"I'm glad to be back": Kasey Kahne makes feeling clear on NASCAR comeback with RCR at Rockingham

Kasey Kahne let his feelings known about the upcoming NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Rockingham Speedway. Kahne, speaking to NASCAR.com, stated that he was glad about how quickly things fell in place for him with Richard Childress Racing.

NASCAR is returning to Rockingham for the first time in a decade (since 2013), with its national series. However, there will be no Cup Series race this weekend, as only the Truck and Xfinity Series events will take place.

As for Kahne, this will be his first Xfinity Series race since 2017, that too at the track where he made his debut back in 2002. About the upcoming race, Kahne said:

“I felt great off the start and was really happy with how quickly it came back [to me]. It doesn’t feel like I’ve been out of NASCAR as long as I have. Time flies, and I’m glad to be back doing this race.”

Following this, he added how he enjoyed racing at the Rockingham Raceway:

"I always liked the track from that point on and enjoyed racing there. I did [five] Xfinity races, one truck race and one Cup race and was competitive every time I was there. The size of the track, the banking, the flatness in spots — everything that Rockingham brings. It’s a cool track that I wanted to race again at.”

Kahne will drive Richard Childress Racing's #33 Chevrolet Camaro SS for the Rockingham Speedway race. Interestingly, the chance came through Keith Rodden, who is the vice president of competition for RCR, and a former teammate of Kahne.

It all started with Kasey Kahne texting Rodden about a return to the Xfinity Series, and then the duo moved to Danny Lawrence, vice president, alliance operations and director of RCR's Xfinity Series program. In the end, the matter went to Richard Childress, who gave it a green flag.

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Kasey Kahne's illustrious NASCAR statistics in a nutshell

Kasey Kahne is a renowned NASCAR driver, who left his mark in the Cup Series and Xfinity Series. With nearly 750 races run over close to two decades, Kahne was named among the 75 Greatest Drivers in NASCAR in 2023.

NASCAR Cup Series driver Kasey Kahne (95) during the 2018 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. - Source: Imagn

He made his Cup Series debut back in 2004 with the Daytona 500, and went on to race in the series for 15 years. Here, he racked up 529 starts and picked 18 wins, 27 pole positions, and 176 Top 10s. His last race in the series was the 2018 Southern 500 at Darlington.

Kasey Kahne raced in the Xfinity Series for nearly 16 years, with 215 races, eight wins, nine poles, and 87 Top 10s to his name. He also raced six times in the Truck Series, winning five of them.