CONCORD, N.C. -- Kasey Kahne doesn't like to get passed.
But if there's ever a time when he would be OK with it, it's this Sunday.
Sunday marks the sixth annual Five Kahne 5K presented by Great Clips, which will get underway at the NASCAR Hall of Fame at 10 a.m.
For every runner that beats Kahne to the finish line in the 3.1-mile race, he will donate $105 to the Novant Health Hemby Children's Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“I wanted to come up with a fun way to encourage people to come out to the 5K and help raise some money for a great cause,” Kahne smiled.
"We get as many people together as possible and go run 3.1 miles," he said of the event. "We have music and Great Clips is cutting hair. There is so much support from people whether it’s our sponsors, the fans and volunteers. The fans are so much behind everything that we do as a driver or as a team and they have supported the Kasey Kahne Foundation since we started it. That’s awesome. It’s really cool to have that support."
Registration for the race is available online here.
Kahne knew he wanted to build a fun, annual event to generate funds for youth causes.
The driver's Kasey Kahne Foundation has a goal of raising funds to donate to charities supporting chronically ill children and their families, and he wanted to add a signature event to help generate those funds.
Thus, the Five Kahne 5K was born in 2010.
"The other drivers, owners and volunteers come and help out and support and you need all of that to make a foundation right and to put smiles on kids’ faces," Kahne said. "We have been really fortunate to have that and it makes you feel good and it makes you want to keep building the program and making it better and better.”
Fundraising efforts, in addition to supporting the Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte, have allowed nearly 5,000 children in North Carolina the opportunity to receive free field trips to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Kahne said he looks forward to the event every year to continue to inspire youth and help the needs of sick children and their families -- and because he loves lacing up those running shoes.
"I look forward to it for a few different reasons," he explained. "First off, I enjoy running. I enjoy running 5Ks, 10Ks, half marathon, whatever it may be. Second, raising money for a great cause, for children and to put a smile on their faces. So that’s awesome. And third, just the fan support, the other drivers, crew members, people in the sport, wives and crew chiefs, crew members, their girlfriends -- so to me the support and the people that follow it and have been a part of it for the last six years, all that stuff means a lot to me and is really neat because it’s all going to such a great cause, too.”