Kahne gives high marks to the new Dodge engine
Friday, Jun. 05, 2009
Kasey Kahne stands in the garage area during practice for the Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway on May 29, 2009. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images)
Getty Images for NASCAR
DOVER, DE - MAY 29: Kasey Kahne, driver of the #9 Budweiser Dodge, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway on May 29, 2009 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
AP
Crews push cars for NASCAR driver David Ruetimann (00), left, and Kasey Kahne (9), right, to be fueled as rain falls at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., Friday, June 5, 2009. The Pocono 500 is scheduled for Saturday. (AP Photo/Russ Hamilton, Sr.)
Getty Images for NASCAR
DOVER, DE - MAY 31: Kasey Kahne, driver of the #9 Budweiser Dodge, races Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the #77 Mobil 1 Dodge, side by side during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway on May 31, 2009 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
AP
Drivers Kasey Kahne, left, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. talk in the garage area before practicing for the NASCAR Autism Speaks 400 auto race, Saturday, May 30, 2009, in Dover, Del. (AP Photo/Russ Hamilton Jr.)
LONG POND, Pa. - Kasey Kahne said he saw remarkable improvement last weekend, his first with the new Dodge engine, and looks forward to having one again next weekend at Michigan.
Kahne was the only Richard Petty Motorsports driver to use the new engine at Dover, Del. It has also been used this season at Penske Racing.
None of the RPM teams will use it this weekend at Pocono Raceway.
Kahne said the organization just doesn’t have enough of the new engines ready.
"From what I felt last week, I felt it was a great improvement," said Kahne, who finished sixth at Dover, his second-best showing of the season. "The engine runs better off the corner, and that's what gets you down the straightaway faster.
"We just couldn't get off the corner as well as the other guys. I felt equal to anybody last week. It's not a big a deal at Dover as at Charlotte, but I still felt we were much better."
The Charlotte Observer is pleased to be able to offer its users the opportunity to make comments and hold conversations online. However, the interactive nature of the internet makes it impracticable for our staff to monitor each and every posting.
Since charlotteobserver.com does not control user submitted statements, we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted on our website. In addition, we remind anyone interested in making an online comment that responsibility for statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not The Charlotte Observer.
If you find a comment offensive, clicking on the exclamation icon will flag the comment for review by the administrators, we are counting on the good judgment of all our readers to help us.
@Nyx.CommentBody@