NASCAR Sprint Cup - Kasey Kahne Wins the Toyota/SaveMart 350

With an admirable resistance, the American driver Kasey Kahne imposed himself to the veteran Tony Stewart in Sonoma, California, in the Toyota/SaveMart 350, sixteenth qualifying race of the Nascar Sprint Cup, where Kahne earned his first victory of the season and the first win in ten years for his current team, the Richard Petty Motorsports. As the competition went by, the pressure increased significantly and even more strongly among those trying to occupy the top positions. Kasey Kahne started fifth from the grid and focused on seeking an opportunity to move forward with the clear objective of placing himself up front. As the laps passed, Kahne was closer to achieve his purpose. From the moment that the driver of the #9 Dodge was positioned first, the competition took a very exciting twist; Kahne’s driving skills surprised all the other drivers. Tony Stewart, who was his closest pursuer, could not level the superiority that Kasey had in this competition and his attempts to reach or exceed him did not give the slightest result. Another who gave a strong fight was the Australian Marcos Ambrose, who joined Stewart in going hard on Kahne’s heels, but he was never intimidated by the pressure ceased and continued attacks, by contrast, the more these drivers tried to chase him, the more focused he remained on trying to keep his position. Although Kahne was not at the front most of the time, his eager for victory allowed him to lead the challenge during a run of 37 laps of the 113 scheduled, during which he gave a good display of talent, skill and concentration, and in spite that he lost his position at times because he had lo leave from the track to change tires and refuel, when returning it was very easily to him to go up front once again. The race passed by with a tone of excitement with Kasey Kahne setting the pace in it, while keeping a minimum distance of just one second from Stewart, everything seemed perfect until just two laps from the end, when an accident stopped the competition and while waiting for the security car to show up, the distances between the rest of the riders diminished. At that time everything seemed lost for Kahne, but as the race restarted, he speed up his car without losing his focus, resisting again the attacks by Stewart and Ambrose, whom even though they tried, they could not prevent the driver from Richard Petty Motorsports aboard the # 9 Dodge to cross the finish line as the checkered flag waved in the air. This victory has a very special meaning for Kasey and his team, which during the previous season was just about to be disbanded due to serious financial problems. This achievement comes as great joy and a breath of fresh air to the team and also gives Kahne, who so far is located in the thirteen position of the overall standings, a chance of getting on the group of the top 12 drivers to qualify for the Sprint Cup championship that will begin after the next ten races.