By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer
CONCORD, N.C. – Ahead of the Ecosave 200 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Chase drivers chimed in on the news that Kasey Kahne will return to the series full-time for the 2027 season.
Spire Motorsports announced on Wednesday, Oct. 7, that Kahne will drive the No. 77 Chevrolet Silverado RST full-time next season. It marks the first time that the Enumclaw, Wash. native’s first full season in the soon to be named NASCAR FedEx Freight Truck Series.
Front Row Motorsports driver Layne Riggs looks forward to the race craft that Kahne, who was named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023, will bring to the series. The driver, currently second in Truck Series points, credited Kahne’s team owner for bringing him back to the series.
“I’m actually really excited about (Kasey coming back),” Riggs said. “I know that Jeff Dickerson (Spire Motorsports team owner) inspired and talked about bringing back the older Truck Series feel where you have the veterans and the rookies coming in. I feel like right now the series is rookies teaching rookies and it’s hard to learn and get a good grasp of what the gentlemanship is on the racetrack and what it takes to be a legendary driver. It’s been really cool.”
Layne Riggs reminisced about Kahne’s days as a teammate to his father, Scott Riggs. Knowing the 46-year-old driver, the younger Riggs expects Kahne to be fast compared to various drivers making one-off starts in recent years.
“He was teammates with my dad back at Evernham Motorsports,” Riggs continued. “I remember sitting on my dad’s lap at driver intros and Kasey view next to us, and we’d be hitting each other and stuff. So really full circle. Dad said it makes him feel really, really old. So, I’m looking forward to it.
“I think he’s going to be fast. There’s no way he’s not going to be fast. You’ve seen a lot of one-offs come back and be mediocre and not really have that pull and drive and be an upfront contender, but he’s going to be in really good equipment. He’s obviously a really talented driver and I think he’s got a lot of gentlemanship on the track. I’m looking forward to racing door to door. I think we’re going to be battling out for some wins.”
ThorSport Racing driver, and two-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, Ben Rhodes, remembered that he drove for the same team as Kahne in 2015, JR Motorsports, although they were competing in different series.
Rhodes drove the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro in the then-NASCAR Xfinity Series (now NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series) at Iowa Speedway. The night before, Kahne won the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte in the team’s No. 00 Chevrolet Silverado.
The current Ford Racing driver is one of a handful that competed at the same time as Kahne that is still active in the series.
“Well, first off, really excited for (Kasey),” Rhodes said. “I’m happy for him that he’s going to be full time NASCAR racing again.
“But I’m a big Kasey Kahne fan, always have been. Even when I was a little kid, playing video games on the way to the racetrack. I actually remember him winning (the Charlotte NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race) in 2015 for JR Motorsports. I was driving for JR Motorsports (in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, then Xfinity Series) that year.
“I was making my first start, Iowa that weekend, and we won the night before the truck race here in Charlotte with a thrilling last lap pass. Obviously he knows how to get it done, and the trucks’ race stats are pretty impressive.”
McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s Tyler Ankrum was surprised by the news. The driver of the No. 18 LiUNA! Chevrolet Silverado RST was a fan of Kahne’s when he was younger, even getting an autograph from him at the former Auto Club Speedway.
“Seeing Kasey come back is super cool, I actually still have a hero card from Kasey,” Ankrum admitted. “It’s one of the first signatures I ever got. I was like six, seven years old at Auto Club Speedway. Super cool to see him back. I think that realistically shocked everybody. That was not on my bingo card. I mean, there’s been a lot of news releases that hadn’t been on my bingo card, but man, that one was a huge shocker, but it’s super awesome to see him back.”
Kahne has the best average finish of any NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver with five or more starts. He earned five wins in six starts. In the race that Kahne failed to win, he finished runner-up, giving him a 1.2 average finish in his Truck Series career to date.
Between the near perfect record and Kahne’s race craft, Ankrum is excited to compete with his “hero” on track.
“The guy’s almost got a perfect record, so I’m sure everyone’s expected him to come back and just haul the mail,” Ankrum stated. “I’m really excited to see Kasey come back, he was a hero of mine. He’s going to be getting a lot of attention next year and he’s going to be in a really fast truck.
“Kasey was just one of those young guys. I always really appreciated Kasey from a driver’s standpoint as I got older, simply from the fact that he just always did everything very quietly. He always raced with a tremendous amount of respect, and he won and did it in his own way. I feel like some drivers are known for winning in a very flashy or dramatic way. But Kasey, to me, just always seemed like the ultimate professional.”
Another ThorSport Racing driver, 2024 Craftsman Truck Series champion Ty Majeski, recalled had both him and his father were Bill Elliott fans who shifted their allegiances to Kahne after the Hall of Famer retired and handed driving duties of the No. 9 Dodge Intrepid to Kahne in the NASCAR Cup Series.
“My dad always kind of grew up a Mopar guy, so we always, honestly, we’re always kind of in that camp when we were, while I was a young race fan,” Majeski recalled. “We were Bill Elliott fans and once Kasey Kahne took it over, it was just a natural to shift towards him.”
“There’s not too many guys that I, at least early on in being a fan of NASCAR, (that I got) to race. Kasey coming back and racing against them will be pretty neat. Cool opportunity for the series and for him, and I think it’ll be a really good year next year.”
Kahne was forced to step away from NASCAR racing due to health issues abruptly in 2018. While he had stepped away from stock car racing, he returned to sprint car racing, competing in the World of Outlaws and other series. Kahne made a one-off start for Richard Childress Racing in the 2025 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series North Carolina Education Lottery 250 at Rockingham Speedway, finishing 14th after he was swept up in an early accident.
