Kasey Kahne led a race-high 114 laps and recovered from a stall on pit road to finish second in yesterday’s Kobalt Tools 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Following the race, Kahne’s crew chief, Kenny Francis, capped off the day by winning Federal-Mogul’s prestigious MOOG “Problem Solver of the Race” Award.
The MOOG Problem Solver award is presented following each Sprint Cup contest to the crew chief whose car posts the greatest second-half improvement in average lap time while finishing on the lead lap. Kahne and the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS topped the field with a 0.258-second improvement, an impressive feat considering that the MOOG-equipped No. 5 car led much of the first half of the race.
“Kasey and Kenny ran into a little bad luck on pit road near the end; otherwise they probably would be celebrating in the winner’s circle right now. They had a great chassis setup and race strategy, and Kenny was able to keep improving the number 5’s handling as conditions changed,” said Federal-Mogul Motorsports Director Tim Nelson.
Kahne started fourth but led 59 of the first 74 laps on the 1.5-mile superspeedway. He was equally dominant in the second half until relinquishing the lead during a pit stop on Lap 223 and then stalling as he exited the pits following a near-miss with another car. Nevertheless, the Chevrolet SS battled back from sixth to fourth position with 26 laps to go, then picked up three more spots and made a serious challenge for the lead during the final, 26-lap green flag run.
As the automotive service industry’s “Problem Solver,” MOOG is the preferred brand of professional technicians and NASCAR crew chiefs. Federal-Mogul steering and suspension engineers work in partnership with Cup teams to develop and test innovative designs that help provide race-winning performance and durability. Many of these same technologies are featured in MOOG ball joints, tie rod ends and other components available for today’s passenger vehicles.
For more information regarding MOOG steering and suspension parts, visit the brand’s technician-focused www.moogproblemsolver.com website or contact your MOOG supplier. To identify the right MOOG part for virtually any application, use the convenient, free www.FMe-cat.com electronic catalog.
