Kasey Kahne Reportedly Returning Full Time to NASCAR with Spire Motorsports in 2027

Nearly a decade after his last full-time NASCAR season, Kasey Kahne is reportedly preparing to return for the entire 2027 Truck Series schedule with Spire Motorsports.

One of NASCAR’s most popular drivers from the 2000s and 2010s may be coming back — and not just for a one-off appearance.

Kasey Kahne is reportedly closing in on a deal with Spire Motorsports that would put the 46-year-old back in NASCAR competition full time for the 2027 Truck Series season. The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi first reported that Kahne is expected to drive one of Spire’s Truck Series entries for the entire schedule, which would mark his first full-time NASCAR campaign since his Cup career ended during the 2018 season. A specific truck number and the rest of the program have not yet been announced.

If finalized, this won’t simply be another veteran making a few starts because he misses racing. Kahne would be committing to an entire NASCAR season after spending years primarily focused on sprint-car competition. His Cup career ended earlier than most expected when health problems, including severe dehydration during longer races, forced him out of the car late in 2018. NASCAR later named Kahne one of its 75 Greatest Drivers after a career that produced 18 Cup victories, eight wins in what is now the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and five Truck Series wins.

The Truck Series portion of that résumé is where this story gets particularly interesting. Kahne has only made six Truck starts in his entire career, and he won five of them. His only loss was a second-place finish at Pocono in 2010. His victories came at Darlington, Homestead, Rockingham and twice at Charlotte, with his most recent Truck appearance ending in a photo-finish victory over Erik Jones at Charlotte in 2015. NASCAR’s own records show Kahne finishing either first or second in every Truck race he has ever entered.

Obviously, dropping into six races over more than a decade is very different from racing an entire season at 46 years old. The Truck Series has changed considerably since Kahne last competed there, and many of the drivers he would race against in 2027 were children when he was winning Cup races for Evernham Motorsports. That almost makes the potential return more interesting. Kahne wouldn’t be coming back simply to protect a ridiculous five-wins-in-six-starts statistic. He would be putting it against a full schedule and a field filled with young drivers trying to build the careers he has already had.

There was at least one recent sign that Kahne still had an appetite for NASCAR. He returned to national-series competition at Rockingham Speedway in 2025, driving the No. 33 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. Kahne qualified fourth and appeared capable of contending near the front before suffering damage in a Stage 1 accident. He recovered to finish 14th in what was his first NASCAR national-series start since 2018. More importantly, he came away from the weekend talking positively about being back behind the wheel and said his health had been in a much better place away from the weekly grind of long Cup races.

That helps explain why the Truck Series makes sense. Truck races are generally shorter than Cup events, and the schedule would allow Kahne to return to NASCAR without immediately putting himself back into the physical demands that contributed to the end of his Cup career. It also gives him a chance to compete in equipment capable of winning rather than simply showing up for nostalgia.

Spire is an especially interesting landing spot. The organization currently fields the Nos. 7 and 77 Chevrolet Silverados in the Truck Series, using a rotating roster of experienced Cup drivers, prospects and other competitors. Spire has increasingly treated its Truck operation as both a development program and a place where established drivers can contend for victories, which makes Kahne an unusual but logical addition. The organization has not yet identified which entry he would drive if the reported deal is finalized.

There is also something fitting about Kahne returning through the Truck Series rather than trying to force a Cup comeback. He has already accomplished almost everything a NASCAR driver could reasonably hope for. He won the Coca-Cola 600 three times, won the Brickyard 400, collected 18 Cup victories and competed for some of the most recognizable organizations in the sport. He doesn’t need to prove that he belonged in NASCAR.

What he can prove is that he can still race.

That may ultimately be the biggest appeal of this story. NASCAR has seen plenty of former drivers return for an occasional race, usually at a favorite track or for a special event. An entire season is different. Kahne would be lining up every week, chasing points, dealing with the same good weekends and bad weekends as everybody else and potentially competing for a championship against drivers nearly 30 years younger than him.

For Spire, the move would bring proven experience and immediate attention to its Truck program. For the Truck Series, it would add a driver with a built-in fan base and one of the strangest statistical records in series history. And for longtime NASCAR fans, it would provide something very few probably expected to see again: Kasey Kahne competing for a full NASCAR championship.

The deal still needs to become official.

But if it does, Kasey Kahne Friday is about to become Kasey Kahne every weekend.