Whereas Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have already secured their bids and Jeff Gordon is a near-lock to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Kasey Kahne’s position is far more tenuous.
Kasey Kahne faces must-win to make the Chase
He could still qualify by points, but the reality is Kahne needs a win Saturday night if he’s to earn a Chase spot.
While Kahne could still earn enough points to make the Chase, that scenario is far less likely. His best bet is by winning Saturday night’s regular-season finale at Richmond International Raceway.
“I think you definitely need to worry about strategy and how to get on the right strategy and have a shot at the end of the race,” Kahne said Friday. “But yeah, we need to win. That’s basically our only way in.”
Richmond was the site of Kahne’s first-career victory in 2005, and he’s optimistic about contending Saturday night. The No. 5 team focused primarily on long runs during first practice Friday.
Needing a win to make the Chase is not an unfamiliar position for Kahne. A year ago he needed one in the second-to-last regular season to move himself off the playoff bubble.
“I kind of live this thing every year,” Kahne said. “It’s like we’re right on the verge, either in or out each year.”
Kahne appeared well positioned to avoid the late-season scramble, as an eighth at Sonoma moved him to eighth in the standings. But in the nine races since he’s struggled, posting an average finish of 25.5 -- including successive accidents at Pocono and Kentucky where he finished 43rd and 42nd, respectively.
As Kahne has slid from being comfortably in the Chase to well outside -- he trails Clint Bowyer by 31 points for the final playoff spot -- he’s done his best to stay calm and not get overly frustrated. He blames himself for the Pocono crash, but cites a lack of speed as the main culprit for the regression.
“It’s just been a bit of a struggle to get very good results,” Kahne said. “There’s been a little bit of bad luck in there, which you have each season; and then it’s just been a struggle to finish top five or top 10; and that’s what we need to get a lot better at if we want to ever contend for wins and ultimately make it into the Chase and a championship down the road.”
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