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Daytona 500: Kasey Kahne NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Preview
Kasey Kahne, No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Charger
Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway
Budweiser Racing Team Notes of Interest
· Kasey Kahne will make his fifth career start in the Daytona 500 and his ninth overall start at Daytona International Speedway this weekend.
· Kahne’s best finish at Daytona is seventh and he earned the finish during the 2007 Daytona 500.
· In nine starts at the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway, Kahne has only one DNF. Kahne was unable to finish in his very first Daytona 500 due to an engine failure. It was also his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start.
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· Kahne has two top-10 finishes at Daytona. He finished seventh in the Daytona 500 last season and then followed it up with a ninth-place finish during the track’s July race.
· The World Famous Budweiser Clydesdales will be on display in the vendor display area located outside Turn Four at Daytona throughout the duration of Speed Weeks.
Kasey Kahne Discusses Racing in the Daytona 500
How important is it to get a good finish in the Daytona 500?
"I think you hear a lot of people refer to it as just one race out of the 36 we will run all season but I think it’s important to start the year off right and with a good finish. It’s obviously a big race – our biggest race – and it’s a good feeling to be able to leave Daytona with a good finish rather than leaving with a DNF or a bad performance. I’ve been at both ends leaving Daytona and I can tell you it gives you a lot of confidence to be able to leave here with a good finish."
Did teams that competed in the Budweiser Shootout gain an advantage over the ones that didn’t?
"It doesn’t really give you an advantage for qualifying but we learned things that are going to help us in the qualifying races and then again on Sunday in the 500. The car handled pretty well in the Shootout but we know we learned some things that we’ll use when we get into race trim for the qualifying races and the 500. The biggest thing was getting that information because it gives us a better starting point when making preparations for race trim."
How do you feel about your Daytona 500 car?
"It drove well during the qualifying lap but that’s just a small part of everything that goes on here in Daytona this week. The real test will be when we get into drafting practice on Wednesday and then in the qualifying races on Thursday. We felt pretty good with the way our car drafted when we tested and we did some things since then that should improve the car. We saw how sensitive the cars were with just 23 cars in the Shootout so I’m sure it will be a little more interesting when we have 43 cars on the track at the same time. I had fun racing these cars in the Shootout Saturday night and I think it was exciting for the fans so hopefully we’ll see more of that excitement on Thursday and Sunday."
PaddockTalk Perspective
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