Kenny Wallace gets behind former HMS star as “the next driver” in NASCAR’s Next Gen era

Former NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace has predicted that former Hendrick Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne will make a Cup Series start in the future. Wallace suggested that after Kahne's Xfinity start at Rockingham, he would become eligible to race on bigger ovals, potentially opening the doors for him to drive the Next Gen car.

Kahne retired from NASCAR after the 2018 season and announced his return with an Xfinity Series start at Rockingham Speedway, on April 19. Driving the #33 Richard Childress Racing Chevy with sponsorship from HendrickCars.com, the 44-year-old also participated in a recent test at "The Rock."

Kenny Wallace speculated that Kasey Kahne's return to the Xfinity Series could eventually lead to a Cup Series start. Following Kahne's recent Heat race victory in the High Limit Series, Wallace doubled down on his prediction, insisting that the former #5 HMS driver would make a Cup Series comeback. He wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

"Like I said yesterday. @kaseykahne will be the next driver in a @NASCAR NEXT GEN car 😆💯🕺🏁"

Kenny Wallace also discussed the recent trend of retired NASCAR drivers making comebacks. Earlier this year, Mike Wallace attempted to enter the Daytona 500 but his plans fell short. Meanwhile, Casey Mears is set to make a Cup Series start at Martinsville Speedway.

Wallace speculated about Kahne's return on a recent episode of "Coffee with Kenny". He said:

"We have something brewing in the NASCAR Cup Series right now. I believe you're going to see little by little the older NASCAR drivers wanting to run one of these next-gen cars...We see Kasey Kahne going back to run the Xfinity Series at Rockingham, he's already went there and tested. So, does that mean Kahne is getting ready to make a next-gen race [start] in the future?" [0:30 onwards]

"Look for Kasey Kahne in the future, maybe, maybe not...once Kasey runs that intermediate track, that kind of sets him for qualifying if he wants to run the next-gen car somewhere else." he added.

Wallace also mentioned that he has seen rumors on social media about former Cup Series champion Bobby Labonte making a return.

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Kenny Wallace insists NASCAR is on a "high"

Kenny Wallace looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR Nationwide Series O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway- Source: Getty

Fox Sports reported that the Las Vegas Cup Series race drew an impressive 3.01 million viewers, making it the most-watched NASCAR race on cable since the Spring Darlington race in 2021. Meanwhile, Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Progressive Insurance will serve as the anchor sponsor for Denny Hamlin, appearing as the primary sponsor on the #11 Toyota for 18 races.

Kenny Wallace suggested that NASCAR is at a high right now, with rising viewership and the return of both former drivers and sponsors. He speculated that Fox’s promotion of IndyCar may have also played a role in drawing more fans to stock car racing. Speaking on the positive trends in the aforementioned episode, he said:

"All I can tell you is NASCAR is booming right now in 2025 — all the commercials, the finishes are really good, the weather has been out of sight....Look at Progressive Insurance. Progressive Insurance looks over there and they just spent millions and millions sponsoring Denny Hamlin. So everybody wants be a part of NASCAR right now." [from 6:46]

"The drivers want to come back to NASCAR, the sponsors are coming back, NASCAR's on a high right now," he added.

The Cup, Xfinity, and the Truck Series return to Homestead Miami Speedway this weekend. The Straight Talk Wireless 400 Cup race is scheduled on Sunday, Mar. 16 at 3:30 PM ET.