Kahne Gets In All-Star Race By Fan Vote, Races To $1 Million Victory

CONCORD, N.C. — In a matter of seconds, Kasey Kahne went from a date with a cold Budweiser to racing in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race Saturday night at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
Less than two hours and some daring strategy later, Kahne and his Gillett Evernham Motorsports team were celebrating a $1 million triumph.
Kahne finished fifth in the Sprint Showdown and was planning on heading home to watch the All-Star Race on television when he was notified that he had been the winner of the fan voting to determine the final entry in the event.
“I thank the fans so much. The car was mediocre in the open and the fans got us in this race and we shouldn’t even be here,” said the driver of the Budweiser Dodge. “We just kept fighting. I cannot believe we just won $1 million and we are here in victory lane.”
Kahne steadily worked his way forward from the back of the pack during the first three segments of the All-Star Race, and was seventh at the end of the third segment when crew chief Kenny Francis made the call to take only fuel on the pit stop between segments.
“We passed them one by one, pretty slow,” Kahne laughed. “Kenny (Francis) made the right call at the end for no tires. I didn’t think we needed them either, and the car was awesome.”

TRANSFER AND TRIUMPH: Kasey Kahne enjoys a Budweiser after capturing Saturday's NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Kahne returned to the track second and took the lead when Denny Hamlin blew his Toyota engine on lap 83. From there, he held off Greg Biffle, who had won the third segment, but elected to take two tires on his pit stop.
Despite running the final 50 laps on the same set of tires, Kahne cruised to a 1.327-second victory at the 1.5-mile superspeedway where he swept both Cup races during the 2006 season.
Biffle’s Roush Fenway Racing Ford was one of the fastest cars all night, but could do nothing with Kahne down the stretch.
“I was too loose out there by myself. I almost spun out leading the race,” Biffle said. “We put two tires on it. I don’t think he changed anything else on it. I can’t believe I got beat by no tires considering I put two tires on it — and as fast as my car was.
“It’s kind of crazy to think that if we had stayed out and kept our balance we probably could have won. But we really thought two tires was the right call.”
Matt Kenseth had one of his best races of the season and finished third, but echoed the sentiments of most of the competitors on this night.
“It is so hard to pass out there in dirty air with these race cars,” Kenseth said. “To finish third is great. It wasn’t a third-place finish that helped us a lot in the points, but for us it was almost like a test and it was a good morale booster for the team.
“We haven’t run that well this year and tonight I thought we were back in form. Overall, we had a pretty good car, a car that could be a contender, and I haven’t been that way for a while.”
Jimmie Johnson, who also elected not to take tires on the final pit stop, brought his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet home fourth, while Tony Stewart, who clearly had the fastest car during the last segment, steered his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to a fifth-place finish.
Starting from the pole, Kyle Busch led all 25 laps of the first segment, which was run without a yellow flag. Biffle, Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. filled the top five.
Kyle Busch paced the first eight laps of the second segment, but lost a cylinder in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and lost the lead to Carl Edwards on the ninth lap. Edwards led the remaining distance in the 25-lap stint, with Earnhardt, Kenseth, Newman, Biffle and Kyle Busch following.
During the half-time break, Busch’s team determined the engine problem was terminal and his night was finished.
After Earnhardt led the first 13 laps of segment three, Biffle blasted into the lead and won the segment driving away. Earnhardt, Kenseth, Newman and Mark Martin completed the top five.
Traditionally, a crash-plagued slugfest, the 2008 Sprint All-Star Race was run without a single yellow flag outside of those at the end of the segments.
Upon taking the checkered flag, Kahne keyed his radio and said simply, “This is for the fans.”
Beats the heck out of a Budweiser on the couch.