Budweiser Racing Team Notes of Interest
Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 9 Budweiser Ford, will make his eighth trip to “The Lady in Black,” Darlington Raceway, this weekend for the SHOWTIME Southern 500.
In seven previous starts at the track, Kahne has scored three pole awards and two top-five finishes, and has led 171 laps. His average start at Darlington is 11.8 and his average finish is 15.3.
Kahne has completed all but three of the 2,498 laps run at Darlington since he joined the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2004. That gives him a completion rate of 99.9 percent at a track that bills itself as “too tough to tame.”
For the third time this season, Kahne will pull double duty, competing in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series races at Darlington. He will drive the No. 38 entry in the Nationwide Series race on Friday.
Kasey Kahne discusses racing at Darlington:
What are the keys to a good finish to Darlington?
“Just don’t hit the wall. I think every car on the track is going to hit it; it’s just how hard everyone is going to hit it. It’s a pretty tough track. It’s fast. It’s really going to be tough to pass. I think the key is mainly how hard you’re going to hit the wall, that’s a big thing.”
You have three pole positions at Darlington. Does that give you more confidence heading into the weekend?
“Darlington has always been a great race track for me. As far as one that I look forward to, Darlington is in the top five. It’s something that you just look forward to. We’ve always qualified well here, except for 2008. I’d say we can qualify pretty well again this weekend and get a good top-five starting spot.”
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