Kasey Kahne is returning to full-time NASCAR competition in 2027, after spending the last eight years competing when he wished and in the mostly dirt-based series he wanted. Kahne joined NASCAR’s Cup Series in 2004 and became its Rookie of the Year by consensus; in the 529 races in which he drove over 15 Cup Series seasons, the Washington State native earned 18 wins, 176 top tens and 27 pole positions. He stepped away from full-time Cup Series competition after the 2018 Southern 500 at Darlington.
Kahne’s return to NASCAR is in the 2027 FedEx Freight Truck Series Championship, as the delivery system takes over naming rights for NASCAR’s trucks. He’ll be driving full-time with Spire Motorsports in the No. 77 Chevrolet Silverado RST, beginning with the season opener on the Daytona International Speedway oval, the February 19 Fresh From Florida 250.
While Kasey Kahne has six career starts in NASCAR’s truck series, he’s been to Victory Lane in five of those contests, including Chevrolet’s 200th Truck Series victory in the 2015 North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina. In that particular event in Charlotte, he held off Erik Jones for the win by a scant .005 seconds, which remains the second-closest margin in truck series history. The one truck race he didn’t win? He was second.
“This is one of the coolest announcements we’ve seen able to make,” said Jeff Dickerson, co-owner of Spire Motorsports. “Kasey is not only a legendary driver, but is someone that Spire shares a long history with. Having him in one of our trucks, running for a championship, means a lot to our organization and we fully trust that he has the same competitive nature and drive to win that he’s always had.”
There’s a question that warrants answering. Kahne came into national motorsports conversations when he joined NASCAR’s national touring series’ in 2002, making 10 starts in Xfinity Series competition. This came after racing in USAC midget and sprint cars. Recognized as an up-and-comer in the open-wheel ranks, he was hired by Steve Lewis, earned Rookie of the Year in his first, 2000, year on the USAC circuit, ultimately winning that year’s national midget championship. He continued with USAC, in addition to racing in the World of Outlaws and the Toyota Atlantic Series.
After 2002, and through to 2018, Kahne drove primarily in NASCAR’s three touring series, occasionally taking to the dirt tracks on which he’d honed his talents. He raced full-time with his own, self-named team in the World of Outlaws (2022) and went to High Limit Racing in 2024. Replacing Anthony Macri in a 410 sprint car, Kahne picked up his first World of Outlaw feature victory at Williams Grove Speedway, leading all 25 laps of the race.
“When Jeff [Dickerson] first asked me about running trucks for Spire Motorsports, I didn’t think he was serious,” Kahne admitted. “To be out of the sport for as long as I was and to have the opportunity to race for a strong team, or even full-time in NASCAR again, was a bit of a surprise. The thought of returning to pavement racing and involvement in something that I was a part of for so long was exciting. It started sounding pretty good and I’m thankful for the opportunity to come back with a team that knows how to win!”
Spire Motorsports, which fields full-time entries in both the Cup and Truck Series, also competes in Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing. Co-owned by Dickerson and TWG Motorsports CEO Dan Towriss, Spire earned its first Cup Series victory in 2019 with Justin Haley in the July Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona. The team’s first Truck Series win came in 2022 with William Byron at Martinsville Speedway. Daniel Suarez brought Spire its most recent victory, taking the NASCAR Cup Series’ longest event, the Coca-Cola 600 on May 24th of this year, on the Charlotte oval.
“I kept up with NASCAR enough to know that Spire wins races,” Kahne noted. “I saw Kyle Busch’s wins this year, I watched Rajah (Caruth) a lot last year and keep up with what he’s doing. I saw some of Corey Day’s races and Carson (Hocevar) when he won at Texas. I just thought, ‘That’s actually a really good truck and this could be a fun way to come back into NASCAR and reunite with Chevrolet,’ a manufacturer I had some really great moments with over the years.”
Leave a Reply