Kahne - Ford interview
Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 9 Budweiser Ford Fusion, has three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway and one victory in the Sprint All-Star Race. As the circuit prepares for it's only night race of the chase, Kahne spoke about the week ahead, which also includes a 5K fun run that his foundation is hosting in uptown Charlotte Sunday morning.
ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS CHARLOTTE WEEK? "Yeah, I always like Charlotte, especially the racing, because it's a good track for us, and then just being close to home and being able to do some things whether it's with the fan club, sponsor stuff or with our foundation like this year with our 5K on Sunday morning, I think all of that stuff is kind of exciting and gives you something to look forward to."
THE TRACK HAS GONE THROUGH A LOT OF CHANGES PHYSICALLY THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. HAS IT ALTERED HOW THE CARS REACT? "It hasn't changed a whole lot. That track is pretty similar every time we go back with the feel. The cars have changed a lot with the setups as far as what we do and what other teams do, so we just need to keep working hard at that. If we hit on it, we'll be up front this week. That's just one of our tracks that we're good at."
ARE THOSE 1.5-MILE TRACKS THE KIND YOU ENJOY MOST? "They've always suited me the most. I was able to kind of figure them out a lot quicker than some of the other tracks."
ARE YOU AN AVID RUNNER WITH THIS 5K? "I like running and staying in shape, and I would say I probably run about 10-12 miles a week. I'll run three or four miles at a time, and it just depends on the day and what I have scheduled."
HOW DID THIS ALL COME ABOUT? "My trainer at KKR thought it would be neat and my sister started working with him on the foundation side. With the Ronald McDonald House, the Hall of Fame, and Bank of America being in downtown Charlotte, it was a good fit for a lot of the partners we've had the last few years, so it all came together and I'm looking forward to it. Budweiser is going to be a part of it, too, so it should be exciting and hopefully a lot of people will come and sign up. It's gonna be a good time."
I'M SURE YOU WOULD LIKE THAT 5K EVENT TO BE A VICTORY CELEBRATION AS WELL, RIGHT? "I'd rather be a bit tired going into the race on Sunday morning."
IS IT TRUE THAT YOU AS THE HOST WILL LEAD THE PACK FROM START TO FINISH? "It's 3.1 miles, but, no, that's not true. I would struggle with that because there are gonna be some fast runners participating (laughing)."