Billionaire Rick Hendrick delivers powerful words backing Kasey Kahne’s NASCAR return

Richard Childress Racing has announced that Kasey Kahne will be in charge of its third charter in the Xfinity Series at Rockingham this season. As RCR provided Kahne with the stock car opportunity, Rick Hendrick of Hendrick Motorsports was full of praise of him.

Kahne is a professional dirt track racing driver who competes in Kyle Larson's High Limit Racing series. He will return to NASCAR for RCR and drive the team's #33 entry in the second tier of stock car racing at Rockingham Speedway on Saturday, Apr. 19, at 4:00 pm ET.

Billionaire businessman and team owner Rick Hendrick, who has a net worth of $1 billion (via Celebrity Net Worth), will sponsor Kahne's #33 Chevrolet Camaro via HendrickCars.com at the 250-lap race. As the announcement was made, Hendrick praised Kasey Kahne. Here's what he said (via RCR):

“Kasey is a great friend and an incredibly talented driver, and we’re proud to have HendrickCars.com on board with him at Rockingham. It’s going to be exciting to see him return to NASCAR at such a special track and with a great team."

Kahne is a former Hendrick Motorsports driver who drove the #5 entry for Rick Hendrick's team. He drove for HMS in the Cup Series from 2012 to 2017 before moving to Leavine Family Racing in 2018.

The driver from Enumclaw, Washington, participated in all three NASCAR national series, but he is mostly known for his Cup Series stints. He took part in 529 races in over 15 years, where he claimed 18 wins, 27 pole positions, and 176 top 10s. His last race in NASCAR was the 2018 Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington.

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Kasey Kahne shares his thoughts about Xfinity Series opportunity with RCR

After Richard Childress Racing decided to put Kasey Kahne in charge of its third Xfinity Series car, the 44-year-old shared his thoughts, where he thanked the team and the sponsor. Here's what he said:

“I’m excited to get back behind the wheel of a stock car, especially at a place like Rockingham Speedway,” said Kahne. “Rockingham has been a special track throughout my career. I remember winning the Truck Series race in 2012 when the sport went back there last, so to be a part of the current return is cool."

Kasey Kahne (5) Hendrick Motorsports Great Clips Chevrolet SS during the Bojangles Southern 500 - Source: Getty

The former Cup Series driver also hailed Rick Hendrick for providing him with the sponsorship. He added:

"Very appreciative of the opportunity that Mr. Hendrick, Richard (Childress), and everyone at RCR have given me, along with the support of HendrickCars.com, Chevrolet, Curb Records, and Karavan Trailers. I look forward to hitting the track next week for the test.”

Kasey Kahne will race in Rockingham alongside RCR's full-time Xfinity Series drivers Jesse Love and Austin Hill.