Kahne endures restarts, ends up the winner

Sunday, Jun. 21, 2009

SONOMA, Calif. - As Kasey Kahne closed in on a much-needed victory in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway on Sunday, another caution flag flew.

"I can’t believe it," Kahne said to himself.

Two laps remained. It was the seventh yellow flag of the race, but the fourth in its final 20 laps. Kahne, who led each of those laps with Tony Stewart following closely in second place, was getting tired of it.

But on this final caution - and the double-file restart recently mandated by NASCAR that came with it - Kahne held off Stewart again and went on to his first road-course victory in his six-year career.

"I don’t remember that last one," said Kahne, who moved into 13th place in the Sprint Cup points race, one spot out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, with the victory.

"Because there were four or five of them at the end. I was just trying to get away from (Stewart) at the start. My first gear was better than Tony’s and I had the lane choice."

Kahne, like many Cup drivers, has struggled on road courses. His best finish at Sonoma had been a 23rd in 2007. Sunday, though, he found a combination that worked. He took the lead on Lap 79 and didn’t relinquish it.

"A lot of things go into winning on the Sprint Cup circuit," Dodge-driving Kahne said. "I spun my tires here in the past. I didn’t do that. I didn’t have brake issues. I had brake issues in the past. Everything just really played into our favor."

Stewart’s second-place finish in his Chevrolet allowed him to increase his lead in the Sprint Cup points standings. He’s now ahead of Jeff Gordon by 84 points (he led by 47 coming into the race).

Australian Marcos Ambrose, who started his Toyota at the rear of the field after blowing an engine in practice Sunday (he qualified third), finished third.

Three-time defending series champ Jimmie Johnson was fourth.

They were part of a pack that couldn’t crack the Kahne-Stewart convoy.

The restarts were nerve-wracking for Kahne, who spent much of the day talking with crew chief Kenny Francis about how to best attack the restarts. They certainly had enough time at the end to test their theories.

"I was thinking the inside lane," said Kahne. "He said, ‘I don’t know, the outside looks pretty good.' He told me not to do what he wanted, but what I wanted, and it worked out. But I started to think about the outside lane some more and it paid off."

Said Stewart, who won at Pocono two weeks ago: "Kasey just never made a mistake at the end. "(He) never slipped a wheel, never missed a corner."

Kahne also won for team owner Richard Petty, the first time a Petty-owned car had won since 1996, with John Andretti at Martinsville. Two other Richard Petty Motorsports drivers finished in the top 10, AJ Allmendinger (seventh) and Elliott Sadler (10th).

"To see Richard in the winners circle with us, that was big," said Kahne. "Coming into today, I don’t he think he expected it. I don’t think anybody did."

Kahne has two 14th-place finishes at Watkins Glen, the circuit’s other road course.

"The way I learned to race, I didn't do go-kart of that kind of racing," he said. "So I've had six years of racing on this kind of course. You just learn and get better. The experience I’m getting now is something you can’t beat. I've made mistakes, but I won’t make them again."

Kahne was unhappy earlier this season with the motors in his Dodges were working. Sunday’s victory seems to be proof that’s not a problem now.

"Early in year we started behind a little bit," he said. "But RPM has given us a better way to work on the race cars. They’re better engines and it’s paid off."

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