“Dude doesn’t age!”; “Two GOATs” — NASCAR fans react to Kyle Larson and Kasey Kahne’s old picture

This Thursday morning, a popular sprint car photographer and writer, Rick Rarer, published a picture of Kasey Kahne and Kyle Larson in the mid-two-thousands on his X account, prompting a plethora of reactions from the public. Kahne, apparently in his early twenties, and Larson almost a teenager, took this photo at an undisclosed location and went on to break the internet around twenty years later.

Having been born twelve years apart, their NASCAR Cup Series careers only overlapped briefly for four years: 2014 to 2018. During those years, Kyle Larson had a slightly better performance, with twelve Top 5 finishes, as opposed to Kahne's one, and an average finish of 12.5th place versus 22.8th.

Regardless of numbers, Kasey Kahne's memory is clearly still in the hearts and minds of NASCAR fans, as we can see from this post's reactions. Some of them even ventured to call him a "G.O.A.T", which stands for "the greatest of all time".

"Two goats", this fan said

Some praised Kasey's youthful looks and both their talents as race-car drivers.

"Kasey still looks like that…dude doesn’t age! Terrific pic! Two very talented racers!!! Continued Success to you both!!!" another stated.

"Kasey had no idea he was standing next to a soon to be greatest driver in the world", mentioned another fan, who also considers Larson as the G.O.A.T.

"How does Kasey look the exact same today??" observed another user.

"Both still look the same other than Kyle being a little taller", agreed another fan.

"They both look the same to this day except Larson got a little taller....HA!" joked a user.

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Kyle Larson and Kasey Kahne, twenty years later

Even with his decorated career, Kyle Larson is still to win his first NASCAR Series Cup title, and the 2025 season, now with more than ten years of experience and Hendrick Motorsports in his corner, will be a good opportunity for him. With a 17th place this last Sunday at Bowman Gray, he didn't have an ideal start. Nevertheless, he remains the top favorite to win the Cup Series Championship this year with odds at +500. Closely next, Christopher Bell with +550 and Denny Hamlin with +700 sit at 2nd and 3rd favorites.

On the other hand, Kasey Kahne retired from NASCAR in 2018 due to severe dehydration and exhaustion. He left behind an illustrious career that included 18 wins, 176 Top 10s, and 27 pole positions. Nowadays, he races sprint cars at the World of Outlaws and the High Limit Racing. He also does charity work through the Kasey Kahne Foundation, which has been helping chronically ill children since its foundation in 2005.