Kasey Kahne

Tennessee Racing

Tennessee Racing

Formerly Stewart Fan
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Will Kasey ever be a serious championship contender? He wins some races but I never consider him a real threat. He can't get any better equipment than he has now but he seems forever to be a B list driver.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
2 wins and made the Chase. He's there. Just needs a few more things to go his way. Everyone can't be a winner. Just ask everyone other than Jimmie Johnson. ;)
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I'm willing to bet he isn't in your top 3 for next years Championship. In fact, other than his fan girls I'm betting most people aren't picking him for next year. Or the year after that.....
 
Stewart Fan said:
I'm willing to bet he isn't in your top 3 for next years Championship. In fact, other than his fan girls I'm betting most people aren't picking him for next year. Or the year after that.....
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The top 3 is a pretty exclusive club. That's really not all that far out on a well supported limb to say he'll miss one of those coveted spots but I get what you're sayin.
 
He was a top 3 car every time I picked him as was my worst pick in the Chase game.
 
He has so much bad luck. He's constantly in the wrong place at the wrong time. How many times was he caught up in crap from other drivers just this year alone?
 
SlicedBread22 said:
I thought maybe... until I saw him accept 2nd place more than once when all he had to do was be a bit more aggressive. He might but I don't see it happening soon.
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I agree, he's definitely not aggressive and he's to inconsistent to be a real contender. I don't see him as a threat and with the way he lets drivers push him around, I doubt they consider him a threat either. He's good for a couple wins a year and a Top 10 points position.
 
Thegroundpounder99 said:
I agree, he's definitely not aggressive and he's to inconsistent to be a real contender. I don't see him as a threat and with the way he lets drivers push him around, I doubt they consider him a threat either. He's good for a couple wins a year and a Top 10 points position.
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Yep.
 
No one had more 2nd-place finishes this year than Kahne did (six). He's got a load of talent but until he stands up for himself and becomes more of a closer he won't win a title. He has a tendency to overdrive and take himself out sometimes too.
 
Kasey definitely has the talent to be a championship contender and he could have been one this year. His problem is not a lack of aggressiveness - it's a lack of consistency. Kasey is the type of driver that will go on a hot streak for a few weeks and put up some good finishes, and then he'll fall off a bit. Some of those bad finishes this year were just from bad luck, and a few times they just ran poorly. He just never got hot during the Chase for whatever reason.

I guess I'm one of the few that actually gained respect for Kasey this year for racing hard but keeping it clean. I like the fact that he didn't overreact and pay Kyle Busch back for accidentally getting into him a couple of times. I like the fact that he didn't dump Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, or anybody else for a hollow victory. Yeah, I know the wins pay the same, hollow or not, but Kasey doesn't race that way and I for one think that's a good thing.

To those of you in the opposite camp, if being all aggressive like Earnhardt is what makes a champion, how do you guys explain Jimmie Johnson's six championships?
 
Mr. Gregory said:
Kasey definitely has the talent to be a championship contender and he could have been one this year. His problem is not a lack of aggressiveness - it's a lack of consistency. Kasey is the type of driver that will go on a hot streak for a few weeks and put up some good finishes, and then he'll fall off a bit. Some of those bad finishes this year were just from bad luck, and a few times they just ran poorly. He just never got hot during the Chase for whatever reason.

I guess I'm one of the few that actually gained respect for Kasey this year for racing hard but keeping it clean. I like the fact that he didn't overreact and pay Kyle Busch back for accidentally getting into him a couple of times. I like the fact that he didn't dump Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, or anybody else for a hollow victory. Yeah, I know the wins pay the same, hollow or not, but Kasey doesn't race that way and I for one think that's a good thing.

To those of you in the opposite camp, if being all aggressive like Earnhardt is what makes a champion, how do you guys explain Jimmie Johnson's six championships?
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Its not dumping the guy.. its the driving aggressively.. making the passes, taking the chances.. Jimmie does that.. it helps to have a good car but why does Jimmie always manage to end up at the front but KK doesn't? Consistency is obviously key.. but I think he just needs that little bit more oomph in his attitude before he contends.
 
FLRacingFan said:
No one had more 2nd-place finishes this year than Kahne did (six). He's got a load of talent but until he stands up for himself and becomes more of a closer he won't win a title. He has a tendency to overdrive and take himself out sometimes too.
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I think you hit the nail on the head. He overdrives and gets caught sometimes. He can find speed but he is prone to mistakes like hitting the wall because he's driving on the edge.

I think the thing that keeps him from being a true championship driver is that he's never done well at RP races or road courses. Over his entire career I think he has 1 or 2 wins on both style of track. Not that he's terrible either, but to compete with JJ, Kenseth, Smoke, Gordon, Busch bros, etc. you really need all the tools in your tool belt. I don't think he has them all, he's great on the intermediates but if you want to be champ you have to be good at them all IMO.
 
I'm beginning to think Kahne is like a Ricky Rudd in that he wins a couple of races a year and is in top 10 in points, but never contends for a title.
 
He's a consistent once or twice a year race winner top 10 points finisher but I don't see much more than that. MRM, Ricky Rudd actually did contend for the title back in 1991, his second year in Hendrick equipment & first with Tide on the car. He lost to Dale Earnhardt by I think 195 points...
 
His real home is in the dirt. He cant make any money playing in the dirt so he drives a cup car. Cup drivers sure do make a lot of money
 
Kahne is in front of you and you want to get by? Dump him, he isn't going to do anything about it but talk...Ask Kyle. Nascar doesn't do much about that like other series do, so if you want to get respect, you have to stand up for yourself, go to the trailer and pay the fine. Other wise you have to be good/lucky enough to recover when you get bumped around, or stay clear of it. You also have to be consistent, both didn't happen for Kahne this year.
 
He hung out in the JGR parking lot earlier this year and scared them right out of a championship :(
 
Stewart Fan said:
Not really. He's been racing full time for almost a decade now and has never been a real championship contender. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that from someone who gets the attention he does.
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I don't really see him getting any unwarranted attention. They only talk about him or to him when he's doing well. This thread is the most attention that I've seen him get in some time.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
I don't really see him getting any unwarranted attention. They only talk about him or to him when he's doing well. This thread is the most attention that I've seen him get in some time.
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He won't be the only driver we talk about this off season. He was just the first.
 
I expected Kasey to take some time to get used to driving fast cars, but after this year I wonder if he really has what it takes. It's hard to believe he's the driver who Evernham left HMS for.
 
FenderBumper said:
I expected Kasey to take some time to get used to driving fast cars, but after this year I wonder if he really has what it takes. It's hard to believe he's the driver who Evernham left HMS for.
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He did really good in his rookie season. I think he had like five 2nd place finishes. Kahne seems to do better in bad equipment. He's won for every team he's raced for. Maybe the pressure of running for HMS is getting to him.
 
Stewart Fan said:
He won't be the only driver we talk about this off season. He was just the first.
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Judging from most of the post in this thread. Some of the posters need to stop posting, Drive/fly to Mooresville N.C. and apply for jobs as a driver coach. You guys seem to know whats wrong and how to fix it. You should make many fortunes with this knowledge. Don't sit around and waste it on some boring racing forum board. C'mon man!!:D:D
 
BamaFan said:
Judging from most of the post in this thread. Some of the posters need to stop posting, Drive/fly to Mooresville N.C. and apply for jobs as a driver coach. You guys seem to know whats wrong and how to fix it. You should make many fortunes with this knowledge. Don't sit around and waste it on some boring racing forum board. C'mon man!!:D:D
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so what's your take on why he can't win like JJ at HMS?
 
BamaFan said:
Judging from most of the post in this thread. Some of the posters need to stop posting, Drive/fly to Mooresville N.C. and apply for jobs as a driver coach. You guys seem to know whats wrong and how to fix it. You should make many fortunes with this knowledge. Don't sit around and waste it on some boring racing forum board. C'mon man!!:D:D
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Just talking about the facts.
 
BOWTIE GUY said:
so what's your take on why he can't win like JJ at HMS?
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my take is he ain't Jimmie Johnson and his crew chief ain't Chad Knaus.( under rated by most fans as to how good this team is) Fix these two minor details and he wins.

Don't take it the wrong way but sometimes I read these post and sounds like people beating drivers up for not winning. Shoot this sport is extremely competitive at the highest level. I'll take Jr.'s season anytime and so would 40 other teams. Do i wanna see him win, yea. But I don't consider a season where drivers finish with a bunch of top 10's and several top 5's with 0 wins a bad season . Maybe I see it this way because I saw my father come home excited cause they actually got a top 20 finish.

Sorry for the rant.......
 
I think he is underated as a driver. Aside from Johnson I think he is Hendricks best shot at a title.
 
FenderBumper said:
It's hard to believe he's the driver who Evernham left HMS for.
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.... uh what?

Evernham's first lineup was Bill Elliott and Casey Atwood (the first driver I remember being called "the next Jeff Gordon"). Kasey didn't show up until a few years later.
 
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