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I Must Be Dreaming
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
By Heather Pohlabel
Is it just me, or is there anyone else out there in America who has seen the All State commercials featuring Kasey Kahne and cannot, simply cannot think about the man or see him and NOT sing, "I must be dreaming" or hum the little opening chords "da na na na na" from his first commercial? My husband noticed this the other night as we were watching Kahne dominate Saturday night's Bank of America 500 race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. He (my husband, of course, not Kasey) calls in from the other room, "Who's leading". I reply, very loudly and off key, in so... "I must be dreamin'! Dreamin' of youuuuuuuuuuuuuu". To which I get, "he doesn't even have a name any more does he?!" Not in our house. But in many other houses across America, others may also be thinking that "da na na na na" may have a shot at the championship. Are we crazy to think this?
I hate to say this, but I'm feelin' Kasey for a solid chance at the Cup, even though the odds are against him. He's not my number one man (that would be Jimmie Johnson), and actually not even my number two guy in the Chase (that would be Mark Martin), but I think that Kasey Kahne can honestly win this thing by some slip of fate. If he doesn't win, he's still going to be the underdog hero, and this year definitely did not hurt his career in any way. He has been portrayed as a sex symbol in the NASCAR racing world, and women, including myself, have bought it. Kasey Kahne was even, much to the chagrin of my husband, the focal point for me during my labor. My daughter will grow to love him naturally.
Kasey Kahne barely made it into the chase, and when I say barely, I mean, by a dental floss margin. However, he is the most winning driver this year. One would think that winning races proves someone to be a champion. But not with the current points system. The injustice this seems to carry has exploded in NASCAR's face this year, and they are desperately searching for a way to make it more fair for drivers both during and entering the Chase next year. That doesn't help Kasey Kahne this year unless fate has it in itself to make this guy the champ.
Kahne is certainly championship material. He is never portrayed as angry or foul-mouthing anyone, he has won more races than any other driver this year, his car is always super fast, and he's just a good looking guy! If Jeff Gordon has been the youthful face of NASCAR for the last decade, Kasey Kahne could certainly replace him.
I'm also enthralled with Mark Martin. Maybe it's just because he's in the news more and more race. The rumor mill thrives on Martin. No one can decide where he's going to go next year, what he's going to drive, and how much he's going to drive it. Jack Roush tried to keep his 19 year veteran with him for another year, but Martin finally decided that he had driven the number 6 Ford Fusion enough. It was time for a change. While Martin did decide that he would not return to the number 6 next year, deals on truck racing and part time NASCAR Busch series and Nextel Cup racing are still in the works. I guess we truly need to tune into to see what happens with this one.
Martin has indicated that he really doesn't care about leaving the Roush 6 car without a championship. He's stated over and over that he's just out there to have fun and that the overwhelming amount of pressure that he felt to make it into the Chase was just about all that he could handle, so he didn't care if he won or not, he was going to enjoy the last ten races. He even stated after being wrecked by J. J. Yeley on Saturday at Lowe's Motor Speedway that he didn't think a championship was meant to be for him, and he was OK with that.
It certainly would be nice to see Mark Martin win the championship; he is one of the most giving and forgiving racers on the track. He's driven the most races out of any current driver, he never races hard, and he's just a likeable guy. Perhaps if and when he comes back in 2008 he'll clench that title for someone other than Roush Racing. Wouldn't that be great? Or am I just dreaming?
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