Kahne Blaming Others For Own Failure
Aug 01, 2007
CIA Stock Photo
Apparently, this weekend was Kasey Kahne’s turn to step up. It’s no secret the driver of the No. 9 Dodge for Evernham Motorsports is going through a nightmarish season. After a 2006 in which he posted six wins and 12 top-five finishes, the best Kahne’s been able to muster in ‘07 are two top 10 runs at Daytona International Speedway. In between, he’s endured four DNFs, eight finishes of 31st or worse, and countless media criticism over how his team went from fast to flop in little more than a blink of an eye.
Sports Illustrated.cnn.com
July 24
Kasey Kahne’s inconsistencies have kept him from being considered as an elite driver in NASCAR. When Kasey Kahne first took over for the semi-retired Bill Elliott at Evernham Motorsports three years ago, he immediately turned heads after finishing just inches shy of victory at Rockingham in only his second career NASCAR Nextel Cup start. But throughout his first full season, ‘close but no cigar’ finishes became the trend for the Enumclaw, Washington native. Jeremy Dunn, Nascar.Suite101.com
July 16
David Newton and Rupen Fofaria, ESPN.com: Ray Evernham says having Budweiser on Kasey Kahne’s car instead of Dodge next season could provide financial relief to the manufacturer.
“You would think if they got money back with their name on the car it would improve the program and make the cars better,” Evernham said before Sunday’s Nextel Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway.
July 13
Andy Cagle, The Pilot: Speculation has the beer giant looking at five different drivers to carry its colors, with the leading candidate being Kasey Kahne.
Kahne driving the Budweiser car leaves me with a couple of questions:
1) Doesn’t a beer sponsor detract from Kahne’s ability to reach his target demographic—14-year-old girls?
2) Does a beer sponsor mean the end of those creepy Allstate commercials where Kahne is getting stalked by a group of middle-aged women?
July 11
ESPN.com reported Budweiser is unlikely to sponsor driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. with new team Hendricks Motorsports next year and added that Anheuser-Busch is negotiating with Evernham Motorsports to perhaps move the Bud sponsorship to the No. 9 Dodge driven by Kasey Kahne of Enumclaw.
Team owner Ray Evernham has an agreement with Dodge, through the Dodge Dealers, to sponsor two cars — including Kahne’s — through 2010. Dodge would have to agree to any deal to allow Bud to move to Kahne’s car, ESPN.com said.
July 6
HOLLY CAIN from SeattlePI: While it doesn’t seem to matter to Kahne’s ever-expanding fan base whether he’s winning every other week or running back in the pack, it does matter to Kahne, who was labeled the biggest disappointment of the season in Sports Illustrated’s midseason report last week.
And the more Kahne is asked about his frustrations, the more frustrated he’s become.
“Every week you get the exact same questions, and every week I give the same answers,” he said. “We’re trying hard. We’re getting better.”
