Rodney Childers drops an unfiltered take on Kasey Kahne's crushing NASCAR return

Modified Apr 21, 2025 03:15 GMT

Kasey Kahne- NASCAR: FireKeepers Casino 400-Practice - Source: Imagn

Kevin Harvick's former crew chief, Rodney Childers, has given a straightforward take on Kasey Kahne's NASCAR return that took an unfortunate turn. The 45-year-old marked his return to stock car racing after his last showing in 2018 at the Darlington Raceway.

Kahne partnered with Richard Childress Racing to pilot the #33 Chevrolet at the Rockingham Speedway, with Rick Hendrick's Hendrickcars.com as the primary sponsor. The Washington native returned to the track after six and a half years, but to many people's surprise, posted a remarkable fourth-place result in the qualifying.

With that, the eight-time Xfinity race winner entered Rockingham's 256-lap battle with high hopes. However, with just over 50 laps in the race, William Sawalich indirectly ruined Kasey Kahne's prospects of a promising finish. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver tried to overtake Katherine Legge's #53 Chevrolet, but his move resulted in a catastrophe.

Legge spun on the asphalt and collided with Kahne's #33 Chevy, which was running in fifth before slamming the wall head-on. While the former succumbed to a DNF, the latter managed to steer to pit road for damage repair and returned in the fight.

Moving forward, the RCR driver swerved through the pack and surged multiple track positions to finish 15th, which later became 14th after Jesse Love's DQ. Rodney Childers took note of Kahne's dominant run despite the 'hard' situation of racing in NASCAR after over six years, dropping an unfiltered take on the portrayal.

"Not sure anyone thought @kaseykahne would show up, the fastest 10 lap avg in practice, qual top 5, and have a legitimate chance of winning before getting caught up in something not of his doing. Extremely hard to do after being out of a car for that long. He’s always been fast," Childers wrote.

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Kahne returned for a one-off race at the Rockingham Speedway and has yet to announce if he plans to race more.

Kasey Kahne reflects on his NASCAR return at Rockingham Speedway

Kasey Kahne- NASCAR: Consumers Energy 400 - Source: Imagn

Until the Lap 52 calamity, Kasey Kahne ran among the top 5s and was poised for a memorable return to NASCAR. The RCR driver aced the preceding race at the Rockingham Speedway when the facility opened for two years and hosted a Truck Series race in 2012.

A few days after announcing his return in January this season, Kahne dropped by Rockingham, took a tour of the infield, and tested Goodyear tires. From test to qualifying, things went smoothly. Kahne revealed post-race that he enjoyed working with RCR and was exhilarated by being a part of NASCAR once again.

However, he is doubtful about future races.

“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,” Kahne said via Frontstretch.

It's worth mentioning that Kasey Kahne's return instigated Dale Earnhardt Jr. to express whether he wants to see the former run more races.

About the author

Aneesh is a Motorsports journalist at Sportskeeda and covers both NASCAR and Formula 1. An ardent sports fan since his early lawn tennis days, he has showcased his keenness in NASCAR, and has already garnered 5 million views at Sportskeeda thanks to his meticulous work.

When it comes to NASCAR, his top picks are Kyle Busch and Ross Chastain, while in Formula 1, he fervently supports Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. He believes F1 should continue to have more races in courses than in street circuits and feels NASCAR should be more proactive about global promotions to reach F1’s popularity level.

He is very particular about his sourcing for articles, largely relying on the official website of F1 and NASCAR, and relies on understanding different perspectives by browsing through social media and reputed publications for unique story angles.

Even in his spare time, Aneesh is keen to learn more about F1 cars and studies various aspects of them, including its design and engine. He enjoys driving himself and often explores new parts of his city when he can.

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Edited by Aneesh