This Bud’s for the fans: Kahne wins All-Star Race thanks to fan vote

Kasey Kahne took home a million dollar payout Saturday night after winning the Sprint All-Star Race at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Initially, Kahne said that his plans were to watch the race on television, but thanks to the fan vote following the prelude Sprint Showdown preliminary race, Kahne’s No. 9 Budweiser  Dodge was given the final starting spot in the 24-car field.

It marked the first time in All-Star event history that a fan-vote winner went on to win the feature. It was also the first time a Dodge scored the win.

Kahne was not eligible for automatic inclusion into the All-Star event because he went winless in 2007.

Ironically, his last win came at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in October of 2006, and had it not been for the fan vote, Kahne would have missed the All-Star event since he finished fifth in the 40-lap Sprint Showdown race. Only the top-two finishing drivers transferred into the All-Star event from the Showdown based on performance.

“It feels great. I can’t believe we’re in Victory Lane,” Kahne said. “It’s been a long time. It feels so good. To win a race like this, it’s such a tough race to win. We got voted in by the fans which is really special and it feels good to know that we have that many fans following our team.”

There were only three caution flags throughout the 100-lap All-Star event but none were for incidents on track; all were mandated, separating the four segments.

“I was surprised there were no wrecks,” Kahne continued. “Once I took the lead, I was (thinking), ‘No cautions, no cautions.’ The last thing I wanted was a restart and have somebody starting beside me. I was hoping for no cautions and we didn’t have any. It worked out perfect for us.”

Pole-sitter Kyle Busch dominated the first 25-lap segment but engine gremlins crept in while he led during the second segment. His No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Camry — far and away the best car of the evening — slowed 13 laps into the second segment, allowing Carl Edwards to sail by and win the heat.

Once Edwards crossed the start/finish line, a 10-minute break followed allowing Busch’s team to inspect his machine. Rendered terminal, it was pushed behind the wall under a barrage of cheers from the grandstands. It was the second of what would be three engine issues in the JGR stable. Tony Stewart’s No. 20 team was forced to change its engine after practice and Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 car would suffer an expired powerplant later in the race.

Edwards led the field to the green for the third run but Roush Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle came out on top after 25 uninterrupted laps.

Under the mandated stop before the final segment, Biffle took on two tires while Kahne’s crew opted for fuel only, which placed him second on the grid behind reigning series champion Jimmie Johnson, who led the field to the final race restart but quickly lost the position to Hamlin.

Hamlin however, didn’t stay in command for long. On lap 84 his machine hiccuped with JGR’s third engine malfunction and Kahne slid into the lead, where he stayed all the way to the checkered flag for the million dollar payout.

Biffle, who won the inaugural burnout competition prior to the Showdown qualifying event, closed in on Kahne for a few laps but any ground that he made up quickly waned  as his Ford struggled with a tight condition as the laps clicked off, slowing his charge. He finished second.

“I thought it was going to be a Saturday night drive and just went down into turn 1 after the restart and the tires just chattered,” Biffle said. “I had one opportunity and he closed the door on me a little bit and then it just got tighter and tighter as it went and I never got a chance to get back at him again.

"It’s kind of crazy to think if I would have just stayed out that I would have kept my balance and probably would have been able to win. But I thought for sure two tires was the right call.”

“I felt like the 16 car was really strong,” said crew chief of the No. 9 Dodge, Kenny Francis, who made the race-winning call for fuel only. “I honestly thought that our car was pretty good all day. We made that call and fortunately it worked out for us.”

Kenseth, Johnson and Stewart rounded out the top 5 while Ryan Newman, Sam Hornish Jr., Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin and Edwards finished sixth through 10th.

The race marked the final time that Dale Jarrett would sit behind the wheel of a racecar. After climbing out of the No. 44 Toyota at Bristol surrendering his weekly competition, Jarrett marked the All-Star event as the final time ever he’d plan on racing competitively.

The 1999 Cup Series champion finished the four-segment event 21st out of 24 entries.

“It’s over,” the well-respected statesman said afterward. “We’ve done it. It’s been great and I wouldn’t do anything different. It started with about five to go when I started taking things in and realizing it wouldn’t be happening anymore. I’m very satisfied with the decision and the way things have gone in my career.”

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