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Kahne Tops Star-Studded Field

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By TONY FABRIZIO

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 18, 2008

CONCORD, N.C. - Kasey Kahne made it into Saturday night's Sprint All-Star race as the one driver voted in by fans. He parlayed that gift into a $1 million paycheck, winning the 24th edition of NASCAR's biggest non-points race.

He won after red-hot Kyle Busch, who had far and away the fastest car, experienced a fatal engine failure midway through the race. Denny Hamlin, Busch's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, had an engine failure later in the race while leading and holding off Kahne.

"That was a great race," Kahne said after beating Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson. "I really cannot believe we just won a $1 million bonus race.

"This one is really for my grandpa. We lost him in January. He meant a lot to us, to our whole family. I always wanted to win some big races. He would have enjoyed this."

The all-star race is usually a "wreckers or checkers" wild affair because of the big winner's take and the fact no points are awarded, but this one was tame. There were few passes for the lead and no wrecks. The only caution flags thrown were the automatic ones between the four 25-lap segments.

Kahne didn't qualify for the race by normal means because he hasn't won a points race since 2006, when he won six times and swept the two events at Lowe's Motor Speedway. He had a chance to get in by finishing in the top two in the 40-lap Sprint Showdown qualifying race, but he placed fifth.

"The car was mediocre in that qualifying race, but the fans put me in there," Kahne said. "It was so awesome to vote for us."

The night gave retiring driver Dale Jarrett a chance to run one last race in front of his native North Carolina fans. He did so after his father, two-time champion Ned Jarrett, gave the pre-race invocation.

The 1999 Winston Cup champion and three-time Daytona 500 winner didn't go out with much glory, though. Jarrett fell to last with a long pit stop after the first segment and wound up 21st out of 24 drivers.

Busch started on the pole, blew to a huge lead and led every lap of the first segment. He looked like he might lap the field. Midway through the second segment, though, the engine in the No. 18 Toyota started sounding sour. Soon after, Carl Edwards ran Busch down and passed him. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kenseth, Ryan Newman and Biffle also got by before the end of the segment.

Busch's only hope was that his crew could fix the problem during a 10-minute intermission between the second and third segments. Joe Gibbs Racing's engine specialists gathered around the car and worked frantically, but they quickly discovered the engine was a goner.

"We just got the word, we're done," a dismayed Busch said.

Kahne won the race with a gamble by Kenny Francis between the third an final segments. While Biffle and others pulled down pit road for at least two tires, Kahne stayed out to get the track position.

Kahne had the speed in his No. 9 Dodge to stay up front.

"I had one opportunity and he kind of closed the door," Biffle said. "I figured, 'No sense pressing it right now.' I've got plenty of laps more to go. And then my car just got tighter and tighter. I thought for sure two tires was the right call."

Earnhardt, much to the joy of a large crowd, led 14 laps and looked like a serious threat. He faded and finished eighth.

"Our car was getting extremely loose there at the end of every run," said Earnhard's crew chief, Tony Eury Jr. "So we had to take tires. We learned a lot for next week. And that is the biggest thing.

"We would like to have won this race, but you've got to have an almost perfect car in this deal."

Carl Edwards, who has won three times this year on intermediate tracks, won the second segment and also looked strong. He wound up 10th.

"I thought we were the car to beat," Edwards said. "I thought we were going to be great there in the second half. I was already thinking about what I was going to do with all that money, having a good time, but something with that last set of tires on that last run, it was just off."

Tony Stewart finished fifth but was never as good as his teammates, Busch and Hamlin. Newman finished sixth and Sam Hornish Jr., after finishing second in the qualifying race and then losing two laps early in the main event, finished seventh.

Most of the 24 drivers in the field gained eligibility by winning at least one race this year or last year or by being a Cup-level champion or former all-star race winner. A.J. Allmendinger and Hornish were added after finishing 1-2 in the 40-lap Sprint Showdown qualifying race, and Kahne captured the fan vote.

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