Victory Celebration at the All Star Race, 2008

 

As many of you know, I got into training racers way back when because I was a fan of the sport. I was passionate in my love of the people involved and forged great relationships with them that grew over time.  I wanted to make sure as we launched full steam into Racers Workout and this web site that we never lost our way. That we remembered that it is the fans and their love of the sport that drives the whole machine. I am all of them. So I made it clear that we would do regular discussions about my favorite racers. Kasey Kahne as you know is one of my all time favorites. We go back years and the man is peerless in his focus and approach to preparing for success out on that race track.

I wanted to make sure he was front and center on what I envision to be an online Motorsports Racers Fitness Magazine. Even if the subject wasn't fitness, I wanted the fans to be updated the right way. That meant that I needed to find fans with that level of passion for Kasey's career to share that with you regularly. People who really know the sport. Angie Auer is one of the driving forces behind the awesome Kasey fan site http://victoryk.ning.com/. They have frankly treated me like royalty over there and I can't thank them enough.  The way Angie presents this recap of Kasey at Dover makes me think she should consider a new career.

The Monster is Real

(www.kaseykahne.com)

Kasey Kahne, was on target for his third consecutive top five. That was until the engine in his No.

4 Red Bull Toyota quit on lap 331. Kahne came to a stop high in turn two and had to get a push off the track so the team could diagnose the problem. He finished 36th, with his official post-race status being listed as “engine.”

“We had a great Red Bull Toyota. The car was fast,” Kahne said. “I was really loose, and we kept working on it. We got up there and then would fall back on the runs. Early on, it was like there was something wrong on restarts. I over revved it one time, trying to get it to go. I think that had something to do with why the engine let go, and it was probably a little bit my fault. But it wasn’t running. Kind of a bad deal.”

Kahne dropped three spots in the driver standings to 18th. He’s 42 points out of 10th.

My Two Cents on Dover

At the start of the weekend, beginning with first practice, the car was running in the teens and twenties  but Kasey seemed pleased with the car saying it turned good and worked well up top and down on the inside as well.  During final practice the team switched the car to qualifying trim and Kasey shot to #4 on the speed chart. Thank goodness, as qualifying would get rained out and that fast lap would put us in the second row, fourth spot, for the start of Sunday's race.

There seemed to be issues with the car from the drop of the green flag. During one restart Kasey radioed that the car would not rev above 7,000 causing him a slow restart and putting him further back in the field.  Kenny said it may have something to do with the rev chip in the ignition box and to switch to secondary ignition box. Kasey was told  that there was no rev chip in this ignition box and to be cautious during shifting.

This switch to the secondary ignition box showed results immediately as Kasey began to move back through  the field and into the top 10.  Once again, the pit crew had excellent stops and got Kasey back out in the top 10 every stop.

As the laps progressed Kasey mentioned that the voltage in battery one was down to 8. Kenny said to turn off all fans except for the gear fans and switch to secondary battery. Kasey switched and turned off all fans. Kenny radioed to switch back to primary battery, he did and said that voltage was back up to 12. He continued to maintain a top 10 position during long green flag runs, focused, with almost complete radio silence.

Around lap 300 Kasey said the car seemed to be going slower and slower and didn't think it had anything to do with it being loose. During this time he maintained his position in the top 10.  Kenny told him to do the best he could and they would  try and fix it next stop. At lap 331, Kasey moved to the top of the track and the car slowed and coasted to a stop.  As they tried to diagnose the problem Kasey said the battery voltage was still good but the car smelled weird like it blew up but otherwise no other signals of the engine expiring. Car had to be pushed off the track. As the push truck came behind, it damaged the 4's rear tail pipes. As the team worked on the car in the garage, it was determined by Kenny Francis that the car could not be repaired and to pack it up for the day.

Kasey was credited with a 36th place finish which dropped him to 18th in the points standings.

During the race, with each issue that came up, Kasey seemed to maintain focus and worked through each problem calmly, except for a few expletives. I say this laughingly, because I really enjoy hearing him vent and letting his frustration out. I think it lets off steam and allows him to calm himself down instead of driving with frustration which could cause him to make a costly mistake.

During long stretches there was almost complete radio silence which means, to me, Kasey is focused and concentrating on his race. He made the car work for him and continued moving forward at a steady pace. I am convinced that with the continued strong pit stops from the crew and continued adjustments made by Kenny Francis and Keith Rodden the team would have had another top 5 finish in Dover.

 

With this team's continued attitude and performance, I look forward to seeing the #4 Red Bull Toyota team in Victory Lane, not just once, but multiple times this season.  Kasey is determined to get that win and, being a fan of his for many years,  I know he won't stop until he gets it done.

Up next is this week's All-Star race in Charlotte, NC.  It will be a busy week for Kasey and the #4 Red Bull team with the Pit Crew Challenge on Thursday, May 19th at 8:00p.m.ET on Speed. He will also be participating in the Pennzoil Ultra Victory Burnout Challenge which will be at 6:00p.m.ET on May 21 at Charlotte Motor Speedway as part of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race pre-event festivities. I can't wait to see that! Burn the rubber off those Goodyear's!

Friday is practice and qualifying for the Sprint Cup All-Star race!

Go Kasey!! Burn em up! See you in Victory Lane!

 

p.s. Kasey fans, head on over to http://victoryk.ning.com and join in the fun. Diana and Angie are great people and have done a super job with the site.

Filed under: Racing News

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