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Wednesday, Feb. 06, 2008

Kahne needs to thrive on the track

Inevitably, Kasey Kahne is bound to get a good amount of attention regardless of how many races he wins this year. Driving the red No. 9 car made famous by Bill Elliott combined with being Budweiser's new NASCAR pitchman will mean a good helping of exposure for Kahne.

Throw in his baby-faced looks that heavily endear him to the sport's female fan base, and he has plenty of reasons to be watched.

But there is one thing that was missing from Kahne's team at Gillette Evernham Motorsports last season, something that would be welcomed back like a bucket of ice on a hot day - on track success.

After qualifying for the Chase for the championship in 2006 and winning six times that year, Kahne had a rough time last year, failing to win a race, finishing in the top five just once and finishing 19th in the points standings.

After a season like that, this may be the defining season of the 27-year-old's career. If Kahne has another season like last year's, he might as well be racing's version of Vince Carter - someone with a lot of flash but not enough performance to back it up.

Sure, the Allstate insurance commercials with women trying to chase him down are entertaining to watch, but Kahne is a driver. He needs to be known as a racer, not some sideshow act.

If Kahne is to be successful this season, a good bit of weight will rest on his shoulders and the rest of his team.

Last year, all three Evernham teams entered the season hoping to follow-up a 2006 that saw each car contend for victories. Instead, things got off to a bad start at Daytona with all three crew chiefs being suspended, and the teams' fortunes never rebounded. Elliott Sadler finished in the top 10 twice, finishing 25th in points while Scott Riggs, who has since moved to Haas CNC Racing, failed to qualify for seven races.

Kahne, however, is optimistic better times are ahead. He noted last week during a news conference that Gillette Evernham Motorsports has tweaked the duties of some team members to get a better handle on car set-ups. Last year, all three Evernham cars struggled so much that the team tried racing cars with the set-up from the previous season when all three cars were factors to win races.

"I think things are definitely different this year with Evernham as far as the structure and the plan that's set there to make the cars right, to make them handle for a while, not just for a week," Kahne said. "We figure something out, we can keep it and make it better as time goes on."

The odds are pretty good that Kahne has not forgotten how to drive on a high level.

The fact that both Kahne and his team head into the season motivated by a dismal performance means that he is likely to either win some races or take some pretty big risks on the track to get back in the habit of winning.

And that will make Kahne worth watching.