Sprint car racing has seen very few partnerships that have defined success like Kasey Kahne and Brad Sweet. Sweet, Kyle Larson’s brother-in-law, has won six national championships and over 130 races since joining KKR in 2007. Sweet even co-founded High Limit Racing with Larson back in 2022 to shake up the series with bigger purses and fresh energy. As Sweet steps back from full-time driving after the 2025 season, Kahne’s team faces a new chapter, one mixed with nostalgia and big expectations.

Kahne has always chased that spark of raw talent, just like his own rise from USAC midgets to NASCAR wins. Sweet’s retirement announcement leaves a void in KKR that no one saw coming so soon. But yet, Kahne sounds steady, ready to fill Sweet’s big shoes with a fresh young ace.

Daison Pursley steps in for Brad Sweet

Fresh off a FloRacing post-race chat, Kasey Kahne spoke about the shift taking place at KKR. Sweet retired from full-time to double down on his High Limit co-founder role, where he won the 2024 title and chased growth through better payouts and media deals. Due to this, Kahne turned to the young gun Daison Pursley to step into the No. 49 seat in 2026.

“It’s been really good. Yeah, Daison’s doing a great job, and it’s just nice to run these races to get a little bit of a head start for the off-season,” Kahne said, praising the 21-year-old Daison Pursley‘s early runs despite a tough qualifying weekend. This move sets the record straight. KKR isn’t slowing down; it’s reloading with another driver who echoes Sweet’s early grit, starting young and hungry just like Sweet himself did at 17.

Kahne’s choice boils down to history repeating in the best way. Sweet transformed KKR from a startup in 2005 into a championship winning team, winning five consecutive championships and countless races, alongside Kahne’s own No. 9 rides. But as Sweet said in his post-retirement announcement, “Racing has been my whole life… This isn’t goodbye to racing. It’s just the end of a chapter… I will still be around supporting this sport.”

Kahne saw parallels in Pursley, who is a Toyota Racing Development standout with USAC national midget titles under his belt. “I kind of thought about what Brad does for us… I just thought, man, I want to start there again. So I called Daison,” Kahne shared, highlighting how Pursley’s drive mirrors the passion that earned Sweet 92 World of Outlaws victories. It’s a calculated pivot, blending Sweet’s part-time cameos with Pursley’s full-time push for High Limit glory starting March 2026.

Pursley’s backstory adds real weight to Kahne’s decision to pick him. The Oklahoma native burst onto the scene with back-to-back USAC midget crowns in 2022-23, proving his talents on tracks like Eldora, where Sweet once ruled. As Pursley gears up post-World Finals, this replacement feels less like a risk and more like destiny unfolding.

While KKR plots its dirt dominance, whispers from the stock car side pull Kahne back to his NASCAR roots.

Stewart, Kahne rumored for truck series comeback

Talk around the garage is heating up about Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne eyeing a NASCAR comeback, which is tied to Ram’s 2026 Craftsman Truck Series debut. The plan? A “legends” program where icons like these share wheel time in Ram-branded rigs, dodging full schedules for one-off thrills.

And Kahne’s recent Xfinity run at Rockingham in April 2025, where he started fourth and finished 14th after a tangle, reminded everyone he’s still got that edge from his 18 Cup wins and flawless Truck record (five victories in six starts).

“I’m definitely planning on coming back to NASCAR races… I miss a lot of things about NASCAR, and most of all the people,” Stewart told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, capturing the pull of old connections. This isn’t a full revival of their Truck Series career, but smart marketing, using their Hall of Fame reputation to draw hype to Ram’s entry in the Truck Series in 2026.

With Stewart’s schedule clear and Kahne’s dirt success freeing him up, a shared truck run could light up short tracks, blending eras for a fresh crowd. It’s the kind of rumor that keeps the sport’s heartbeat strong.