Kasey Kahne is apparently ending his retirement.
According to a report from the Athletic on Friday, Oct. 2, Kahne, who won 18 NASCAR Cup Series races in his career that spanned from 2004 to 2018, will participate full-time in the NASCAR FedEx Freight Truck Series in 2027 with Spire Motorsports.
Kahne is 46-years-old and will likely be the oldest active full-time driver in any of NASCAR’s three national touring circuits next season.
Spire Motorsports did not immediately respond to USA TODAY Sports’ request for comment.
A native of Enumclaw, Washington, Kahne began his racing career on dirt tracks in open-wheel sprint cars. He became an accomplished driver at the top level of NASCAR, winning 18 races and a few crown jewels. Kahne is one of eight drivers
to win the Coca-Cola 600 multiple times, taking the checkered flag at Charlotte Motor Speedway on three occasions. He also won the 2017 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Over his Cup Series career, which saw him race with five different teams, Kahne proved he could win races in pretty much any machine. He took 11 checkered flags in a Dodge, six wins in a Chevrolet, and won the 2011 Phoenix fall race with Toyota and Team Red Bull. Kahne also won the 2010 Daytona Duels in a Ford with Richard Petty Motorsports.
Kahne retired after he missed the final 11 races of the 2018 season due to health issues, including heat exhaustion and dehydration he experienced at the Southern 500 in Darlington that season. His retirement came during a stretch from 2015 through 2018 where many notable names were leaving the sport, including Danica Patrick, Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon.
In 2023, Kahne was named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers.
Following his retirement from NASCAR, Kahne returned to dirt racing, running races in the World of Outlaws and High Limit Racing circuits.
In 2025, he made a one-off return to the second-tier O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, driving the No. 33 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing when NASCAR made its return to Rockingham after more than a decade. Kahne placed 14th that day. He has eight career wins in the O’Reilly Series.
Kahne has won five of the six races he has entered in the Truck Series, with the last one coming in the No. 00 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports in 2015 at Charlotte. Truck Series races are the shortest ones – in terms of miles and laps – of any of NASCAR’s national touring circuits. Kahne will likely be expected to contend for a championship.
Spire fields three cars in the Truck Series: the No. 7, No. 71 and No. 77.
Kyle Busch drove the No. 7 in a handful of races this season and notched his final win in a Spire truck at Dover Motor Speedway less than a week before his shocking death at the age of 41. The connections Spire has with Busch run deep, as the headquarters the group runs its operation out of was formerly the home of Kyle Busch Motorsports. Spire’s co-owner, Jeff Dickerson, was Busch’s spotter and agent early in his career.
Rajah Caruth was the full-time driver in the No. 71 in 2024 and 2025, but Spire has rotated through a cast of several drivers in their trucks this season. Eight different drivers have been behind the wheel of the No. 77 this season, three have driven the No. 71, and nine have driven the No. 7. Tristan McKee, who made his NASCAR debut this season at the age of 16, is expected to have several starts for Spire in the Truck Series next season.
Spire fields three cars in the Cup Series this year for Carson Hocevar, Daniel Suarez and Michael McDowell. Hocevar and Suarez both made the postseason Chase. The organization is currently locked into a lawsuit battle with Joe Gibbs Racing over Chris Gabehart, who left JGR to work for Spire.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kasey Kahne to end retirement, race in NASCAR Truck Series in 2027, per report
