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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Rough Start For Kahne
Kasey Kahne’s Dodge lost an engine in the first round of practice for the Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted August 14, 2009   Brooklyn, MI
Kasey Kahne's team works to replace his engine. (Photo: Getty Images)

Kasey Kahne, who is in an excellent position to qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup, had a bad start to his weekend at Michigan International Speedway, losing an engine in Friday’s first round of practice for the Carfax 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race. As a result, he will start Sunday’s race from the back of the field.

Kahne is eighth in points, with a 127-point lead over 13th-place Kyle Busch with four races left in NASCAR’s 26-race regular season. The last thing Kahne needed, though, was engine problems in his No. 9 Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge.

“They’re saying it was a piston and when NASCAR gives them the OK to take the engine apart and go through it, (we can) kind of see why it happened,” Kahne said after his practice incident. “Our engine has been really reliable, so I was a little bit surprised.”

Kahne said the failure occurred in one of Dodge’s new R6 engines, which have given Kahne some good results this year. Still, he thinks he’ll be able to drive from the rear of the field, where he’ll have to begin the race because of replacing the engine.

“We’ve come from behind here before,” said Kahne, who has three top fives and five top 10s in his last seven races. “This is a good track that you can pass at; there’s a lot of racing room. The aero side of things here is difficult like a lot of the race tracks. (The field) will get strung out. Double-file restarts and things will allow me to get some spots back. It should be alright. … Tomorrow’s going to mean a lot, to get the car balanced and raceable.”

And Kahne maintains he’s in good shape for the Chase. Asked to assess his chances of qualifying for NASCAR’s playoff round, he said, “Pretty decent. We’ve had a pretty good last couple of months. Our team has done an awesome job. Pit stops have been really good and our cars have been handling great. I feel pretty comfortable about it. Hopefully, we’ll stay in the middle of it and do all of our jobs right, not make any mistakes and I think that we’ll be alright.”

That said, he’s not taking it as a given that he’s in. “It’s close,” Kahne said of the points race. “We’re all really on edge trying to make it, be part of the Chase. It’s close from 15th to sixth, somewhere in there. It’s a tight battle. Any little mistake can definitely cost you a lot of points and hurt your chances.”

As for what he can do to improve his chances, Kahne said all he can do is drive.

“I just try and focus on my racecar,” said Kahne. “We’re doing the same things that we’ve been doing, trying to get the balance where it needs to be so that we can race and be competitive on Sunday. Hopefully it works out. You definitely think about it, but there’s nothing that you can do. All you can do is perform and try and run strong on Sundays. If we can do that, hopefully, it will take care of itself.”

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of ?Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,? and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to




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