Right now, at the dawn of February, all is relatively quiet at Kasey Kahne Racing, save for the metallic ring of wrenches performing last-minute preparations. But, boy, what a difference the next 10 months will make.
Mud will fly. Sparks will fly. Checkered flags will certainly fly.
KKR, owned by NASCAR Nextel Cup superstar Kasey Kahne, is the official factory race team for the Mopar brand in USAC’s National Midget Car and Sprint Car divisions, as well as the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series. In the last ten seasons, Mopar has powered drivers to six USAC National Series championships as well as a World of Outlaws Sprint Series title in 1999.
Competing in both the USAC National Midget Car Series and the USAC Sprint Car Series will be Tennessee’s Kevin Swindell and Oklahoma’s Brady Bacon. Bryan Clauson, a California native who now calls Indiana his home, will also compete in select USAC events. Indiana’s Joey Saldana will shoe the Mopar’s winged World of Outlaws entry.
For Bacon and Swindell, the USAC season begins on Feb. 9-10, with both Sprint Car and Midget events at the Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix. Saldana’s quest for the World of Outlaws championship begins that same weekend at the Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla.
On the USAC side of the team-where each of the drivers is just 17 years old-youth is the watchword. In 2006, Swindell became the youngest driver ever to win a World of Outlaws A-main, and also earned a USAC National Midget Car Series victory at Toledo, Ohio.
Bacon was the 2006 Southern Midget Racing Series Champion, and in limited USAC outings last season earned a Midget victory at Kokomo, Ind. And part-timer Clauson already has USAC National Midget and Sprint car victories on his résumé.
This is Saldana’s second year with the team. He finished third in the WoO points standings, and won seven A-mains including one of the circuit’s marquee events, the King’s Royal at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway.
Today, all is calm. But the next sound you hear might be the scream of a Mopar engine, answering the throttle-stomping call of Saldana, Swindell, Bacon or Clauson. Get used to it. It’s going to be a long season.
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