25. Kasey Kahne
Saturday, January 6, 2018
Often, change is good for everyone involved. Kasey Kahne leaves his long time home at Hendrick Motorsports to make room for Young Gun William Byron—and given how he ran for much of 2017, it is likely that not much will change with his new ride.
Kahne has been on a downward trajectory for some time, while the Leavine Family No. 95 has been on an upward tick—and the two are going to meet in the middle in a positive way.
Last year, Michael McDowell was the greatest fantasy value on several occasions in large part because he was undervalued at the start of the season. There were signs of improvement at the end of 2016, but no one really expected this team to remain on their upward trajectory. By the end of the year, McDowell was no longer a surprise, but his valuation never really caught up to him.
Kahne is going to be worth much less in 2018 that he was in 2017 and while it will not be to the same degree as what McDowell experienced, he has much more experience that will come to bear.
Last year, Kahne scored only six top-10s. One of these was a shocking win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the Brickyard 400 that put him in the playoffs. Three of the remaining five came on the wild card, restrictor-plate, superspeedways that typically rewards underdogs.
It is the other two top-10s that bear the most weight, however; Kahne finished fourth at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the spring and was ninth in the Fall Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Specifically, that last speedway is critical because it is the venue where the No. 95 started their Cinderella story in 2016. The similarly-configured, 1.5-mile tracks are the courses that tend to make or break teams.
Kahne might also have fared better if not for a string of bad luck in the middle of the year. From May’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte through July’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway, Kahne failed to finish five of seven races because of accidents. Some of those were not of his making, but some might also have been because he was pushing just a bit too hard. He will not experience the same kind of pressure at Leavine as he did with Hendrick.
Kahne will bring consistency to the team in 2018 and that is going to be worth its weight in fantasy gold.
Victories: Indianapolis
Top-fives: 3 (.083)
Top-10s: 6 (.167)
Top-15s: 14 (.389)
|
Track
|
3-Yr
Avg.
Fin
|
Career
Avg.
Fin
|
Career
Attempts
|
Career
Top-5s
|
Career
Top-10s
|
Race 1
|
Race 2
|
|
Dover Downs International
|
9.50
|
18.46
|
28
|
3
|
8
|
17
|
14
|
|
Richmond International Raceway
|
11.33
|
16.36
|
28
|
5
|
10
|
22
|
12
|
|
Kansas Speedway
|
12.83
|
13.52
|
21
|
5
|
9
|
15
|
15
|
|
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
|
13.00
|
13.36
|
14
|
3
|
7
|
12
|
|
|
Atlanta Motor Speedway
|
13.67
|
17.86
|
21
|
8
|
10
|
4
|
|
|
Sonoma Raceway
|
13.67
|
17.93
|
14
|
2
|
6
|
24
|
|
|
Martinsville Speedway
|
13.83
|
19.57
|
28
|
3
|
5
|
14
|
16
|
|
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
|
14.33
|
13.64
|
14
|
4
|
7
|
1
|
|
|
Darlington Raceway
|
14.33
|
15.73
|
15
|
3
|
5
|
24
|
|
|
Texas Motor Speedway
|
15.50
|
17.93
|
27
|
5
|
9
|
38
|
11
|
|
Chicagoland Speedway
|
17.33
|
17.71
|
14
|
2
|
4
|
21
|
|
|
Phoenix International Raceway
|
17.33
|
17.81
|
27
|
5
|
8
|
20
|
19
|
|
Daytona International Speedway
|
18.17
|
19.50
|
28
|
2
|
9
|
7
|
18
|
|
Michigan International Speedway
|
19.33
|
16.61
|
28
|
8
|
10
|
21
|
38
|
|
Pocono Raceway
|
20.50
|
18.39
|
28
|
5
|
9
|
35
|
11
|
|
Charlotte Motor Speedway
|
20.67
|
13.39
|
28
|
10
|
15
|
35
|
9
|
|
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
|
20.83
|
17.79
|
28
|
3
|
10
|
28
|
35
|
|
Bristol Motor Speedway
|
21.17
|
18.50
|
28
|
5
|
10
|
20
|
24
|
|
Auto Club Speedway
|
21.67
|
16.81
|
21
|
4
|
10
|
20
|
|
|
Talladega SuperSpeedway *
|
23.33
|
21.57
|
28
|
4
|
7
|
5
|
8
|
|
Watkins Glen International
|
26.00
|
20.71
|
14
|
0
|
0
|
16
|
|
|
Kentucky Speedway
|
26.33
|
16.14
|
7
|
1
|
2
|
38
|
|
|
Homestead - Miami Speedway
|
29.67
|
18.07
|
14
|
1
|
4
|
33
|
|
++ Swept Victory Lane
+ Top-five sweeps
* Top-10 sweeps
2017 Profile: Kasey Kahne
Often, change is good for everyone involved. Kasey Kahne leaves his long time home at Hendrick Motorsports to make room for Young Gun William Byron—and given how he ran for much of 2017, it is likely that not much will change with his new ride.
Kahne has been on a downward trajectory for some time, while the Leavine Family No. 95 has been on an upward tick—and the two are going to meet in the middle in a positive way.
Last year, Michael McDowell was the greatest fantasy value on several occasions in large part because he was undervalued at the start of the season. There were signs of improvement at the end of 2016, but no one really expected this team to remain on their upward trajectory. By the end of the year, McDowell was no longer a surprise, but his valuation never really caught up to him.
Kahne is going to be worth much less in 2018 that he was in 2017 and while it will not be to the same degree as what McDowell experienced, he has much more experience that will come to bear.
Last year, Kahne scored only six top-10s. One of these was a shocking win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the Brickyard 400 that put him in the playoffs. Three of the remaining five came on the wild card, restrictor-plate, superspeedways that typically rewards underdogs.
It is the other two top-10s that bear the most weight, however; Kahne finished fourth at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the spring and was ninth in the Fall Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Specifically, that last speedway is critical because it is the venue where the No. 95 started their Cinderella story in 2016. The similarly-configured, 1.5-mile tracks are the courses that tend to make or break teams.
Kahne might also have fared better if not for a string of bad luck in the middle of the year. From May’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte through July’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway, Kahne failed to finish five of seven races because of accidents. Some of those were not of his making, but some might also have been because he was pushing just a bit too hard. He will not experience the same kind of pressure at Leavine as he did with Hendrick.
Kahne will bring consistency to the team in 2018 and that is going to be worth its weight in fantasy gold.
Victories: Indianapolis
Top-fives: 3 (.083)
Top-10s: 6 (.167)
Top-15s: 14 (.389)
|
Track
|
3-Yr
Avg.
Fin
|
Career
Avg.
Fin
|
Career
Attempts
|
Career
Top-5s
|
Career
Top-10s
|
Race 1
|
Race 2
|
|
Dover Downs International
|
9.50
|
18.46
|
28
|
3
|
8
|
17
|
14
|
|
Richmond International Raceway
|
11.33
|
16.36
|
28
|
5
|
10
|
22
|
12
|
|
Kansas Speedway
|
12.83
|
13.52
|
21
|
5
|
9
|
15
|
15
|
|
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
|
13.00
|
13.36
|
14
|
3
|
7
|
12
|
|
|
Atlanta Motor Speedway
|
13.67
|
17.86
|
21
|
8
|
10
|
4
|
|
|
Sonoma Raceway
|
13.67
|
17.93
|
14
|
2
|
6
|
24
|
|
|
Martinsville Speedway
|
13.83
|
19.57
|
28
|
3
|
5
|
14
|
16
|
|
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
|
14.33
|
13.64
|
14
|
4
|
7
|
1
|
|
|
Darlington Raceway
|
14.33
|
15.73
|
15
|
3
|
5
|
24
|
|
|
Texas Motor Speedway
|
15.50
|
17.93
|
27
|
5
|
9
|
38
|
11
|
|
Chicagoland Speedway
|
17.33
|
17.71
|
14
|
2
|
4
|
21
|
|
|
Phoenix International Raceway
|
17.33
|
17.81
|
27
|
5
|
8
|
20
|
19
|
|
Daytona International Speedway
|
18.17
|
19.50
|
28
|
2
|
9
|
7
|
18
|
|
Michigan International Speedway
|
19.33
|
16.61
|
28
|
8
|
10
|
21
|
38
|
|
Pocono Raceway
|
20.50
|
18.39
|
28
|
5
|
9
|
35
|
11
|
|
Charlotte Motor Speedway
|
20.67
|
13.39
|
28
|
10
|
15
|
35
|
9
|
|
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
|
20.83
|
17.79
|
28
|
3
|
10
|
28
|
35
|
|
Bristol Motor Speedway
|
21.17
|
18.50
|
28
|
5
|
10
|
20
|
24
|
|
Auto Club Speedway
|
21.67
|
16.81
|
21
|
4
|
10
|
20
|
|
|
Talladega SuperSpeedway *
|
23.33
|
21.57
|
28
|
4
|
7
|
5
|
8
|
|
Watkins Glen International
|
26.00
|
20.71
|
14
|
0
|
0
|
16
|
|
|
Kentucky Speedway
|
26.33
|
16.14
|
7
|
1
|
2
|
38
|
|
|
Homestead - Miami Speedway
|
29.67
|
18.07
|
14
|
1
|
4
|
33
|
|
++ Swept Victory Lane
+ Top-five sweeps
* Top-10 sweeps
2017 Profile: Kasey Kahne
Dan Beaver has been covering fantasy NASCAR for more than 12 years with a little help from his >500,000 record database. He can be found on Twitter
@FantasyRace.
Email :
Dan Beaver