Kasey Kahne is officially back on the NASCAR circuit.
The 46-year-old driver, who competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2004 to 2018, is set to compete full-time in the NASCAR FedEx Freight Truck Series for Spire Motorsports in 2027, driving the No. 77 Chevrolet Silverado RST.
Kahne abruptly retired toward the end of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series campaign because of health concerns, then pivoted to sprint cars and dirt racing, but returned to the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Rockingham in 2025.
While the 31-time NASCAR National Series winner is back with the travelling circus of NASCAR, his running the Truck Series, instead of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series or NASCAR Cup Series, allows him to only be on the road for 25 weekends, as opposed to 33 or 36.
That played a major role in why, when Jeff Dickerson, owner of Spire Motorsports, approached him with the opportunity, that he said yes. But, is a return to the NASCAR Cup Series even on the table for the Enumclaw, Washington-native?
The answer isn’t yes, but it’s also not no.
“I know that what I’ve always kind of felt is that I could maybe pull off a one-off or something like that in a [NASCAR Cup Series] car, but where my body went those final couple of years, like, there’s no chance to ever do that again full-time, and I understand that,” Kahne said in a media availability on Wednesday.
“I knew it when I got out of the sport, that’s why I got out. It was disappointing, parts of it, but it also is kind of what it is, you just have to take it and move on and figure out other ways to be happy and get some of that enjoyment out of what I did for a long time.”
“You never know, maybe a one-off or something, but I didn’t, to me, this series is shorter races, schedules, all that, makes sense with where I’m at.”
Kahne will begin his NASCAR FedEx Freight Truck Series campaign at Daytona on February 19 in the No. 77 for Spire Motorsports, who, does have a NASCAR Cup Series program, and even has plans to run a fourth entry on a part-time basis for up-and-coming Hendrick Motorsports development driver, Corey Day.
Maybe Kasey Kahne could get in on the action, there?
