Chase Capsules: Kasey Kahne - MotorSportsTalk

5 – Kasey Kahne
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Crew Chief: Kenny Francis
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Best Finish: 4th (2012)
Chase History: 5th Chase Appearance, Best finish of 4th in 2012

Regular Season Recap: Kasey Kahne has had one of his worst seasons to date, but with his win at Atlanta, he made the Chase, thus assuring that all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers will be in the playoffs. Prior to his win at Atlanta, Kahne struggled unmercifully, with just two top-five finishes before he finally took a checkered flag in 2014. But he’s become the poster boy for NASCAR’s catchy new Chase slogan: Win and you’re in. Will the momentum Kahne got from Atlanta carry over to the Chase? Time will tell. But up to now, he’s only had one decent finish in the Chase in his career.

Jerry’s Take: Kahne is another one of those drivers for whom greatness has long been predicted, but unfortunately his results haven’t quite matched that optimism. There’s no question that he needs to greatly improve his performance because he knows all too well that 18-year-old Nationwide Series phenom Chase Elliott is waiting in the wings.

Can Kahne be a potential Cinderella in the upcoming Chase? Sure, there’s a possibility, but he’ll need to drive like he’s never driven before. He’ll also need to be more aggressive to win because if he doesn’t, he has so much more to lose.

Essentially, Kahne needs to reinvent himself for the Chase, which is not an easy task, let alone to actually pull it off successfully. If he can get past the first round of eliminations, that would be a start.

Chris’s Take: As I wrote earlier this week, Kahne is a relevant driver once again after winning at Atlanta to make the post-season. But this is the time where he needs to make a true impact and, at the least, prove that he can stack up against his superstar teammates at Hendrick Motorsports. Getting through the Challenger Round will be critical, but if he can do that, Kahne has an genuine opportunity to advance from the Contender Round with a fifth victory at Charlotte.

Tony’s Take: Kahne avoided the ignominy of missing the Chase considering his teammates all locked themselves in a while back. Sad to say but I think the Atlanta win is as good as it’s going to get for the driver of the No. 5 car.

There’s been little to nothing, consistency or big results-wise, that has shown Kahne as a title contender. He may make it out of the Challenger round, but he is highly likely to be the first of the Hendrick drivers eliminated from this year’s Chase.

Kasey Kahne’s Career Statistics at Chase Tracks
Chicagoland (1.5 mile) – Zero wins, 2 Top-5s, 3 Top-10s in 10 starts
New Hampshire (1 mile) – One win, 3 Top-5s, 8 Top-10s in 21 starts
Dover (1 mile) – Zero wins, 1 Top-5s, 5 Top-10s in 21 starts
Kansas (1.5 mile) – Zero wins, 4 Top-5s, 7 Top-10s in 14 starts
Charlotte (1.5 mile) – Four wins, 9 Top-5s, 12 Top-10s in 21 starts
Talladega (2.66 mile) – Zero wins, 3 Top-5s, 5 Top-10s in 21 starts
Martinsville (half-mile) – Zero wins, 3 Top-5s, 4 Top-10s in 21 starts
Texas (1.5-mile) – One win, 4 Top-5s, 10 Top-10s in 18 starts
Phoenix (1 mile) – One win, 4 Top-5s, 7 Top-10s in 20 starts
Homestead-Miami (1.5 mile) – Zero wins, 1 Top-5s, 4 Top-10s in 10 starts

An IndyCar executive said there is “absolutely” disappointment that its long-awaited video game recently was delayed beyond its target date, but the series remains optimistic about the new title.

“Well, I don’t know how quick it will be, but the whole situation is important to us,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said during a news conference Monday morning to announce IndyCar’s NTT title sponsorship. “Motorsport Games has spent a lot of money, a lot of effort to create an IndyCar title. What we’ve seen of that effort, which is not completely obvious, is very reassuring.

“I think it’s going to be outstanding. That’s our shared objective, that when it is released, it’s just widely accepted. A great credit both to IndyCar racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, something that our fans love.”

In June 2021, IndyCar announced a new partnership with Motorsport Games to create and distribute an IndyCar video game for the PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles in 2023.

But during an earnings call last week, Motorsport Games said the IndyCar game had been delayed to 2024 to ensure high quality.

Somewhat compounding the delay is that IndyCar’s license for iRacing expired after the end of the 2022 season because of its exclusive agreement with Motorsport Games.

That’s resulted in significant changes for IndyCar on iRacing, which had provided a high-profile way for the series to stay visible during its 2020 shutdown from the pandemic. (Players still can race an unbranded car but don’t race on current IndyCar tracks, nor can they stream).

That’s helped ratchet up the attention on having a video game outlet for IndyCar.

“I wish we had an IndyCar title 10 years ago,” said Miles, who has been working with the organization since 2013. “We’ve been close, but we’ve had these I think speed bumps.”

IndyCar is hopeful the Motorsports Game edition will be ready at the start of 2024. Miles hinted that beta versions could be unveiled to reporters ahead of the time “to begin to show the progress in a narrow way to make sure we’ve got it right, to test the progress so that we’re ready when they’re ready.”

It’s been nearly 18 years since the release of the most recent IndyCar video game for console or PC.

“(We) better get it right,” Miles said. “It’s something we’re very close to and continue to think about what it is to make sure we get it over the line in due course.”