Kahne recovers, wins rain-shortened race

BROOKLYN, Mich. – With rain on the horizon and 37 cars between him and the lead, Kasey Kahne knew he had his work cut out Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.

“We knew we had a great car and we just started battling back,” said Kahne, who fell behind on the 47th lap of the Nextel Cup race when debris on his radiator caused his engine to overheat and sent the youngster to the pits under the green flag.

That knocked the popular 26-year-old, the 2004 Cup rookie of the year, back to 38th in the 43-car field, a lap behind the leaders. But a caution for light rain seven laps later allowed Kahne to regain the lead lap and it didn’t take long for him to drive back into contention.

“We took two tires there once and passed some cars on pit road and then we were able to get past some cars on the track,” said Kahne, who started his No. 9 Evernham Motorsports Dodge from the pole and got back to the front before a downpour cut the race short by 71 laps on the 2-mile oval.

Kahne, earning a series-best fourth victory of the season and his third from the top qualifying spot, said, “It’s pretty crazy to win in the rain and be in the right place there at the end. But we did have the best car.”

What impressed team owner Ray Evernham was the maturity Kahne displayed after being pushed to the rear by the overheating motor.

“He’s definitely grown as a race driver,” Evernham said. “He understands what he needs to do. He understands that these races are longer.”

While Kahne was racing back into contention, Carl Edwards, who had two top-five finishes at Michigan last year in his first full season in Cup, moved to the front in his No. 99 Roush Racing Ford and appeared to be the car to beat.

On lap 112 of the scheduled 200 laps, Kahne barely beat Edwards out of the pits in a battle for fourth place under a caution flag – one of a track record-tying nine yellows.

That turned out to be the move of the race.

After the green flag waved on lap 116, Kahne, who had taken four fresh tires, quickly chased down rookie Reed Sorenson, who had taken the lead under the final caution. Kahne drove into the lead on lap 117.