Kasey Kahne done racing full time in Cup after this year

Spotter22 said:
He will get in sooner or later. They are gonna run out of Cup Champions and people who have won 30-90 cup races before long and someone will have to go in.
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Yep, I'm going to have a post about this later today, there's only so many drivers with multiple wins, it doesn't mean he will be in soon, but 30 years down the road who knows
 
Snappy D said:
I myself find it pretty concerning that these guys arnt racing long careers anymore and are retiring earlier and earlier. Is it sponsorship? Schedule? Lack of good teams? They've all said when they step away they are stepping away full time. Well what part time teams are good enough or can afford to pay these high caliber drivers? Just so many questions I guess I have. Granted this has happened in the past I just dont remember it being this.... harsh and quick.
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Drivers raced longer before because they needed the money. These guys all have about 50 million to retire with. Edward was over 60 million, Kenseth is over 60 million, Jeff 200 million and Junior 300 million, how much more do they need?
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Soccer moms across the country weep so much, their mascara stains their SUV leather.
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And sprint car fans celebrate having him back where he'd rather be anyway.

As far as I'm concerned, Kahne made the right call for himself. I don't think people who drive race cars for a job can "relate to the struggles of the average fan" regardless of their socioeconomic status. Nor should they, nor would I want them to. He doesn't owe anyone a few more years of riding around in 23rd place.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Soccer moms across the country weep so much, their mascara stains their SUV leather.
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LOL. It's almost a wistful haiku. I was surprised to read in an earlier post that Kasey had only three top-10 placements in the points tally. So I looked it up, and it is true. He was, however, an annual top-5 in the Forbes analysis of driver earnings. He didn't exactly make Dale Jr. money, but he made a lot of money. You could almost say he was Junior Junior in the net income column.

 
Really not surprised either, he had a decent career , nothing to be ashamed about.

I do wonder if the possible changes that could be coming to LFR had anything to do with this.
 
ChexOrWrex said:
Sounds like he’s just done with being in the machine.
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Yeah, I expect him to run more with his dirt team, especially after comments he made at the Knoxville Nationals about needing to do more to prepare for an event like that.
 
Team Penske said:
Drivers raced longer before because they needed the money. These guys all have about 50 million to retire with. Edward was over 60 million, Kenseth is over 60 million, Jeff 200 million and Junior 300 million, how much more do they need?
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Can’t fault them, when you hit that much money, what more do you have to prove and how motivated can you remain. Go do something that makes you happy, good for him. I kind of think that Jeff Gordon paved the way for a lot of these guys to get in the sport and when he retired it showed they could get out early. I feel like he was one of the first to retire early and now it’s happening more frequently.
 
ToyYoda said:
Since he'll still be racing part-time, I'm not sure that this counts as a full-on retirement though.
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Unless an unexpected substitution opportunity presents itself quickly in 2019, I would put the odds at him ever running snother Cup race at considerably less than 50%. I don't see what context it would happen in.
 
I hope he goes back to sprint cars. I agree that it seems like he just doesn't have the passion or talent or whatever in stock cars anymore. Kasey was pretty fun to watch with Evernham in the Dodges.
 
Kasey and Everham putting Dodge back in NASCAR got my wife(Mopar fan) following the sport.She as well as several friends stopped following NASCAR when Dodge left,but she will occasionally still watch a race with me.I congratulate Kasey in being able to go out on his terms and having the money to do whatever he wants.
 
jws926 said:
Really not surprised either, he had a decent career , nothing to be ashamed about.

I do wonder if the possible changes that could be coming to LFR had anything to do with this.
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This actually makes sense if you think about it. Kahne had the final year of his Hendrick contract bought out, so this year was probably just one last hurrah before retirement.

I've also heard he turned down an opportunity to drive in the 41... when you're done, you're done man. Unless you're mark martin lol.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Too simple. No 'Game 7' moment. :rolleyes:

(Anybody else notice how often a 4-of-7 playoff series fails to get to game 7?)
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At the very least, an 8 > 4 > 2 format (somehow, someway) would have made more sense if they were trying to go stick and ball.
 
AuzGrams said:
8 > 4 > 2 format (somehow, someway) would have made more sense
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Very simple. Pair the 1st and 8th seeds, 2nd and 7th, etc. After three races, the one with the most points advances. Repeat.

One of my biggest gripes with the so-called 'Game 7 moment' is it pits the championship contenders in a single race. That would might be acceptable if the only ones racing were the teams competing for the championship. It ignores the fact that 32+ other teams are out there fighting for their own final season ranking and influencing the outcome.
 
kkfan91 said:
Kasey plans to run 40-50 sprint car races next year according to his press conference.
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Based on some of the posts here, some people are misinterpreting his comments as indicating he may run some NASCAR races occasionally. I'm pretty sure sprint cars are exclusively what he's talking about.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Based on some of the posts here, some people are misinterpreting his comments as indicating he may run some NASCAR races occasionally. I'm pretty sure sprint cars are exclusively what he's talking about.
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He addressed that. He doesn't want to say he wouldn't run a big race like Daytona or the Brickyard if the opportunity came up. But he also said that if it doesn't then Homestead would end up being his final Cup race and he is ok with that.
 
If Kahne is returning to run open wheel this opens up the possibilty of doing the Indy 500
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Very simple. Pair the 1st and 8th seeds, 2nd and 7th, etc. After three races, the one with the most points advances. Repeat.

One of my biggest gripes with the so-called 'Game 7 moment' is it pits the championship contenders in a single race. That would might be acceptable if the only ones racing were the teams competing for the championship. It ignores the fact that 32+ other teams are out there fighting for their own final season ranking and influencing the outcome.
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Should just revert back to a 32-36 race Winston Cup season with 50 points to a race winner, 39-1 on down. With the top 5 getting stage points so the race winner is still guaranteed the most points (and the competition caution that all the whiney fans want).
 
Good driver, decent career...will leave the sport with his head up but left the fans wanting more.
 
It ignores the fact that 32+ other teams are out there fighting for their own final season ranking and influencing the outcome.[/QUOTE]
But that is what racing is, managing the obstacles, while arcing the competition.
Otherwise you may as well be drag racing.
 
Team Penske said:
But that is what racing is, managing the obstacles, while arcing the competition.
Otherwise you may as well be drag racing.
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I didn't have a problem with that when the championship was based on consistent performance over the season and didn't hinge on any one individual race or track.
 
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