Kahne participates in Pocono tire test

LONG POND, Pa. -- Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet, joined fellow NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers A.J. Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Joey Logano and Jamie McMurray for a Goodyear Tire test at the newly repaved Pocono Raceway on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

Goodyear provided a number of different tire compounds during the two-day testing session to determine which will be best for the June 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup event. The repave gave the track a smoother surface, but drivers reported during the test that the superspeedway still featured its infamous dips and rolling hills. 

Kahne, who won at Pocono in June 2008, believes he and the other Cup drivers will enjoy racing on the new surface.

“It will widen out quickly, and that’s what makes for good racing,” Kahne said. “As long as Goodyear is giving us good tires that fall off and are everything we look for in a tire, then I think the track is going to be great.”

A two-time Pocono pole winner, Kahne holds the qualifying record, a mark he set in June 2004 during his first Cup outing at the 2.5-mile track. Then, Kahne toured Pocono in 52.16 seconds at roughly 172.533 mph. Although lap times weren’t published during the two-day test, Kahne said Wednesday that he’s sure that record will be broken this June given the repave and the right Goodyear Tires.

“It’s definitely going to get broken,” Kahne said. “It’s just going to be by how much. A good bit is my guess.”

The Sprint Cup Series will race at Pocono on June 10. For more information or for tickets, visit http://www.poconoraceway.com/ or call 800-722-3929.