Kasey Kahne championed after NASCAR return at Rockingham: "Extremely hard to do"

NASCAR Cup Series driver Justin Haley's crew chief, Rodney Childers, has championed Kasey Kahne after his impressive Xfinity Series return at Rockingham Speedway.

The 45-year-old retired from the NASCAR Cup Series in 2018, but made a return to the Xfinity Series this weekend. Although the race didn't go exactly to plan after being caught in a wreck along with Katherine Legge and William Sawalich, Kahne finished in 15th.

Childers took to social media following the race to shower the former Cup Series driver with praise. He wrote:

"Not sure anyone thought @kaseykahne would show up, the fastest 10 lap avg in practice, qual top 5, and have a legitimate chance of winning before getting caught up in something not of his doing. Extremely hard to do after being out of a car for that long. He’s always been fast."

Kahne has confirmed that he would be keen for another Xfinity Series return.

"I think that would be pretty cool. Just because we [Richard Childress Racing] kind of have a relationship, a partnership started with this group now. So yeah, I could see looking at that down the road.

"There was a lot that went on today. It's been a long time since I went through a lot of those types of scenarios. I just want to have a good Easter tomorrow, look at things Sunday and Monday, talk to the team this week, then start sprint car racing again. Maybe there'd be a chance down the road. Who knows?"

Kasey Kahne, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Photo by: James Gilbert / Getty Images

Speaking about the race itself, he added:

"Glad. Glad I did it. Enjoyed every bit of it. Wish things would have gone different on whatever lap that was when they spun. Wish that had gone different. But other than that, I'm just really glad I did it. It's been a long time.

"As long as I drove these cars, it was really cool to get back in one and feel it again—do that whole race weekend. It's just so different. The sprint car stuff I'm doing now, I love.

"Things happen quick, and the night's over and you move on to the next one. But this is just a different type of racing, a different type of race weekend. I enjoyed it. I'm glad I did it."