Auto Racing | Enumclaw's Kasey Kahne gets up to speed

LONG POND, Pa. — Winning races at NASCAR's elite level used to be almost expected for Kasey Kahne of Enumclaw.

No driver won more of them in 2006 (six) than Kahne when he raced his way into the Chase for the Cup.

Then the victories dried up, and so did any hope of title contention.

After more than a year when nothing seemed to go right for the popular Kahne, consecutive trips to victory lane might give him the momentum needed to make a push up the standings.

"We needed a little boost. We got that," the 28-year-old Kahne said Wednesday at Pocono Raceway. "I think everybody feels like we have a pretty strong company and pretty strong race cars, and we can keep building on that."

Kahne won the Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., and triumphed eight days later on the same track in the Coca-Cola 600. The Sprint Cup victory snapped a 52-race winless streak in points events that stretched back to October 2006.

He is the sixth driver to win the All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600 in the same year.

Kahne returned to the top 12 in the points standings and is 32 points outside 10th. Kahne hopes his spot in the Chase is a permanent one and he can stick there long enough to run for the title over the final 10 races of the season.

"We have the team to do it, that's for sure," he said.

Kahne started the season strong, with three consecutive top-10 finishes before recording a mere two more over the next eight races. He would look at the other drivers and their cars and wonder why the No. 9 Dodge couldn't keep up.

"I didn't necessarily lose confidence in myself or my team," Kahne said. "But there were times I wondered, as a company, if we were doing some of the wrong things. ... Everybody's stuff is different. I just felt like maybe we were behind there."

One thing Kahne didn't lose was his popularity.

Even as he slumped in a winless 2007 and a 19th-place finish, Kahne's fan base remained stout. Kahne never would have qualified for the All-Star Race without them.

He didn't qualify for the event because of his lengthy winless streak, never won the All-Star Race before and couldn't snag a spot among the nonqualifiers in the Sprint Showdown. His only other way was by fan vote.

Unlike baseball, where All-Star starters might only dig in for an at-bat or two for the fans who punched those ballots, Kahne rewarded his supporters' faith. He gambled on the final pit stop to win the $1 million prize.

The victory was the spark he needed to help him the next weekend. Well, that and rival driver Tony Stewart's flat tire.

Stewart was leading the Coca-Cola 600 until a flat with three laps left knocked him into the pits. Kahne was in prime position to take advantage and moved into Chase contention with the victory.

"I think we're finally getting there to where we can contend at a lot of these racetracks, be in the top 10 and have a shot," he said.

Stewart said this week on his Sirius Satellite Radio program that he still doesn't know how his tire went flat.

Kahne said he believes crew chief Kenny Francis and the rest of Gillett Evernham Motorsports have the car figured out. After all, they have all won big before, and Kahne knows this hot streak might be enough to get them all going.

"I feel like our cars are better than what I thought they were three, four weeks ago," Kahne said. "It's been fun to drive again the last three weeks."

Notes

• NASCAR handed down its most severe penalties yet concerning alterations to its new car, as the crew chiefs and car chiefs for Scott Riggs and Johnny Sauter were suspended six races apiece for tampering with the rear wings on their Chevrolets last weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Additionally, crew chiefs Bootie Barker and Dave Skog were fined $100,000 each. Derick Jennings and Thomas Harris, the car chiefs, were not fined but their suspensions are unprecedented. All four must sit out until the July 12 race in Illinois, and are on probation through the end of the year.

Riggs and Sauter were docked 150 driver points apiece, penalties that severely hurt the struggling teams. The cars are both fielded by Haas CNC Racing, which was docked 150 owner points for each Chevrolet.

• Marcus Smith, 35, son of billionaire track owner Bruton Smith, was selected as H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler's successor at Lowe's and Speedway Motorsports Inc.

Marcus Smith takes over as president and chief executive officer of SMI, which owns seven tracks currently on the Sprint Cup schedule, and president and general manager of Lowe's.