One of NASCAR's most popular drivers to make return at historic track

Sponsorship will come from Kahne's former Cup Series team owner, Rick Hendrick's dealership, HendrickCars.com.

While the Cup Series is idle on Easter weekend, the Xfinity Series is one of three series in action at the track, along with the Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series East. It will be the first time Rockingham Speedway has hosted a NASCAR event since 2021 Cup Series champion Kyle Larson won his first national series race there in 2013.

Kahne, a 2012 winner in the Truck Series at Rockingham and one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023, will participate in an organizational test on Tuesday as teams get reacclimated to the 1.017-mile facility.

The excitement of getting back behind the wheel at one of his favorite tracks was evident to the 44-year-old.

"I'm excited to get back behind the wheel of a stock car, especially at a place like Rockingham Speedway," Kahne said, per Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic. "Rockingham has been a special track throughout my career. I remember winning the Truck Series race in 2012 when the sport went back there last, so to be a part of the current return is cool."

Kahne found success in all three series during his career. He won 18 times in 529 starts in NASCAR's premier series, including the 2017 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Kahne is one of only eight drivers to win the Coca-Cola 600 three times, along with three-time champion Darrell Waltrip (five), seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson (four) and fellow three-time winners Buddy Baker, three-time champion David Pearson, 1983 champion Bobby Allison, seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt and four-time champion Jeff Gordon.  

Kahne also won eight Xfinity Series and five Truck Series races in only six starts.

Since he stepped away from Cup Series racing in 2018, Kahne has been racing sprint cars in the World of Outlaws or the High Limit Series. Something Kahne dealt with that ultimately forced him to step away from NASCAR was the length of the Cup Series races. He would battle dehydration after the longer races, so the shorter dirt races have allowed him to compete without health concerns.

Kahne's return coincides with the speedway's revival after being dormant since 2013. The Cup Series raced there from 1965 to 2004, and the Truck Series held a pair of races in 2012 and 2013. Rockingham's return follows the recent revivals of North Wilkesboro Speedway and Bowman Gray Stadium.

In just his second Cup Series start in 2004 — the last time the premier series raced there — Kahne lost a heartbreaker to Hall of Famer Matt Kenseth in a drag race to the finish. Although this will be his first NASCAR start since 2018, expect Kahne to be battling up toward the front when Easter weekend rolls around. After all, he boasts a near-perfect record in Truck Series competition, and the competitiveness is obviously still there.

The 250-lap race is scheduled for April 19 (4 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).