What’s magic? For one NASCAR racer, it’s that fateful night he intentionally spent at Rockingham Speedway’s parking lot after driving some 470 miles to reach there. Having won a sprint car race in Volusia County, his eyes were on the next best prize: A stock car racing debut. The next morning, he climbed into a stock car for the first time, testing for PPC Racing’s Busch Series team.

That very test eventually opened doors to NASCAR’s highest level, where the world came to know him as Kasey Kahne. The same Kasey Kahne who secured 18 Cup Series victories over a 15-year career, drove for NASCAR bigwig Hendrick Motorsports for six seasons, and even led his former team-owner, Foster Gillet to say in 2010, “He’s one of the best guys in the sport and we are honored to have him.” But no matter how far and wide the three-time Coca-Cola 600 winner traveled, his heart would always go back to where it all started… Until 2018, when health complications ended his career short. But Kahne always knew if he had to ever return, it would only be through that 0.94-mile D-shaped oval track in Rockingham, North Carolina.

Fast forward to April 2025, and for the first time in over six years, that dream became reality. Having won NASCAR’s last race at Rockingham—a Craftsman Truck Series race in 2012—Kahne was stoked to be back. “It felt familiar coming in. There were familiar faces. Hanging out behind the trailer this morning felt pretty normal,” Kahne reflected on his return to NASCAR after seven years away. “When you put basically your whole life in this racing and then you take a little time off, it still feels familiar.” While his return was certainly a cause for celebration among fans, what many didn’t understand was such races usually came with a heavy physical toll—the same reason that forced the then-38-year-old Kahne to step away from full-time NASCAR competition while still in his prime.

During an appearance on SirusXM NASCAR Radio’s ‘Never Settle’ podcast, a snippet of which was shared on Instagram on May 9, the 45-year-old driver opened up about the frightening physical symptoms that made continuing impossible. “So it was about dehydration. As the season went on, I couldn’t recover,” Kahne revealed. “I’ve seen doctors, I was doing everything I could to recover prior to the next race. But I would show up…Once it hit summertime, I’d show up at the next weekend, just as dehydrated as I was the week before.”

The situation reached a breaking point at Darlington in 2018, which became Kahne’s final Cup Series race. “Halfway through first practice, I was already done. Like my body was already drained,” Kahne explained. “I got out of the car after first practice and my suit, it looked like I just got out of a swimming pool. It was that wet. I was sweating like a 350-pound person is what they had told me. And I was 140 pounds.”

The symptoms worsened during that final race, creating not just discomfort but dangerous driving conditions. “My whole body would…cramp from my neck all the way to my toes. Well, the last half of the race at Darlington, I just laid in the right side of the seat and just drove,” Kahne said. “I just got to where I couldn’t race. I couldn’t be aggressive. I couldn’t enjoy it.” This startling revelation highlights the hidden physical toll NASCAR drivers often endure, pushing their bodies to the limit in extreme conditions race after race.

Notably, he had also revealed some more details on the same back in 2018. “My body just can’t handle extended periods of time in the race car and we weren’t able to control the sweat ratio to keep me hydrated enough to prevent any permanent damage to my body,” he had said. But, despite it all,  Kahne returned. The track that launched Kahne’s NASCAR journey ultimately brought him back. When NASCAR announced the Xfinity Series would return to Rockingham after a 21-year absence, something stirred in him…

“Rockingham just sparked something,” said Kahne. “The longer I’ve been out of the sport, the more interest I’ve had in feeling the car again and having those feelings I did for so many years driving and working with the teams.” “I just always really enjoyed the track, enjoyed the tire fall off and the feel of the car and two different corners, two different ends. Front stretch, back stretch, everything’s different there. The whole track, like all the way, it’s just different with grip levels and things. So I always liked going there,” he had further said about the track.

In his NASCAR return on April 21, 2025, despite sustaining damage in a Stage 1 crash, he fought back to salvage a respectable 14th-place finish in the North Carolina Education Lottery 250. “That was definitely a handful once the car was tore up,” Kahne said post-race. “I think we were an easy top-five car prior to that, maybe even better.” The race proved physically challenging—but manageable—for Kahne. “Long day. I was hot on Lap 60,” he admitted. “And then we got some ice bags and started drinking more water. Went fine from there, but yeah, I haven’t been that hot in a long time. Seven years.”

Named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers, Kahne has remained active in dirt track racing with his Kasey Kahne Racing team. While his Rockingham return was planned as a one-off, the former Hendrick Motorsports star hasn’t ruled out future NASCAR appearances, though he acknowledges his health limitations remain a factor.

Collision Derails Comeback Hopes

Kahne’s much-anticipated NASCAR return hit an early snag when he became an innocent victim in a three-car incident just over 50 laps into the race. After qualifying an impressive fourth, Kahne was battling William Sawalich for position when they approached the slower car of Katherine Legge. Sawalich misjudged Legge’s entry speed and ran into the back of her car, sending her spinning down the track directly into the right front of Kahne’s No. 33 Chevrolet before she continued on to hit the outside wall.

The collision immediately ended Legge’s day, resulting in a disappointing 36th-place finish for the driver who had overcome qualifying challenges just to make the race. After failing to qualify with Jordan Anderson Racing, Legge had secured a last-minute ride with Joey Gase Motorsports, replacing J.J. Yeley in the No. 53 car. Following the wreck, she didn’t mince words about the incident, telling FOX’s Bob Pockrass, “I got taken out… I don’t have a disappear button on my steering wheel.”

Meanwhile, Kahne’s Richard Childress Racing team faced a significant setback as they lost a lap making extensive repairs to the damaged right front of his Chevrolet. Despite the early adversity, Kahne’s crew managed to meet minimum speed requirements and keep him in the race. Their persistence paid off when Kahne finally returned to the lead lap at the start of the final stage and fought his way back through the field. Despite being involved in another incident near the race’s conclusion, Kahne salvaged a respectable 14th-place finish in what became an increasingly chaotic event.