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Kasey Kahne needs to bring out the big guns if he is to make another run at the Chase.

Head2Head: Kasey Kahne

By NASCAR.COM
April 11, 2007
01:35 PM EDT

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This week's hot-button debate focuses on Kasey Kahne, who after a top-10 finish at Daytona has struggled mightily and is 34th in points.

Kahne made his first Chase last season on the strength of a series-high six victories, including a win one year ago at this week's venue, Texas Motor Speedway. Will Kahne make the Chase this year?

Read both sides of the argument and then weigh in with your take:

Will Kasey Kahne make the Chase in 2007?


YES	NO
After six races -- including three finishes of 35th or worse -- Kasey Kahne is closer in points to last-place Michael Waltrip (480) than he is to first-place Jeff Gordon (513). So how could he possibly have any chance at making a serious run at the Chase for the Nextel Cup without winning at Texas? Well, there are a few things in his favor. It's not as if Kahne has been running in the back of the pack all season. He started second and led 20 laps at California before his engine let go. He won the pole and led 13 laps at Las Vegas before a crash ended his day. Misfortune left him with lousy finishes at Atlanta and Bristol, as well. Remember, this is the same team that won six races and posted 19 top-10s a year ago -- and was downright dominant on tracks like Texas, where he won in the spring. Kahne has put together streaks of five consecutive top-10 finishes before. But even if Kahne stumbles again this weekend at Texas, all is not lost. Last season, Greg Biffle led 49 laps at Texas but crashed and wound up 42nd. At the time, he was 406 points behind and considered dead in the water. Biffle promptly strung together seven consecutive top-10 finishes. Hold on, you're saying, Biffle wasn't in the 2006 Chase. Well, he was 12th after Richmond -- and that's good enough, under the new rules, to get a spot in 2007. Still not convinced? Consider the plight of Bill Elliott in 2003. He finished last at Texas, which left him 33rd in the standings, 503 points behind. That was the last time he failed to finish for the rest of the season. Even though he only won once -- at Rockingham -- and had only 12 top-10s all year, Elliott strung together 25 lead-lap finishes. That consistency allowed him to move from 33rd to ninth by the end of the season. Will Kahne be able match Elliott's run? He's driving the No. 9 Dodge for Ray Evernham -- the same outfit for which Elliott drove back in 2003. • Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM	Thanks for playing Kasey Kahne, here's your T-shirt and consolation prize pack. Tell the folks in Washington we'll see them, well, sometime. Maybe. Sorry the season's over already, Kasey. None of us expected this. But let's face it, it was over before it began: The pre-Daytona penalty of 50 owner and driver points for an advantage that was swept away once Michael Waltrip's team upped the ante; the suspension of Kenny Francis; the back-to-back DNFs after the Daytona 500. Is this the same Kahne that won six races last year and was unbeatable at intermediate tracks? Is this the same Kahne that cruised in the Texas race one year ago to a victory and third-place showing in the points? Not at all. But we knew it was coming. It's been a four-year roller-coaster ride with Kahne, whose Ricky Bobby impression is getting better and better: if you ain't first, you're last. • First year: Five second-place finishes but five finishes of 35th or worse. • Second year: First Cup victory but nine DNFs. • Third year: A series-high six victories but a nosedive once Race No. 27 came. And now this. Kahne has finished better than 25th just twice this year. He had a string of three consecutive finishes of 38th, 35th and 39th. What about that points to this season turning upward? The hole Kahne has dug for himself is a death sentence. He?s 34th in points, more points behind (513) than he?s scored (453). After six races and being that deep in the standings, no driver in the modern era has come back to finish higher than 17th. Even with the current points system rewarding victories more than ever, Kahne's going to have to shed his Jekyll/Hyde history -- something he's yet to prove is possible -- to even sniff the top 20, all while preparing for 2008. • Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM

YES

After six races -- including three finishes of 35th or worse -- Kasey Kahne is closer in points to last-place Michael Waltrip (480) than he is to first-place Jeff Gordon (513). So how could he possibly have any chance at making a serious run at the Chase for the Nextel Cup without winning at Texas?

Well, there are a few things in his favor. It's not as if Kahne has been running in the back of the pack all season. He started second and led 20 laps at California before his engine let go. He won the pole and led 13 laps at Las Vegas before a crash ended his day. Misfortune left him with lousy finishes at Atlanta and Bristol, as well.

Remember, this is the same team that won six races and posted 19 top-10s a year ago -- and was downright dominant on tracks like Texas, where he won in the spring. Kahne has put together streaks of five consecutive top-10 finishes before.

But even if Kahne stumbles again this weekend at Texas, all is not lost. Last season, Greg Biffle led 49 laps at Texas but crashed and wound up 42nd. At the time, he was 406 points behind and considered dead in the water. Biffle promptly strung together seven consecutive top-10 finishes.

Hold on, you're saying, Biffle wasn't in the 2006 Chase. Well, he was 12th after Richmond -- and that's good enough, under the new rules, to get a spot in 2007.

Still not convinced? Consider the plight of Bill Elliott in 2003. He finished last at Texas, which left him 33rd in the standings, 503 points behind. That was the last time he failed to finish for the rest of the season. Even though he only won once -- at Rockingham -- and had only 12 top-10s all year, Elliott strung together 25 lead-lap finishes.

That consistency allowed him to move from 33rd to ninth by the end of the season. Will Kahne be able match Elliott's run? He's driving the No. 9 Dodge for Ray Evernham -- the same outfit for which Elliott drove back in 2003.

• Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM

Thanks for playing Kasey Kahne, here's your T-shirt and consolation prize pack. Tell the folks in Washington we'll see them, well, sometime. Maybe.

Sorry the season's over already, Kasey. None of us expected this. But let's face it, it was over before it began: The pre-Daytona penalty of 50 owner and driver points for an advantage that was swept away once Michael Waltrip's team upped the ante; the suspension of Kenny Francis; the back-to-back DNFs after the Daytona 500.

Is this the same Kahne that won six races last year and was unbeatable at intermediate tracks? Is this the same Kahne that cruised in the Texas race one year ago to a victory and third-place showing in the points? Not at all.

But we knew it was coming. It's been a four-year roller-coaster ride with Kahne, whose Ricky Bobby impression is getting better and better: if you ain't first, you're last.

• First year: Five second-place finishes but five finishes of 35th or worse.

• Second year: First Cup victory but nine DNFs.

• Third year: A series-high six victories but a nosedive once Race No. 27 came.

And now this. Kahne has finished better than 25th just twice this year. He had a string of three consecutive finishes of 38th, 35th and 39th. What about that points to this season turning upward?

The hole Kahne has dug for himself is a death sentence. He?s 34th in points, more points behind (513) than he?s scored (453). After six races and being that deep in the standings, no driver in the modern era has come back to finish higher than 17th.

Even with the current points system rewarding victories more than ever, Kahne's going to have to shed his Jekyll/Hyde history -- something he's yet to prove is possible -- to even sniff the top 20, all while preparing for 2008.

• Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM