HAMPTON, Ga. – Kasey Kahne doesn't mind playing favorites.
And if he had to pick, Atlanta Motor Speedway might be the track that stands out above all others for the driver of the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS.
"I feel like it's definitely one of my favorites, if not my favorite since I came into the Cup Series -- really since I came into stock car racing and got to come here for the first time," he said. "I really enjoy racing at this place. Just the surface and the speeds, the track is rough, you can move from top to bottom. It has always been one of my favorite racetracks."
It makes sense. Kahne has won three races in addition to earning two pole positions, seven top-five finishes and nine top-10 finishes in 18 starts at the 1.54-mile oval.
One of the most significant wins came just last year, when he turned a 10th-place start into a victory that clinched his place in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
"Coming off last year's win that was a huge win for our team to make the Chase," Kahne said, "I'm glad we are here."
Kahne, like the rest of the field, spent Thursday testing out NASCAR's new 2015 rules package on the track at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
It was an early opportunity for him and new crew chief Keith Rodden to get a feel for how the car will perform on Sunday.
"Yesterday went pretty good, our first kind of test with this new package," Kahne said. "I felt really good about it. I thought the Hendrick cars were fast."
He hopes that proves true come race time – and throughout the rest of the season.
"We have goals this year like winning more races, running up front more often, being up front in practice, winning poles and doing things we didn't do last year," Kahne said. "It all starts this weekend. It would be great to come off with a win right away, be locked into the Chase and then just go from there and try to win many more from then on out."