When Rick Hendrick praised Kasey Kahne amid his Hendrick Motorsports exit

Rick Hendrick had all the appraisal for Kasey Kahne amid the latter’s Hendrick Motorsports exit at the end of the 2017 Cup Series season. The HMS owner praised Kahne and hailed the latter’s work ethic in a report published by Hendrick Motorsports in 2017.

Kahne joined Hendrick Motorsports in 2012 after his previous team, Red Bull Racing, went defunct at the end of 2011. Kahne arrived at HMS to drive the #5 car and replaced Mark Martin, who moved to Michael Waltrip Racing that year.

In his first year at HMS (2012), the Enumclaw-born driver claimed two wins, 12 Top 5s, 19 Top 10s, and four pole positions. He finished that season in an impressive fourth place.

Following this, he went on to claim two more wins in 2013, one win in 2014 and one in 2018. Eventually, at the end of 2018, Kahne decided to leave Rick Hendrick’s team after six years and six wins in his bag. Here’s what Hendrick said at the time:

“Kasey has worked extremely hard,” Mr. Hendrick said. “He’s a tremendous teammate and person, and he has been totally dedicated to our program since day one. I’ve always believed that he’s a special talent, and I know he will thrive in the right situation. We will do everything we can to finish the season as strong as we can.”

Meanwhile, here’s what Kahne said about his time at HMS:

“I’d like to thank Rick and everyone at Hendrick Motorsports for their hard work and dedication, along with providing me a great opportunity and success over the last six years.”

Kahne moved to Leavine Family Racing in 2018, replacing Michael McDowell in the #95 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Meanwhile, Hendrick Motorsports brought in William Byron as a replacement for Kasey Kahne in the #5 entry.

Kasey Kahne to return to Cup Series in 2025

Kasey Kahne is all set to return to the Cup Series in 2025. He will race for Richard Childress Racing under a part-time obligation. As per reports, the 44-year-old will drive the #33 entry for RCR at Rockingham Speedway on April 19.

“I saw this Rockingham race pop up, and I was like, ‘Man, that’s a track I know, and I’ve enjoyed racing at over the years,’ so I started reaching out and trying to figure a way to get back into it and do a race,” Kahne said about his upcoming race. “It felt like four or five years maybe since I’d raced, and it’s more like six and a half is what they’d said, so it’s been a while.”

Kahne will be driving in the Cup Series for the first time since his retirement from full-time racing in 2018. During his 15-year career in the top tier stock car racing, he competed in 529 races, claiming 18 wins, 27 pole positions, and 176 Top 10s in total.