Saturday, March 18, 2006
His 2006 start is wiping out bad memories from a year ago.
HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) -- Kasey Kahne has a role model: Tony Stewart.
Not that Kahne wants to develop a temper or bad-boy reputation. He just wants to race like the NASCAR Nextel Cup champion.
So far, he's doing a pretty good job. He won the pole for today's Golden Corral 500 and is third in the season points entering the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
In 2004, Kahne captured rookie honors with a season that included five runner-up finishes, 13 top fives and 14 top 10s.
Kahne, who turns 26 next month, struggled in 2005. He earned his first victory last spring at Richmond, but that was one of only five top fives and eight top 10s during the 36-race season. None of those results came in the final 10 events.
He spent a lot of time thinking about how he could become a better, more consistent driver.
"One thing I did was watch Tony Stewart through the week and watch some of the things he does from the time he makes his first lap in practice until he's done racing that weekend," Kahne said.
Negative to positive
He suspects the difficult season may be a plus in the long run.
"Sometimes that stuff helps," he said. "You don't want to do it all the time, but it's such an up-and-down sport. I think I learned a lot from it, and I know the team has. I think I'm more prepared and ready for this season."
A big part of the problem for the Evernham Motorsports driver and the rest of the Dodge entries last year was the new Charger. The model that replaced the Intrepid at the beginning of 2005 has faced a big hurdle with its balance.
Two teams -- Penske Racing South and Petty Enterprises -- have gone back to the 2004 car at some tracks in an effort to be competitive. Team owner Ray Evernham has chosen to tough it out with the new car.
It appears his team has found some solutions, with Kahne opening the season with an 11th-place finish at Daytona and fourth-place runs at California and Las Vegas.
"Things can change quick, but we're definitely on a high right now," Kahne said. "We have momentum and things are going our way. We've got to capitalize while we do have this and, hopefully, keep it going all season."
Lester to race
Today's race will feature Bill Lester, the first black driver to race in NASCAR's top series since Willy T. Ribbs in 1986. The 45-year-old Lester, a longtime competitor in NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series, will start 19th.
"I saw Bill right before he went out to qualify, and I wished him luck," Kahne said. "He did a great job. Hopefully, he gets a lot more opportunities to be in these NASCAR Nextel Cup races."
Jimmie Johnson has won two of the first three races and finished second to Matt Kenseth in the other. Johnson leads Kenseth by 52 points going into the race.
The field most likely will have to contend with Carl Edwards, who won the last two Cup races at Atlanta and finished third in his only other start at the track. A year ago, Edwards bumped past Johnson on the final straightaway to earn his first of four Cup victories by half a car-length.
Johnson has been racing without crew chief Chad Knaus, who was suspended for four races by NASCAR after making unapproved changes to the No. 48 Chevrolet in Daytona 500 qualifying. Knaus will return next week at Bristol, allowing interim crew chief Darian Grubb to return to his job as the team's lead engineer.
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