Kahne heating up at the perfect time

Kasey Kahne has captured two of the last three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. (Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)

BROOKLYN, Mich. - The hottest driver in NASCAR? Last week, there was no question it was Kasey Kahne, literally and figuratively. On a hot and humid day at Pocono, Pa., Kahne proved one cool customer in guiding his No. 9 Dodge to Victory Lane. It gave him wins in two of the last three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events, including his victory in the Coca-Cola 600 May 25 in Charlotte, N.C.

So, what's been the secret to his sudden success?

"If you look back at the start of the season, we've been much better than where we were last year, throughout the entire season," said Kahne, who went winless last season and finished 19th in the points, seven spots from making the cut for the Chase for the Championship. "We were better in the offseason. We had a car that was capable of winning at California. Vegas, we ran eighth. We've been close at times; then we've had things go on at other times. We've hit on some things at the Charlotte test that have really paid off and helped us on these racetracks."

Kahne's midseason emergence represents a resurgence for Dodge, which kicked off the season in rousing fashion with a 1-2 finish of Penske Racing teammates Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch in the Daytona 500, where Dodge claimed six of the top eight spots.

"We're still learning about these cars," Kahne said. "For what we have, the amount of time we've had to work with a completely different racecar from what we raced a year ago, I think the cars are handling and racing really well. It just takes a little bit of time and we're slowly getting there. It's something we knew going into the season, that we would be getting better as the season goes on."

Ninth in the driver standings, Kahne will start ninth in tomorrow's LifeLock 400 at Michigan International Speedway after NASCAR officials canceled pole qualifying yesterday because of rain. Points leader Kyle Busch will start on the pole.

"We've had a good last month and we're going to try and keep the momentum going this weekend," Kahne said. "We would have liked to get a qualifying lap in, but the weather didn't cooperate. Our Dodge has been really fast and MIS is a track that we've had past success. It's fun to drive your car here because of all the different lines that [the track] provides.

"Hopefully, we'll have some time [today] to keep working on our setup and get us ready for [tomorrow]."

Silent treatment
NASCAR officials held an impromptu closed-door meeting with car owners and drivers yesterday in the garage at MIS, presumably to tell them to keep their lips pursed about the $225 million racial and sexual harassment suit filed Tuesday against the sanctioning body by Mauricia Grant, an African-American woman who worked as a technical inspector on the Nationwide Series last year. The meeting, however, had nothing to do with a gag order regarding the lawsuit, but instead was called to ask drivers and owners to keep their criticism of the new car to themselves. In effect, the message was: Shut up and drive. "I think it's important for NASCAR to get us together and share their thoughts and ideas about where we're at, whether it be with the car or racetrack safety, all those things," said Jeff Gordon. "I hope those meetings turn into something on a more regular basis and that we can have input into it. I think the only way we can do that is to not necessarily make those meetings public." . . . NASCAR officials declined to discuss the suit, citing it as an ongoing personnel matter. "We're in the process of investigating all of the allegations," said Jim Hunter, NASCAR's vice president of corporate communications. "The first time we heard of it was Monday." . . . The Associated Press, citing an anonymous source, said two unidentified officials named in the suit were placed on administrative leave for violating company policy . . . Kyle Busch, who last weekend raced in three series (Truck, Nationwide, and Cup) in three cities (Dallas, Nashville, and Pocono, respectively) with varying degrees of success (2d, 20th, and 43d, respectively), will attempt to pull a two-fer today by racing in the Craftsman Truck Series race at Michigan before jetting off to drive in tonight's Nationwide race at Kentucky Speedway. "It was a tough weekend and a long weekend," Busch said of his travels a week ago. "But I don't think anything really wore on me." . . . Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s decision to sign with Hendrick Motorsports. "I know, I didn't realize that we had done so much so early last year," said Earnhardt, who not only switched teams, but sponsors and car numbers (from 8 to 88). "That was a big surprise to me. It feels like six months [ago] maybe." . . . IndyCar Series driver Tony Kanaan, enjoying a bit of a busman's holiday, showed up at MIS to hang around with former Andretti Green Racing teammate Dario Franchitti, who is in his rookie season in the Sprint Cup Series. "It's my first time [at a NASCAR event]," said Kanaan. Back on his feet after suffering a fractured left ankle in a Nationwide race at Talladega in April, Franchitti said he was feeling fine. Having a familiar face at the track also lifted his spirits. "It's been good to catch up with Tony and show him my new world," Franchitti said. Asked if he ever experienced pangs about leaving IndyCar, especially when the 2007 Indianapolis 500 champion returned to the Brickyard last month as part of a promotional event, Franchitti said, "When I made the decision to come over, I just closed my mind to going back to Indianapolis. I decided that this is my future. I mean, I love Indianapolis, I love the 500, it's just a fabulous race. I watched every day of practice. It's a race that changed my life, but this is my future."