Budweiser Racing Team Notes of Interest
Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 9 Budweiser Ford, will try to race his way back to Victory Lane in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
In six starts in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Kahne has one win, one pole award and two top-10 finishes. His average start is 10.8 and his average finish is 11.
Kasey Kahne discusses the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race:
How do you approach an all-star race as opposed to a points race?
“I think it is just exciting. It is fun from the start of the week with the pit crew stuff. One of the best parts is qualifying for it using the pit crew and the lap and kind of put it all in one and go the fastest. I just enjoy it because I think it is neat that they make it so fan-friendly. At the end of the day, you are going for a lot of money and it is fun. It just makes it a really cool event.”
Do you approach the actual race any differently?
“The only difference is that if you get in a tight situation, you may force the issue. When you are points racing, you have to think about it. If you are three-wide in the middle in a points race, you kind of realize that somebody is going to lose at this and you might back out. In the All-Star race, I think there is a mentality if you are in that three-wide situation that you might just go ahead and try it and see what happens. I think that is where it changes and I think everybody out there feels the same way. Still, the only way you are going to win is to finish, so you can’t just crash, but you don’t have to worry about points.”
In other sports most of the all-star participants are voted in. Here you race your way in for the most part. Does that make it more special for the participants?
“Yeah, it is what we do. We are out here to win races and that is the right way to make the All-Star race. I think to have a fan vote element is great, too. It brings the fans into it and having the Sprint Open involved makes for a great event as well. I just really enjoy everything about All-Star weekend. I love that it is in Charlotte and is close to all the teams and everyone that works on these cars. It is just a really exciting deal.”
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