2012 Sprint Cup run of Kasey Kahne – A statistical review – NASCAR Special
Kasey Kahne, the 32-year-old NASCAR driver and owner of Kasey Kahne Racing, competed in both NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2012.
In Sprint Cup, Kahne drove for Hendrick Motorsports racing the No.5 Farmers Insurance Group Chevrolet, whereas in the Nationwide Series, he drove a limited time schedule for Turner Motorsports racing the No. 38 Great Clips Chevrolet.
The start of the Sprint Cup was not very good for Kahne since he could not get even a single top-10 finish in the first six races. Kahne finished 29th in Daytona 500, 34th in Subway Fresh Fit 500, 19th in Kobalt Tools 400, 37th in Food City 500, 14th in
Auto Club 400 and 38th in Goody’s Fast Relief 500. With 6 races gone, Kahne stood 31st on drivers’ standings with only 93 championship points to his name.
Next five races were a total contrast to Kahne’s performance in the first six races. He got 3 top-10 finishes and 2 top-5 finishes and at the end of Bojangles’ Southern 500, 11th race of the Cup, Kahne had moved up to 16th position on drivers’ standings
with 283 championship points to his name. Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte materialised in first season victory for Kahne moving him up to 15th place on drivers’ standings with one third of the season over.
In the next six races of the series, Kahne got only one top-5 finish which came in Quaker State 400. Lenox Industrial Tools 301 concluded with second season victory for Kahne. After Lenox Industrial Tools 301, Kahne moved up 4 places finishing 12th on drivers’
standings with 547 championship points.
In Brick Yard 400, Kahne finished 12th. Pennsylvania 400 brought another top-5 finish for him followed by a 13th place finish in Finger Lakes 355 at the Glen. In Pure Michigan 400, 23rd race of the cup, he finished 3rd moving up to 11th place on drivers’
standings. In the next three races, Irwin Tools Night Race, AdvoCare 500 and Federated Auto Parts 400 there was no change for Kahne on drivers’ standings and he stood 11th on drivers’ standings at the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Chase for the Sprint Cup started with GEICO 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. A third place finish in GEICO 400 brought a gigantic leap for Kahne who moved up 6 places finishing at 5th place on drivers’ standings. At the end of Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500,
30th race of the series and 4th race of the chase, Kahne had moved up to 4th place on drivers’ standings. With only 6 races to go, Kahne was only 36 points behind the leader Brad Keselowski.
In Bank of America 500, Kahne finished 8th dropping down to 5th place on drivers’ standings. A 3rd place finish in Tums Fast Relief 500 helped Kahne move back to 4th place on drivers’ standings.
Following a 4th place finish in Kobalt Tools 400, for the first time in the Cup, Kahne reached moved up to 3rd place on drivers’ standings. With only one race to go, Kahne was 20 points behind Jimmie Johnson. Kahne needed a top-5 finish in the final race
to retain his 3rd place on drivers’ standings but that was not to be. He finished a disappointing 21st in the final race, Ford 400 thus dropping down to 4th place on drivers’ standings behind Jimmie Johnson.
Kahne had made a switch from Red Bull Racing to Hendrick Motorsports for the 2012 Sprint Cup. The switch proved quite fruitful as Kahne was able to end the season with career best statistics. Finishing the season 4th on drivers’ championship standings, Kahne
proved his skills on the racing track. In his 2012 Sprint Cup run, Kahne clinched 2 victories, 4 poles, 12 top-5 and 19 top-10 finishes.
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