Budweiser Racing Team Notes of Interest
Kasey Kahne and the No. 9 Budweiser Ford team return to Pocono Raceway this weekend, a track where they won the pole award in 2008 and went on to lead 69 laps en route to taking home the checkered flag in the Pocono 500.
Kahne and the No. 9 Budweiser team have one win, three top fives and five top-10 finishes at Pocono. They’ve also scored two pole awards, led 150 laps and have an average starting position of 8.3 and an average finish of 15.5.
Kahne holds the track record in qualifying at Pocono Raceway with a lap of 52.164 seconds and a speed of 172.533 mph. He set the record speed on June 11, 2004 during his rookie season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
In 12 starts at Pocono Raceway, Kahne has completed all but three laps of the 2,310 that have been run, giving the No. 9 team a completion rate of 99.9 percent at the 2.5-mile track.
Kahne and the No. 9 Budweiser Ford team are testing at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga., this week in preparation for the upcoming road course race at Infineon Raceway. Kahne is the defending winner at the Sonoma, Calif., track.
Kasey Kahne discusses racing at Pocono and dirt racing:
What are the keys to success at Pocono?
“The straight-aways are so long, you need to get all of the speed down them that you can so your car can come off of turn three as fast as possible. I’ve always liked the uniqueness of the three different corners and the challenge that it presents to the teams to set up your car to be fast at each of the different ends.”
How did you get involved in dirt track racing?
“My dad was involved in sprint car racing so we went to those races a lot and I grew up around it. I started racing mini-sprints and then moved on to racing sprint cars. I’ve raced ever since. I try and give back to dirt track racing whenever I can.”
You have continued to support sprint car racing. What is the importance of that support and having that program at Kasey Kahne Racing?
“I really enjoy that type of racing and I still try to do as much of it as I can because I like it so much. We have people at our shop that do a really nice job of preparing our cars. It is really nice for me to pay attention to what they are doing each week, whether at the shop or at the races. It is exciting for me to stay involved with it and see how well they run.”
How involved with your World of Outlaws teams do you get?
“I spend as much time at KKR that I can. If I’m not racing or at a sponsor function, I’m at the shop. We are based in Mooresville (N.C.), so our teams are on the road quite a bit to compete with the World of Outlaws, but it allows me more time to spend with the guys. Most of the team is close family, so we all grew up together and now we all work together. Unfortunately, I’m not able to be at every race, but I trust the team to do what’s best and win races.”
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