Budweiser Team Rally to Sixth-Place Finish at Homestead
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (November 16, 2008) -After spending much of the race fighting hard just to stay on the lead lap, Kasey Kahne and the No. 9 Budweiser Racing team used a combination of fuel mileage strategy and skill to come away with an impressive sixth-place finish in Sunday's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
"What a great result for our Budweiser Dodge tonight," Kahne said following the race. "The crew guys did a great job on pit road and Kenny (Francis, crew chief) made a great call to get us track position and give us a top 10. We didn't have the fastest car during the heat of the day, but once the sun went down and the track tightened up, we seemed to get faster and faster. To get a top 10 at Homestead at the last race of the season is a great way to end the year. I'm really proud of this entire Gillett Evernham Motorsports team."
Kahne took the green flag from the 18th position. The race proceeded without incident for approximately the first 70 circuits around the track. Lacking rear grip, Kahne began sliding through the running order and was running 24th when he peeled off for a green-flag pit stop on lap 52. Francis elected to make major adjustments ranging from air pressure to track bar adjustments, in addition to four fresh tires and fuel.
Once the field cycled through, Kahne settled in the 22nd position and was poised to make up some ground. Although the changes performed on the pit stop slightly appeased the handling on the Budweiser Dodge, Kahne continued to search for rear grip while fighting a loose condition from the center of the turns through the exits. Throughout the next several laps, race-leader Carl Edwards opened up a huge lead on the field and put the No. 9 a lap down.
Down but not out, Kahne fought through the next 30 laps and earned a spot back on the lead lap under the lap 151 caution. With the free pass in hand and the opportunity to salvage a good finish, Kahne lined up in 22nd and started the methodical process of picking up positions as the laps counted down.
Back-to-back caution flags on lap 193 and 206 allowed Francis to take advantage of late-race fuel mileage strategy. Francis called Kahne down pit road to top off with fuel on lap 208. With only a handful of cars opting to take fuel alongside Kahne, the Budweiser team knew their chances for a solid top-10 finish were in their sights.
During the closing laps of the race, several cars pulled down pit road for fuel while others ran out of gas trying to make it to the finish. Kahne continued to gain positions to bring the Budweiser Dodge home in the sixth position, posting his 14th top-10 finish of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.
Carl Edwards won the race, but lost the point's battle to Hendrick Motorsports Jimmie Johnson by 69 points. Johnson clinched his third-consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship by finishing 15th in Sunday's Ford 400, joining Cale Yarborough as the only two drivers in NASCAR history to win three consecutive titles. Kevin Harvick finished second, followed by Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer to complete the top-five finishers, respectively.
Kahne finished the 2008 season in the 14th position in the NASCAR driver point standings. Throughout the 2008 season, the Budweiser team accrued three wins (including the non-points All-Star Race win), four top-fives and 14 top-10 finishes.
NASCAR teams will enjoy the next two months off from competition before the 2009 season kicks off at Daytona International Speedway with the Budweiser Shootout on February 7th, 2009 and the running of the 51st Daytona 500 on February 15th, 2009.
