Kasey Kahne cast doubts about his NASCAR future after the Rockingham ordeal

After seven years away from NASCAR, Kasey Kahne returned behind the wheel for Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Rockingham Speedway. Named the North Carolina Education Lottery 250, it was the 10th points-paying race of the 2025 season.

Kahne placed 18th during his final practice session, marking a commendable performance ahead of the 250-lap event. On race day, the 45-year-old tackled not one but two run-ins and was still able to salvage a respectable P15 finish.

When asked if he was going to come back for another one-off appearance, Kahne said (1:50 onwards),

“I enjoyed it. I've really looked forward to it and put a lot into it. It was really fun working with the RCR group going up to their shop again like, just being part of a NASCAR team again like that was really cool. All the people at RCR were great. I don't know about more in the future but I'm really glad I did this.”

Since leaving NASCAR back in 2018, Kasey Kahne has been competing in the Kubota High Limit Racing winged sprint cars series. As per reports, he is currently under a full-time schedule with Kasey Kahne Racing, which also fields Brad Sweet, co-owner of the series and brother-in-law of Hendrick Motorsports ace, Kyle Larson.

Last year, Kahne finished 14th on points, bagging nine top-10s in 45 starts. He delivered his sole top-five finish in the 2024 Kubota High Limit Racing Diamond Classic on October 9, 2024, at Lucas Oil Speedway.

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Is Rockingham going to be a one-and-done for Kasey Kahne?

Racing at Rockingham Speedway was special for Kasey Kahne. It was where he tested a stock car for the first time early in his career. Back in 2012, he won a Truck Series race there, and nearly aced a Cup Series event in 2004.

When the opportunity for a one-off appearance showed up, Kahne was thrilled. As quoted by NASCAR, Kahne said,

“I saw this Rockingham race pop up, and I was like, ‘Man, that’s a track I know, and I’ve enjoyed racing at over the years,’ so I started reaching out and trying to figure a way to get back into it and do a race.”

The driver further stated,

“See if things click, if it makes sense… if I feel like I’ve been doing it for 15 years, then yeah, maybe we could get another one in later in the year.”

A P15 finish isn’t great per se, but it’s worth noting that Kahne was running fourth before getting caught up in the spin-out that took place just over 50 laps into the race.