Kahne wins despite error
LONG POND — With pit strategy so critical at Pocono Raceway, it was no surprise to see Kasey Kahne's team make a sudden change.
It could have cost him a victory. Instead, Kahne rallied to his second points race victory in the last three weeks with a dominant run Sunday in the Pocono 500.
It nearly went awry early in the race when Kahne headed to pit road for a four-tire stop. At the last minute, crew chief Kenny Francis called for just a two tire stop, and the crew was caught flat-footed when Kahne drove away missing three lug nuts on one of his wheels.
Kahne had to return to pit road for a second stop, which dropped him to 38th.
"Kasey did a great job driving it back up through the field," Francis said. "We had a really, really good car, to be able to do that. It was pretty impressive to watch, really, for me. There at the end, I finally was relieved that we got back up front and were leading the race."
That's what momentum can do to a team, and Kahne and his No. 9 crew have been riding a wave of it since winning the All-Star race a month ago. Including that $1 million win, Kahne has been to Victory Lane three times in the past four events.
He knows he's got his fans to thank after they voted him into the All-Star race, giving him the push he needed to rally his way to ninth in the Sprint Cup Series standings.
"As a driver, I didn't feel like my confidence was down. But until I actually won this year, the All-Star race, I realized that I was leaving a little bit out there and wasn't communicating probably like I should have been," Kahne said. "I definitely credit the fans for getting us into the All-Star race. That gave us the momentum.
"That gave the company the excitement and the momentum that they needed, and myself, and that's when I personally feel like I started communicating better and I've done a much better job since.
Has he ever.
He followed the All-Star win with a victory the next week in the Coca-Cola 600, and although he bobbled last week with a 31st-place finish at Dover, he owned Pocono.
Kahne started from the pole, overcame the missing lug nuts and led a race-high 69 of the 200 laps in his Dodge.
"Never. I've never had a car that dominant before," Kahne said. "This one stayed the same all day long. It was so good all day long."
Brian Vickers was second for his best finish since joining Red Bull Racing at the start of last season, and Denny Hamlin was third to give Toyota two cars in the top three.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was fourth and appeared winded after racing over four hours on the hottest day so far of the NASCAR season. Temperatures hovered around 90 degrees all day, even after a brief rain shower halted action midway through the race.
Vickers declared himself exhausted and blamed some of the issues on rising heat in NASCAR's new car.
"It's brutal. We're going to the infield care center after the races and that's ridiculous," Vickers said. "NASCAR needs to step in and ... cool these cars down to help us. It is extremely freaking hot out there."
Hamlin was pale white and clearly spent as he nodded in agreement.
"I saw Brian, and even Junior needed a second to breathe. It's just tough," Hamlin said.
