Kasey Kahne celebrates in Victory Lane at Texas Motor Speedway after winning his second race of the season. Credit: Autostock

Kahne becomes first polesitter to win at Texas
Holds off champs Kenseth, Stewart for second victory this season
By Stephen Hawkins, The Associated Press
April 9, 2006
09:35 PM EDT (01:35 GMT)

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Kasey Kahne couldn't believe his rearview mirror when he crossed the finish line Sunday in Texas.

There was nobody there.

Not Matt Kenseth, not Tony Stewart.


Kasey Kahne won his second race this season after starting from the pole position. Credit: Autostock

"I definitely thought I had my hands full with those guys,' said Kahne, as shocked as anybody about his 5-second victory.

Kahne sped away from the field -- and his closest competitors -- after the final restart with 17 laps to go to become the 11th different winner in as many Nextel Cup races held at Texas Motor Speedway.

"This is a great victory. It's one of the tracks I have looked at since I started racing. This is a track you want to win at,' said Kahne, who turns 26 on Monday. "This track, Indianapolis and Daytona. If you can win at one of these tracks, you have really done something.'

In his 2004 rookie season, Kahne finished second at Texas -- only two-hundredths of a second behind with his nose on the rear bumper of winner Elliott Sadler. He didn't have to worry about a close finish this time.

Kahne even scored a Texas first, becoming the first driver to win from the pole at the 1.5-mile, high-banked track.

More HERE

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Unofficial Race Results
Samsung/RadioShack 500
Texas Motor Speedway
April 9, 2006
Race 7 of 36

Fin St Car Driver Make Sponsor Pts/Bonus Laps Status
1 1 #9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Dodge Dealers/UAW 185/5 334 Running
2 6 #17 Matt Kenseth Ford Carhartt 175/5 334 Running
3 40 #20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet The Home Depot 175/10 334 Running
4 8 #11 Denny Hamlin * Chevrolet FedEx Express 165/5 334 Running
5 24 #29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Reese's Caramel Cup 160/5 334 Running
6 21 #31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Cingular Wireless 150/0 334 Running
7 22 #10 Scott Riggs Dodge Stanley Tools/Valvoline 146/0 334 Running
8 9 #1 Martin Truex Jr. * Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops/Tracker 147/5 334 Running
9 3 #6 Mark Martin Ford AAA 143/5 334 Running
10 10 #43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios/Betty Crocker 134/0 334 Running
11 16 #48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's 130/0 334 Running
12 15 #8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Budweiser 127/0 334 Running
13 13 #41 Reed Sorenson * Dodge Target 124/0 334 Running
14 20 #42 Casey Mears Dodge Texaco/Havoline 121/0 334 Running
15 26 #5 Kyle Busch Chevrolet Kellogg's/Delphi 118/0 334 Running
16 32 #21 Ken Schrader Ford Motorcraft Genuine Parts 115/0 334 Running
17 27 #88 Dale Jarrett Ford UPS 112/0 334 Running
18 4 #66 Jeff Green Chevrolet SanDisk/Best Buy 114/5 334 Running
19 12 #07 Clint Bowyer * Chevrolet Jack Daniel's Texas Pride 106/0 333 Running
20 29 #7 Robby Gordon Chevrolet Jim Beam Black 103/0 333 Running
21 28 #40 David Stremme * Dodge Coors Light 100/0 333 Running
22 11 #24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 97/0 332 Running
23 17 #01 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet U.S. Army 94/0 332 Running
24 36 #96 Tony Raines Chevrolet DLP HDTV 91/0 332 Running
25 30 #44 Terry Labonte Chevrolet Kellogg's 88/0 332 Running
26 42 #55 Michael Waltrip Dodge NAPA Auto Parts 85/0 331 Running
27 39 #32 Travis Kvapil Chevrolet Tide-Downy 82/0 331 Running
28 43 #4 Scott Wimmer Chevrolet AERO Exhaust 79/0 330 Running
29 31 #22 Dave Blaney Dodge Caterpillar 76/0 329 Running
30 18 #14 Sterling Marlin Chevrolet CENTRIX Auto Finance 73/0 328 Running
31 34 #19 Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Dodge Dealers/UAW 70/0 328 Running
32 35 #61 Kevin Lepage Ford RoadLoans.com 67/0 327 Running
33 25 #38 Elliott Sadler Ford M&M's 69/5 286 Out of Race
34 7 #2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 61/0 285 Running
35 2 #18 J.J. Yeley * Chevrolet Interstate Batteries 63/5 269 Running
36 37 #99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot 60/5 256 Out of Race
37 41 #26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal 52/0 254 Running
38 23 #151 Mike Garvey Chevrolet Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil 49/0 251 Out of Race
39 19 #45 Kyle Petty Dodge Schwan's Home Service 46/0 248 Out of Race
40 14 #12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 43/0 200 Out of Race
41 38 #74 Derrike Cope Dodge myguardian911.com 40/0 169 Out of Race
42 5 #16 Greg Biffle Ford Subway/National Guard 42/5 81 Out of Race
43 33 #25 Brian Vickers Chevrolet GMAC 34/0 24 Out of Race

* Denotes Rookie

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2006 Unofficial Driver Standings
After: Samsung/RadioShack 500
Texas Motor Speedway
Race 7 of 36

Rank +/- Driver Points Behind Starts Poles Wins Top 5 Top 10
1 -- Jimmie Johnson 1063 Leader 7 1 2 4 5
2 +1 Matt Kenseth 1048 -15 7 0 1 4 4
3 +1 Kasey Kahne 1017 -46 7 2 2 4 5
4 -2 Mark Martin 1017 -46 7 0 0 1 5
5 +3 Tony Stewart 966 -97 7 0 1 4 4
6 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. 951 -112 7 0 0 2 3
7 -2 Kyle Busch 950 -113 7 0 0 2 4
8 -1 Jeff Gordon 911 -152 7 0 0 3 3
9 +3 Kevin Harvick 859 -204 7 0 0 2 3
10 -- Casey Mears 845 -218 7 0 0 1 3
11 -- Dale Jarrett 828 -235 7 0 0 0 2
12 -3 Elliott Sadler 804 -259 7 0 0 1 2
13 +3 Clint Bowyer* 750 -313 7 0 0 0 1
14 +9 Denny Hamlin* 747 -316 7 0 0 1 2
15 +5 Martin Truex Jr.* 744 -319 7 0 0 0 1
16 +5 Jeff Burton 741 -322 7 1 0 1 3
17 -3 Kurt Busch 722 -341 7 1 1 1 1
18 -5 Ryan Newman 711 -352 7 0 0 1 2
19 +5 Reed Sorenson* 701 -362 7 0 0 0 1
20 -5 Brian Vickers 684 -379 7 0 0 0 2
21 -4 Jamie McMurray 675 -388 7 0 0 0 2

22 -3 Carl Edwards 662 -401 7 0 0 2 2
23 -5 Greg Biffle 657 -406 7 1 0 0 2
24 -2 J.J. Yeley* 652 -411 7 0 0 0 1
25 -- Joe Nemechek 649 -414 7 0 0 0 0
26 +2 Jeff Green 642 -421 7 0 0 0 0
27 -- Robby Gordon 637 -426 7 0 0 0 0
28 +2 Scott Riggs 635 -428 6 0 0 0 2
29 +6 Bobby Labonte 601 -462 7 0 0 1 2
30 +1 Ken Schrader 597 -466 7 0 0 0 1
31 -2 Dave Blaney 589 -474 7 0 0 0 0
32 -6 Kyle Petty 585 -478 7 0 0 0 1
33 +1 Michael Waltrip 558 -505 7 0 0 0 0
34 -2 Sterling Marlin 555 -508 7 0 0 0 0
35 -2 Jeremy Mayfield 550 -513 7 0 0 0 0
36 -- Terry Labonte 516 -547 6 0 0 0 0
37 -- David Stremme* 475 -588 7 0 0 0 0
38 -- Scott Wimmer 450 -613 6 0 0 0 0
39 -- Kevin Lepage 408 -655 6 0 0 0 0
40 +1 Travis Kvapil 319 -744 5 0 0 0 0
41 -1 Brent Sherman* 305 -758 5 0 0 0 0
42 +5 Tony Raines 191 -872 2 0 0 0 0
43 -1 Paul Menard 146 -917 1 0 0 0 1
44 -1 Stanton Barrett 135 -928 3 0 0 0 0
45 -1 Hermie Sadler 114 -949 3 0 0 0 0
46 -1 Bill Elliott 111 -952 1 0 0 0 0
47 -1 Kirk Shelmerdine 103 -960 1 0 0 0 0
48 +2 Mike Garvey 98 -965 3 0 0 0 0
49 -1 Chad Chaffin 92 -971 2 0 0 0 0
50 -1 Mike Wallace 91 -972 1 0 0 0 0
51 -- Kenny Wallace 40 -1023 2 0 0 0 0
52 -- Derrike Cope 40 -1023 1 0 0 0 0
53 -1 Chad Blount 37 -1026 1 0 0 0 0
54 -1 Bill Lester 0 -1063 1 0 0 0 0

* Denotes Rookie