Photo Credit: Noel Lanier
JR Motorsports wanted to work at developing their program, but 17-year-old Cole Custer is not eligible to run at tracks bigger than a smile. Enter Kasey Kahne, a driver who seems to find success with each truck start that he makes.
The experiment looked to pay off from the beginning as Kahne was able to drive his way to the front after having to start at the rear due to a shock change following qualifying, battling with Erik Jones for the win throughout the second half. It looked as though Jones could quite possibly head off into the sunset with the victory, but then the caution flew with two laps to go for Daniel Hemric.
With the caution flying, Kahne felt some confidence in perhaps having the ability to get the job done based on what he had learned with how the draft works in the Truck Series via the previous battle with Jones. His owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., wasn’t quite confident, especially considering that Kahne would have to start underneath Jones.
“When Kasey was given the bottom, I thought that hurt our chances a little bit because I felt the top was the easier place to be,” Earnhardt commented.
On the final restart, Kahne was able to stay alongside with him, something that can be attributed to how he used the draft to his advantage. As Earnhardt noticed from his vantage point in turns one and two, the “side draft on those trucks is so impressive and crazy because they can’t get away from each other”.
“When those things get side by side, it’s crazy how they can race like that,” he added. “Side drafting down the straightaway plays a lot into that. It was pretty exciting. These trucks always put on a good show pretty much everywhere they go.”
Earnhardt went on to say that he watched how sideways Kahne got coming off of turn two, and despite how far the back was hung out, the fact that he kept his foot in the throttle.
“That was some major commitment to stay with the throttle with how out of shape I saw the truck,” Earnhardt said. “So, I don’t know whether he timed how he was side drafting and positioning himself to where he needed to make the runs, but if he did, he was really smart about it.”
Going through three, he was set on clearing Jones before they came around the corner to head to the checkered.
“I was trying to clear him out of him three but I got loose,” Kahne stated. “But because I got loose I was able to use him on the exit of four. That wasn’t necessarily my plan; it was kind of the opposite. I think it would’ve worked, but I just didn’t keep my tires under me when I turned off of him into three.”
Earnhardt thought from his vantage point that Kahne had set it up that way, saying that if Jones was a bit back, he would’ve been able to swing past Kahne coming off of four. Despite all these concerns in position, it worked out for Kahne as he was able to edge Jones at the line by 0.005 seconds to snatch the victory.
“It was really close,” he commented. “I didn’t know who won. He did a nice job. The team did a nice job. It’s cool to drive for JR Motorsports and get Chevrolet’s 200th win. They’ve been on 199 for awhile, so it’s nice to finally crack that. It felt nice to win tonight.”
Kahne says he was surprised to get the victory, but felt his chances were strong with how the truck was through the middle of the race and the adjustments that crew chief Joe Shear Jr. made to make the truck better for the later half of the race.
For Kahne, it marks his fifth win in his sixth truck start; his worst truck series finish – a second to Elliott Sadler.
“It’s far from easy, but it’s worked out really well,” he commented. “Each truck that I’ve driven has been fast and had good teams behind me. All just really good trucks, really good teams and been in the right spot late in the race. I don’t think I’ve ever led the majority of the laps like you see in some of the truck races, but late in the race, we’ve been able to get it done in five of them – but Elliott beat me in one.”
While it’s just a simple truck series victory, it’s something that means a lot to Kahne as he hasn’t won a race in a while in any of NASCAR’s series. His last win dates back to last year in September at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the victory that he used to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
“Joe Shear told me before the race that we were going to win, so I just made that happen,” he commented. “It was quite the battle. I enjoyed every bit of it. It was fun to run a truck. It seems like every two years I get into one, and like I said, we had great trucks and were able to win. This is the first time that I’ve driven on a wide high-banked oval like this, so that’s the hardest that I’ve driven a truck and things like that was a little different than the past.
“You can’t beat experience, and it helped tonight. It helped us be able to race, contend and get the victory at the end of the show.”
