Kasey Kahne 2010 Preview, Predictions & Odds

With the NASCAR season underway, we are providing season previews for the top 30 drivers to give you the betting edge. Follow the best NASCAR Handicappers as they analyze their drivers in this 2010 season preview. Use our comprehensive and insider info to bet successfully on NASCAR in our recommend sportsbooks. View the rest of our 2010 NASCAR Season Previews here.

Kasey Kahne 2009 Stats

Kasey Kahne 2009 Recap & Review

Kasey Kahne got off to a slow start in 2009, scoring only two top-10 finishes in the first three months of the year. As he sat 16th in points at the end of May, rumors about his team’s future were already swirling, and a coveted spot in the Chase seemed an unlikely outcome to a season full of questions and doubt. But a seventh-place finish in the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 sparked a turnaround, and Kahne spent the next three months steadily climbing the standings toward the top 12.

One of the biggest moments in the summer hot streak came at Infineon, when Kahne scored his first road course win – the first for new car owner Richard Petty since 1999 – and snapped his 35-race winless drought in the process. Four top las in the next five races helped vault Kahne onto the right side of the Chase bubble, a position he wouldn’t relinquish for the rest of the regular season.

A second victory of the year at Atlanta helped boost the team’s confidence heading into the 10-race playoff, but a shocking merger announcement with Yates Racing threw RPM into chaos mere days before the first Chase race at Loudon. Any remaining momentum fizzled when he suffered an engine failure only 66 laps into that event, an ironic twist that caught the eye of conspiracy theorists since it came on the heels of layoffs in the RPM engine department.

To its credit, the No. 9 team kept chugging along in the face of disaster. Thanks to four top las and two top 5s in the final nine races, Kahne was able to climb out of the Chase cellar and end the year in 10th place in the overall standings – earning a spot at the season ending banquet in Las Vegas.

Kasey Kahne 2010 Preview & Prediction

After making the Chase, recording a second straight multi-win season, and clearly being the No. 1 driver in the organization, why would anyone be contemplating jumping ship? Well, in the case of Kasey Kahne and Richard Petty Motorsports, you can point to the seemingly constant change of names on the front door — along with the uncertainty that comes along with multiple mergers. Toss in a return to a manufacturer that once took legal action against him, and it’s easy to see why Kahne isn’t hiding the fact that he’s looking for other opportunities.

That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement of a No. 9 team that still made the Chase and won two races in 2009 amidst the chaos surrounding it. But despite his pending free agency, Kahne’s immediate future will be another season with RPM, which after nine years of running Dodges, will switch to Fords following a merger with Yates Racing. The new team will fall under the Roush Fenway umbrella.

It’s a difficult marriage for Kahne, whose previous relationship with the manufacturer turned ugly. Before joining what was then Evernham Motorsports in 2004, Kahne had a long-term contract with Ford to drive its cars (ironically, with what was known then as Robert Yates Racing). But when Evernham came calling, Kahne jumped to Dodge, resulting in a lawsuit that was eventually settled out of court.

The underrated leadership of crew chief Kenny Francis will help Kahne fend off outside distractions, but contract negotiations are a different beast altogether. And we’ve seen many times how the words “lame duck” immediately turned a season toward self-destruction.

However, as the season draws near, Kahne is keeping a positive outlook on things — or at least trying to say all the right things, knowing that a nine-month grind awaits.

With open-ended statements like that, you get the feeling Kahne making the Chase for a third time is as likely as Jimmie Johnson not making the Chase this season. If the driver chooses to leave the only Cup team he’s ever known, a win in a “lame duck” scenario would have to be considered an upset, although Kahne and Francis have managed to win 10 races together over a four-year span. Look for the number of top 5s and top 10s to be down this year, as well, as Kahne seeks out his future home.

Kasey Kahne 2010 Predictions

We predict that Kasey Kahne will finish 20th in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Kasey Kahne Betting & Odds

Kasey Kahne NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship Odds: +2500

Kasey Kahne Betting Trends & Situations

• after finishing worse than 15th, average finish is 11.2
• when racing in February, average finish is 18.1

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