"My body’s really good again": When Kasey Kahne reflected on his racing comeback after overcoming health challenges

In 2022, Kasey Kahne signed up to race in the World of Outlaws racing series after a hiatus of a couple of years from mainstream racing. The reason? He was able to overcome the health challenges he faced during a hard sprint car accident in 2019.

Kahne is a Cup Series veteran who retired from his full-time journey at the end of 2018. As his NASCAR journey ended prematurely, he still had racing left within him. As a result, he signed up to race in the dirt in 2019.

However, Kahne injured himself at the Williams Grove Speedway in Pennsylvania, and could not race for the next year. After a year and a half, it was announced that Kasey Kahne would race full-time in the World of Outlaws, driving the Kasey Kahne Racing's #9 entry.

“I thought I wouldn’t race a whole lot anymore,” Kahne said ahead of his World of Outlaws return in 2022. “But now I’m really glad to be in a car and really glad to be racing again. It excites me. I feel really good about it. … My body’s really good again and my eyes are really good again, so it’s nice to not be dizzy.”

The next year after his World of Outlaws announcement, Kasey Kahne signed up to race in the High Limit Racing in 2024. He raced in the series alongside the likes of Kyle Larson and Brad Sweet.

Interestingly, on January 24, 2025, the 44-year-old found the opportunity to race in the Xfinity Series again. As per reports, he would race for Richard Childress Racing at Rockingham Speedway and drive the #33 entry.

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Kasey Kahne shared his feelings ahead of his NASCAR return at Rockingham

Kasey Kahne, driver of the #95 Thorne Wellness Chevrolet, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series - Source: Getty Images

Ahead of his return to NASCAR at Rockingham in the 2025 Xfinity Series season, Kasey Kahne took an opportunity to have a test drive with Richard Childress Racing. During his practice outing with RCR, Kahne stated that he felt normal racing in NASCAR despite the six-year hiatus.

Here's what he said in detail:

“A lot of familiar faces. It didn’t feel like I hadn’t been here in six years, I know that,” Kahne said from Rockingham’s media center. “Even just hanging out in the trailer, behind the trailer for the first half-hour, hour this morning waiting to get going, it just felt pretty normal. It didn’t feel too different."

"So I guess when you put basically your whole life into just racing and NASCAR for that many years leading up to it, and then 16 years in the sport, to take a little bit of time off and come back, it still feels pretty familiar," he added. [via NASCAR.com]

Kahne has 529 Cup Series races under his belt in over 15 years, where he racked up 18 wins, 27 pole positions, and 176 Top 10s. In the Xfinity Series, he has 215 races in over 16 years to his name, with eight wins, nine pole positions, and 87 Top 10s.