Kasey Kahne anticipates a solid race in the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond

Credit: Carol D'Agostino for Skirts and Scuffs
By Carol D’Agostino

Wins are the ultimate goal for most athletes. For NASCAR drivers, coming in second after a long day is disappointing. It’s all about the wins and the trophies. However, when you haven’t won for a while, you wonder when -- or if -- your next win will happen.

For 37-year-old Kasey Kahne, driver of the AARP Drive for Hunger Chevrolet, it’s been a three-year drought since his last win. Today the No. 5 car had the sixth best 10 consecutive lap average in final practice under conditions which will be similar to tomorrow’s race.

Kahne is optimistic about a good run for Sunday’s race at a track where he earned his first Cup Series win in spring 2005.

"These races (Richmond) were two of my best races last year," Kahne said. "I’ve enjoyed racing here and felt good in practice. I feel like we could have a good result on Sunday. Our car and our set-ups are very similar to where we were last year. We will just fine tune on that and hopefully get things right. This should be a good show for us."

After reviewing other competitors’ lines in practice, Kahne expects multiple groove racing on Sunday.

“I watched Ricky Stenhouse run seven laps in a row, and each lap he moved up another foot, and another foot, and another foot, and you could see the track turning blacker where he was going," Kahne said. "It is going to move way up. He was getting quicker as he went or running the same speed, so it will be good. I think it’s going to be a really good show on Sunday myself."

In his last two starts at Richmond, Kahne finished fourth and sixth. He posted five top-five and 10 top-10 finishes and an average finish of 16.31. He's led a total of 281 laps in five separate races at Richmond International Raceway, and will start 19th on Sunday's grid.

In the 2017 season Kahne has one top-five finish, two top 10s and has led seven laps.

The Toyota Owners 400 will begin at 2 p.m. ET and will broadcast on FOX.

Credit: Carol D'Agostino for Skirts and Scuffs

Kasey Kahne anticipates a solid race in the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Kasey Kahne anticipates a solid race in the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Reviewed by Carol D'Agostino on Saturday, April 29, 2017 Rating: 5