 2001. His first race? Rockingham Speedway. It’s not surprising Kahne would come full circle in his racing career, first back to dirt and then to NASCAR.

Understanding the responsibility to continue the pipeline, Kahne created Kasey Kahne Racing. Like Stewart before him and Larson, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., and Alex Bowman, since, Kahne felt the need to give back to the dirt community.

“It’s where a lot of very talented kids start out,” Kahne said. “Whether they stay in sprint cars are progress to other series, NASCAR being one of those—that’s what I did and it worked out well for me. Ever since I started making money in NASCAR, I started the sprint car teams and I’ve just kept them going.

“I’ve always had great drivers and teams working with those drivers. We’ve been fortunate to win a lot of races with those drivers—and now seven championships. We’ll just keep going and try to do more.”

High Limit Racing's decision to offer franchises to charter team owners of the series will further ensure not only the health of the series but also the strength of grassroots racing. Kasey Kahne Racing was named as one of the original franchisees when co-owners Kyle Larson and Brad Sweet announced the formation of the program at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 13.

“It means a lot,” Kahne said. “It means that they stuck to what they were set out to do when they started High Limit. And that’s one of the reasons KKR was behind them because of the franchise system and what they’re working on moving forward.

“There’s a lot of potential out there to grow sprint car racing and make it better—and Kyle and Brad both understand that and want that to happen.

“It was very cool to get that first charter with Brad after winning the championship last year, and we’ll keep building on it from there. They’re doing a great job with High Limit Racing. It’s really fun to be part of it as an owner, as a driver. Our teams really enjoy it. It’s cool to be a part of it.”