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Drivers successfully making the transition from sprint cars to stock cars used to be the exception. While the list of drivers that have found success in sprint cars and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars isn’t long, Kasey Kahne is on it. As Kahne embarks in his fifth season of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition, he looks to the 2008 season as being a “new year with new beginnings.” He begins 2008 with a new sponsor and a new car design in a newly titled series. While the No. 9 Budweiser/Gillett Evernham Motorsports Team is all for ushering in the new, they aim to return to the form that made Kahne NASCAR’s Rookie of the Year in 2004 and one of the most promising young drivers in the Cup Series.
Contending for championships is something with which Kahne has become well acquainted. Before making a name for himself in NASCAR, Kahne was a sprint car star in his own right. With support from his father, Kelly, Kahne started racing at the age of 14, competing in a limited number of micro-midget car events near his hometown of Enumclaw, Wash. Just two years later, in 1996, Kahne got his first taste of success by capturing the Hannigan (WA) Speedway Mini-Sprints championship and the Northwest Mini Sprints championship.
Kahne honed his skills from 1998 to 2002 when he competed in the World of Outlaws, All-Star Circuit of Champions, Gumout Racing Series and Northern Sprint Tour winged sprint car series. In 2000 he enjoyed a breakout season, winning the USAC Midget Series championship and earning the title of National Midget Driver of the Year. Kahne built on those accomplishments the following season by scoring four wins and 10 top-five finishes in just 11 USAC Midget Series starts. He also won his second consecutive “Night before the 500” Classic at Indianapolis Raceway Park, a feat previously achieved by only one other driver – Jeff Gordon.
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