The NASCAR driver’s silent removal from the sport in 2018 felt wrong on many levels. He who celebrated multiple victories at Evernham Racing and Hendrick Motorsports never got the farewell he deserved. His deteriorating health, because of concussion symptoms, eventually led to his exit. But seven years later, he looks forward to returning to the world that he once abandoned for his well-being.

Last year, Kasey Kanhe returned to NASCAR for a one-off race at Rockingham in the O’Reilly Series. Competing for Richard Childress Racing, he brought in a P14 finish after having run-ins with Katherine Legge and William Sawalich.

While talking with Jeff Gluck about his future in the sport, Kahne couldn’t help but reminisce about his time in NASCAR. He also emphasized that he was available if teams were looking for a rider for any Cup or O’Reilly race.

“Yeah, I don’t think it was closing the chapter. I know my I got to the point where, you know, full-time was just way too difficult for my body,” Kahne said, referring to his health scare back during his full-time career.

 

“But to do that one-off race last year was as enjoyable a time as I’ve had in a race car in a while, you know, running Rockingham, and just to get to have that sensation of the speed and the downforce and the grip level, all the things that come along with driving a stock car on pavement. So yeah, I enjoyed it. I thought that was, you know, so cool.”

It was a heartfelt admission from the driver who had to give up his racing dream because his body couldn’t keep up with him anymore. Back in 2018, Kahne’s medical episodes on and off the track caused significant issues in the Cup Series. There were multiple incidents where Kahne felt dehydrated and nauseous.

These symptoms were prominent during his last race at Darlington. The humidity affected his body worse than what he was already going through. After testing at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October, Kahne finally lost his drive to race a Cup car again. He wasn’t clear to drive after his medical issues in Charlotte.

Why did Kasey Kahne end up losing his ride in the Cup Series?

“I sweat so much sodium out of my body; once you get over two hours, I can’t even come close in a race—I’m sweating so much out, you can’t hydrate enough prior to it or during the race to get it back in, to get that sodium back in. It got to the point where I couldn’t keep up. I’m glad I know all that now and understand it,” Kahne said.

Although he thought he understood it, the doctors could not pinpoint the issue. In the end, Kahne just accepted his fate. He was no longer the young racer who could complete 500-600 mile races with ease. So for him, driving a NASCAR again is a big achievement.

For Kahne, it all started in 2013 at the Sylvania 300. Crashes marred his entire season, especially because of his personal feud with Kyle Busch. But during a race, he had a hard crash with 47 laps remaining. During his post-race interview, he drove away a reporter, but later admitted he had suffered a concussion and couldn’t respond clearly.

When Kahne returned to O’Reilly last year, he sounded positive and motivated to win. “I’d love to do something like that again if it all worked out,” Kahne said during his interview.

And Kahne has stayed true to his mindset. He won his first World of Outlaws race after over 250 starts, drawing praise from the stock car racing community.

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