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Kasey Kahne out to end drought

NO ONE HAS to remind Kasey Kahne that for the benefit of his racing career, he needs to qualify for this year's Chase. Kahne's last Sprint Cup series win was at Atlanta in 2014 when he made the Chase (he finished 11th).

NO ONE HAS to remind Kasey Kahne that for the benefit of his racing career, he needs to qualify for this year's Chase. Kahne's last Sprint Cup series win was at Atlanta in 2014 when he made the Chase (he finished 11th).

Kahne's stablemates at Hendrick Motorsports are formidable: Jimmie Johnson, a six-time Cup champion; Dale Earnhardt Jr., the series' most popular driver with 26 career wins, and impressive rookie Chase Elliott. It's time for Kahne (17 career Cup wins) to git 'er going.

"We're working hard to run more consistent and be faster," Kahne, 36, said Tuesday after playing in the fourth annual Dover-Pocono softball game at the Wilmington Blue Rocks stadium. "The last couple years have been a struggle. (This year) our speed has been better and we're qualifying better. We're definitely making gains."

This season, Kahne's best finish is fourth at Richmond. He has two top-10 finishes and is 17th in points, four behind Trevor Bayne for the final Chase berth. Kahne has not led any laps this season.

Kahne's No. 5 Chevrolet was among the majority caught up in last Sunday's wreck-fest at Talladega. Watching cars flying airborne and other multicar wrecks, I thought, "This isn't sport - it's high-speed madness on wheels with chances of serious injuries, or worse, to drivers and fans."

Kahne said the multicar crashes were the result of drivers racing aggressively in case the race was shortened by rain.

After the race, Austin Dillon, who finished a career-best third, said, "We all have to do it. I don't know how many really love it. I know our moms, wives and girlfriends don't like it. We don't like to be part of crashes. If people are cheering for crashes, it's not a good thing."

Playing shortstop Tuesday, Dillon helped lead Dover to a 10-3 trouncing of Pocono. Kahne played centerfield for Pocono.

As a youngster, Dillon played second base for a North Carolina Little League team that reached the regionals. He is 10th in Cup series points.

Dillon and Kahne will be racing May 15 in the AAA Drive for Autism 400 at Dover International Speedway in Delaware.

'Designed' surprise

When Sabrina Marelli, a fifth-grader at the W.B. Simpson Elementary School in Wyoming, Del., learned her design for the Dover International Speedway pace car was a contest winner, she never expected to have a NASCAR driver visit her school.

That's what happened last week when Erik Jones, one of NASCAR's most talented young drivers, drove the pace car to the school near Dover.

"She was totally surprised," Jones said. "It was a pretty cool experience."

Jones, who at age 19 looks young enough to be in high school, also answered questions from students.

The pace-car design is yellow with a ladybug on the roof and a rainbow on the hood. There's an orange-and-yellow checkered pattern on the back of the car.

Driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, Jones will be in the Xfinity series race May 14 at Dover. With one win and five top-five finishes, Jones is seventh in points. He is the defending Camping World Truck Series champion.

Boston IndyCar KO'd

The IndyCar series took another hit last Friday with the cancellation of the inaugural race in Boston on Labor Day weekend. Last year, the IndyCar season opener in Brasilia, Brazil was canceled.

Environmental issues were an obstacle for the race on Boston's streets. When there is a group called the Coalition Against IndyCar in Boston opposing the race, it's not a good thing for the series.

"From the beginning, this was the wrong place and time for this event," said Larry Bishoff, co-chairman of the coalition. "We're grateful the people of Boston will be spared the damage and destruction of our streets and the people of South Boston and the Seaport will be able to live their lives without the disruption this race portended."

I recall a comment from the late actor/racer Paul Newman when he tried to persuade Philadelphia to host a CART series Indy car race in the city in the late 1990s. "You can't go where people don't want you," Newman said.

Promoters of the Boston race indicate they will try to find another Eastern venue to hold a race Labor Day weekend. With only a few months to organize such a race, lotsa luck with that.

An IndyCar race is scheduled for Pocono Raceway Aug. 21.