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A former Hendrick Motorsports driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, Kasey Kahne's story in the sport is a tale of what could have been. The now 43-year-old driver, who faced retirement five years ago in the highest echelon of stock car racing, did not decide his ultimate fate on his own terms.
Over 17 years in NASCAR, out of which he was seen in the Cup Series for 15 years, Kahne was seen as a driver with declining abilities over the final years of his career. The 2018 Monster Energy Cup Series season came to be the Enumclaw, Washington native's final year in the sport.
The reason behind Kasey Kahne leaving his role in the sport came due to issues related with the #95 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver's health at the time. Driving for the Leaving Family Racing team at the time after leaving Rick Hendrick's organization in 2017, Kahne came face-to-face with severe dehydration and exhaustion issues during the season.
In what had been a rare occurrence behind the wheel in the previous year, Kahne's medical problems forced him to retire from the sport in 2018. During the 2018 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, the now 43-year-old agreed to having trouble keeping his eyes open towards the final laps of the race.
Kahne was in turn not cleared medically to race any further due to heat exhaustion and body temperature issues.
Kasey Kahne's NASCAR Cup Series season saw him visit Victory Lane 18 times during his 15 years in the sport. Winner of NASCAR's longest race, the Coca-Cola 600 three times, Kahne's career came to an end after a total of 529 starts.
Fellow NASCAR drivers applauded Kasey Kahne for his maturity in dealing with health issues
Kasey Kahne's peers in the Cup Series at the time applauded the former Leavine Family Racing team driver for the maturity with which he handled his health issues. Great names such as Chase Elliott and Dale Earnhardt Jr. spoke on how he made the correct decision by looking after his future health.
Bubba Wallace Jr. was also one of the drivers who spoke about Kahne at the time, and said:
“I told him I was praying for his future and hopefully everything gets a lot better,” Wallace said Friday at Talladega Superspeedway. “Kudos to him for sticking up for his health and not being selfish. I would be selfish about it and be wanting to drive.”
After retiring from the NASCAR Cup Series, Kasy Kahne took up racing sprint cars on dirt ovals as a replacement for his initial career.
