Q: You tend to run well on mile-and-half tracks. Talk about your run at California and if you think that will transfer over to this weekend’s race at LVMS.
Kasey Kahne: “I think the race in California gave us a lot of confidence and gave us an idea that we are heading in the right direction. The team did a lot of work in the off season to make our cars better and I felt like that paid off at California. We still have some work to do, but we definitely made some gains and I think that will show this weekend. If you can run well at California and Michigan, then you can run well at the mile-and-half tracks. At least, that’s how we’ve been in the past. Vegas and Atlanta are typically tracks that I’ve done well at and our team has done well at. This weekend should be another good test.”
Q: Talk about what type of racing you think the fans will see on Sunday since the track surface has had a few years to mature since being repaved in 2006?
Kasey Kahne: “Las Vegas is a great track and a lot of fun to race on. I think this will be one of the best races at Las Vegas yet. The track has had a chance to mature and develop the extra groves since the progressive banking was added. With the multiple grooves you can really search for the best line that will make your car work.”
Q: Talk about your thoughts on the team’s progress so far.
Kasey Kahne: “The season really just started. Daytona isn’t a good judge on where you are going to be for the season. We walked away with a 12th-place finish in California and Las Vegas is a track that I’ve ran well at for a long time – it’s good for me, it’s good for our team. Same with Atlanta, we’ve won there - we just have to find a way to put it all together this weekend and keep doing the same things that we did in California.”
Budweiser Racing Team Notes of Interest
· This weekend will mark Kasey Kahne’s sixth career start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS).
· In five starts at LVMS, Kahne has two top-five and three top-10 finishes.
· In 2006, Kahne led 52 laps at LVMS en route to Victory Lane in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
· Kahne has finished no worse than sixth at LVMS during the races in which he finished. He has two DNFs at Las Vegas which were the result of accidents (2005 and 2007).
· Kahne has an average start of 10th and an average finish of 17th at LVMS.
· Kahne has started from the pole twice at LVMS (2004 and 2007).
· Kahne holds the qualifying record at LVMS with a lap time of 29.212 seconds at a speed of 184.856 mph (March 9, 2007).
