Kyle Larson has got to be one of the best drivers in NASCAR today. We won’t get into ‘the best all-round driver’ in the world debate again. For that, we need Larson in Formula One or Max Verstappen in NASCAR. Both scenarios seem impossible at the moment. However, among the active lot in the Cup Series, there’s hardly anyone who comes close to Larson’s prowess. He got 6 wins last season, and 29 wins, a championship in just 12 seasons so far. And we say prowess, because whatever Larson picks he dominates, be it stock racing, or sprint racing, he’s even re-attempting the double, so he might dominate open wheels too. Anyway, beating him at anything is hard, but Kasey Kahne has managed it.
And this is not even stock racing! This was in a sprint race, where Larson is the undisputed king. He bagged more than 9 wins in his sprint car last season. He won three golden Drillers at the Tulsa Expo this year and went on to clinch his third Chili Bowl championship later that month. So he’s in top form. Meanwhile, Kasey Kahne, after his retirement in 2018, returned to race sprint cars in Larson’s High Limit Racing series this year. However, he hasn’t been in top form for a long time, which is why fans are losing it after his recent win!
The Kasey Kahne dominance is back!
Kahne has been all the rage after he announced his NASCAR return last month. The veteran will be piloting a Hendrick Motorsports car at the Rockingham Speedway in the Xfinity Series. For folks who don’t know, ‘The Rock’ has been resurrected and so is Kahne. And he managed the 12th fastest run in the 45-minute practice session held at the track recently. While that’s still far from the Kahne we are used to seeing, his performance at the Tulaware Raceway was mighty impressive.
It was the third heat race and Kahne started from P5. But with incredible speed and skill, managed to pass the top 4, which included Larson, and won the race, going from 5th to first in about five laps. Understandably, Kyle Larson was not having a good day. He ended up in P4 after starting P1! Naturally, Kahne was delighted with his run. In the post-race interview, he said, “That’s pretty fun. 1 and 2, 3 and 4 that’s very different corners. I just had the top was open. The car didn’t bounce too bad to the right. I was able to make that happen. Couple of decent starts… I was working hard to try and have some fun out here.”
@kaseykahne from 5th to the win in @HighLimitRacing Heat #3 from @TulareRaceway!#HighLimitRacing pic.twitter.com/ixT8sbuqiW
— FloRacing (@FloRacing) March 20, 2025
This came after recently Kasey Kahne announced his plan to return to full-time status with Kubota High Limit Racing in 2025. And while the season did not kick off as Kahne would have hoped, the recent race would have been a relief. Folks, the Las Vegas Motor Speedway plays as the season opener to High Limit, and Corey Day took the first win. With series owners Kyle Larson and Brad Sweet finishing behind him in P2 and P3. And Kahne could only manage to finish 19th at the event. But the recent race at the Tulaware Thunderbowl Raceway seems to have brought things back on track.
First, Kahne won his heat race, which gave him a P4 start. And then he ended the race in P13 as Kyle Larson took the checkered flag, ahead of Sweet in P2 and Rico Abreu in P3. Still, we are only two races in, and there’s a long way to go for the owner/driver to bag some wins. Kahne is piloting for his own team: Kasey Kahne Racing. While he was in the #9 KKR car last season too, this year, he’s got multiple-time World of Outlaws champion crew chief, Eric Prutzman on his side. And with the heat race win, his plan seems to be working! Also, fans now want to see more of Kasey Kahne in High Limit Racing victory lanes.
Fans were left speechless by the Kasey Kahne win
Before NASCAR, Kahne ran sprint cars, and he was a menace winning several races. However, he’s more successful as an owner. His team has been one of the most successful ones in the World of Outlaws, with 200+ wins and six championships over the last 16 years. Out of which Brad Sweet won 5 consecutively. And in 2024, Kahne decided to take his team to Kyle Larson’s series. While it was obvious that Sweet would move there since he’s the co-owner of the series, even his boss Kahne followed suit.
And 2024 was decent for Kahne: a 14th-place finish in the points, highlighted by nine top-10 results in the 45 feature starts. However, this season has kicked off on a high note and fans cannot help but appreciate it. One fan after the heat race, wrote, “Kasey Kahne ripping serious lip ” Another fan echoing the same emotion wrote, “Kasey Kahne was up on the wheel! That was so awesome to watch!!”
This is thanks to Prutzman. He was Brad Sweet’s crew chief last season, and the two won the High Limit Series. Maybe Kahne is hoping Prutzman could show the same magic with the #9 team as well. So far, it seems like he is! And one fan has a clear verdict. “That’s the best I’ve seen Kasey Kahne look in a Sprint Car in a long time.” Or like this other fan wrote, “Kasey Kahne statement.”
Let’s hope we get to see some wins from the 41-year-old driver this season. He’s already won previously on many tracks on the schedule including, Atomic Speedway, Eagle Raceway, Eldora Speedway, Grays Harbor Raceway, Lernerville Speedway, and Skagit Speedway. The list is long, which should give him an upper hand. But this was in the early 2000s right before he switched to stock car racing.
Still, since then, wherever he’s gone, Kahne’s been a fan favorite. So much so that fans post iconic moments from his racing career on a Friday, calling it a “Kasey Kahne Friday.” And with this heat win, one fan is feeling like it’s one of those Fridays. He wrote, “Are we sure it’s not Friday? Kasey Kahne is ripping.”
Do you think Kasey Kahne will win some sprint races this season? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
The post “That’s the Best I’ve Seen…” Kasey Kahne Dominates as Kyle Larson Nearly Flops at His Own Game appeared first on EssentiallySports.
