MAN ON THE MOVE
Will Kasey Kahne Finally Find Stability At Hendrick Motorsports? BY JON GUNN
jeans and a T-shirt, steps out of his motorcoach at Pocono Raceway. It’s his fi rst interview of the day and
he looks relaxed. He kicks things off by talking about
his one-year hitch with Red Bull. “T ere’s been a little stability, a little
more than in the past,” he says. “It’s a little tough at times, but it’s actually gone pretty smoothly for the situation that we’re in.” Kahne’s Cup career is in what can be
best described as a holding pattern: He is still competing for Red Bull but will move to Hendrick Motorsports in 2012. T e instability is nothing new. Kahne’s spent much of his Cup career striving for
44 NASCAR ILLUSTRATED
success while working from a foundation as fi rm as Jell-O. Considered an elite driver, Kahne hasn’t
been on truly solid footing since the 2006 season — in contrast to contemporaries like Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards. His career could have come to a
screeching halt long ago, especially in this economy, but Kahne has endured. No
It’s 10:45 a.m. Kasey Kahne, wearing
doubt his talent has kept him in NASCAR’s top series, but Kahne has also benefi ted from his good looks. “T e fi rst things you see when you look
at Kasey are obviously his looks and his name,” says Ray Evernham, who brought Kahne into the Cup Series in 2004. “If you’re a marketing guy, it’s, ‘Wow! If this kid can drive, every woman in the world is going to love him and we’ll sell a lot of products.’” Kahne left sprint cars for Sprint Cup
during NASCAR’s boom — an era in which mainstream America carried on a fl irtatious aff air with the sport, money poured in, and drivers were frequently featured in multimillion-dollar advertising campaigns. Kahne blossomed. In one popular series of commercials
for the insurance company Allstate, a trio of “Cougars” swooned at the mere thought of the blue-eyed NASCAR darling — their fantasies ending in minor, humorous catas- trophes. On the track, Evernham paired Kahne
with veteran crew chief Tommy Baldwin and the impact was immediate. “I knew the fi rst test we took him to
that it was going to be a fun year,” says Baldwin, now a team owner. “We had a really good time. It was awesome to work with him. “He can defi nitely drive a race car.” Kahne had 13 top-fi ves, claimed rookie
of the year honors and won his fi rst race the following season. ››
Photo: Chuck Yadmark
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