Kahne Makes His Own History At The Rock

Kasey Kahne took the lead from Matt Crafton with 46 laps to go, and went on to score the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory at Rockingham Speedway Sunday afternoon. Photo by Glen Starek / GlensPhoto.com

Kasey Kahne has wanted a win at Rockingham Speedway ever since 2004 when he finished second to Matt Kenseth at the track’s final NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

He’s thought a lot about his unfinished business at The Rock since then. On Sunday, he took care of it.

Kahne started from the rear of the field and ultimately left it in his worn tire tracks in the closing laps to win the inaugural Camping World Truck Series Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200, the first NASCAR race at Rockingham in eight years. He charged away from teammate James Buescher, while Matt Crafton, Johnny Sauter and Timothy Peters rounded out the top five.

The Sprint Cup race in Texas on Saturday night kept Kahne from getting any practice laps on the tricky Rockingham surface. He didn’t need any.

The field takes the green flag to start the event in front of a huge crowd at Rockingham Speedway. Photo by Glen Starek / GlensPhoto.com

“It was so excited that they got this race and Andy (Hillenburg) got the track going, and it looks fresh and good,” Kahne said. “But once we got racing, it was like the same old Rockingham. It seemed really similar.”

Kahne took the lead from Crafton on lap 155 and held it for the final 46 laps as his challengers floundered and faded. Nelson Piquet Jr. dominated the first half of the race and had caught Kahne when the caution flag waved on lap 175, but a pit road speeding penalty cost the Brazilian, who led a race-high 107 laps, a shot at the win.

“I was trying to recover some positions on pit road and I pushed the limit,” said Piquet, who had to settle for a seventh-place finish. “It’s my first time speeding on pit road.

“It’s a learning experience. Next time, I’ll be more careful.”

Piquet led the field to green in front of a near-capacity crowd and opened up a half-lap lead in the race’s early stages, lapping all but the top 10 trucks. He set a blistering pace despite cautions for an early spin by John King and debris.

Dakoda Armstrong's team goes to work on his truck. Armstrong would come home in 14th position. Photo by Glen Starek / GlensPhoto.com

But Piquet lost touch with the top spot after a slow pit stop on lap 124 during a caution for David Reutimann’s tangle with Bryan Silas in turn 4. Meanwhile, Kahne had marched steadily from 36^th into contention.

“It was patience,” Kahne said. “The thing about this place is you can take your time early and pick them off one at a time and save your tires.

“We kept tightening the truck up on our pit stops and on the final run, we got it really good.”

Kahne chased down Crafton with 46 laps to go. Until then, Crafton had opened a big lead during the middle portion of the event. But he was ultimately a little too fast too early, he said.

“That next to last run I drove off from everyone and was faster than everyone and my crew was telling me how much faster I was than everyone,” Crafton said. “And I was a donkey and drove the rear tires off the truck.”

Crafton was one of several drivers in the field who hadn’t raced at Rockingham before. The same could be said for Peters, who inherited the Camping World Truck Series points lead with his finish. But Peters wanted to talk about the track more than his day afterward.

“From start to finish, to ride around the place, I’ve never been to a track before where the fans are over you like that,” Peters said. “It’s cool to see the excitement and enjoyment of NASCAR being back.”

Kasey Kahne (4) moves to the inside of Dakoda Armstrong (98) and Ron Hornaday (9). Photo by Glen Starek / GlensPhoto.com

Every driver spoke out about how excited they were to be at Rockingham Speedway. Even Denny Hamlin, one of Kahne’s Sprint Cup brethren, wrote on Twitter during the race that he’d build his own truck if he had to so he could race in next year’s Rockingham race.

“There’s enough guys who enjoy racing here,” Kahne said. “After seeing how well this race went off today, he won’t be the only one who wants to race here.”

Hillenburg, the track’s owner, will welcome anyone who wants to come. He was very pleased with the crowd, but now he believes his small staff can do even better. First, he’ll need to see NASCAR’s report card on the event, he said.

Ask the drivers and fans, and Rockingham passed with flying colors.

“It was a great race and a great crowd and a great day,” Hillenburg said. “I hope I get an A-plus, honestly.”

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
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Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200 – April 15, 2012

1.  (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 200, $29,000.
2. (16) James Buescher, Chevrolet, 200, $23,840.
3.  (8) Matt Crafton, Toyota, 200, $17,285.
4. (10) Johnny Sauter, Toyota, 200, $17,400.
5.  (3) Timothy Peters, Toyota, 200, $12,200.
6. (17) Joey Coulter, Chevrolet, 200, $10,450.
7.  (1) Nelson Piquet Jr., Chevrolet, 200, $14,500.
8. (12) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 200, $11,250.
9.  (6) Parker Kligerman, RAM, 200, $10,200.
10. (19) Justin Lofton, Chevrolet, 200, $11,425.
11. (27) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 200, $10,100.
12. (22) Ron Hornaday Jr., Chevrolet, 200, $7,725.
13. (21) David Starr, Toyota, 200, $7,675.
14. (11) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 199, $7,625.
15. (23) Miguel Paludo, Chevrolet, 198, $10,850.
16. (29) Timothy George Jr., Chevrolet, 198, $9,700.
17. (13) Cale Gale, Chevrolet, 197, $9,650.
18. (15) Max Gresham, Chevrolet, 197, $9,600.
19. (18) David Reutimann, Chevrolet, 197, $7,300.
20. (20) John Wes Townley, Toyota, 197, $7,750.
21. (24) Caleb Holman, Chevrolet, 197, $7,350.
22. (32) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 197, $9,450.
23. (30) Brennan Newberry, Chevrolet, 197, $7,175.
24. (28) Jason White, Ford, 196, $9,400.
25. (14) Ross Chastain, Toyota, 196, $9,500.
26.  (2) Paulie Harraka, Ford, 195, $9,325.
27. (36) Jeff Agnew, Chevrolet, 195, $7,000.
28. (26) Tyler Young, Chevrolet, 193, $6,975.
29. (33) Chris Cockrum, Chevrolet, 193, $7,925.
30. (35) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, 189, $8,400.
31.  (7) Todd Bodine, Toyota, 135, $6,855.
32. (31) Bryan Silas, Ford, Accident, 119, $6,800.
33. (25) John King, Toyota, Accident, 56, $6,775.
34.  (4) Jason Leffler, Toyota, Engine, 19, $6,750.
35. (34) Johnny Chapman, Toyota, Clutch, 13, $6,725.
36.  (9) Grant Enfinger, Chevrolet, Transmission, 12, $6,702.

Race Statistics
Average Speed of Race Winner: 107.239 mph.
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 51 Mins, 54 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 1.478 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 4 for 25 laps.
Lead Changes: 7 among 4 drivers.
Lap Leaders: N. Piquet Jr. 1-67; M. Crafton 68-82; N. Piquet Jr. 83-108; M. Crafton 109; N. Piquet Jr. 110-123; T. Peters 124-130; M. Crafton 131-154; K. Kahne 155-200.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  N. Piquet Jr. 3 times for 107 laps; K. Kahne 1 time for 46 laps; M. Crafton 3 times for 40 laps; T. Peters 1 time for 7 laps.
Top 10 in Points: T. Peters – 121; J. Lofton – 115; T. Dillon – 114; J. Buescher – 111; P. Kligerman – 101; N. Piquet Jr. – 100; J. White – 94; J. King – 93; R. Hornaday Jr. – 90; D. Starr – 84.