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Gillett Evernham Motor Sports 2008 Teammates
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Driver of the No. 9 Dodge Charger
Drivers successfully making the transition from sprint cars to stock cars used to be the exception. While the list of drivers that have found success in sprint cars and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars isn’t long, Kasey Kahne is on it. As Kahne embarks in his fifth season of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition, he looks to the 2008 season as being a “new year with new beginnings.” He begins 2008 with a new sponsor and a new car design in a newly titled series. While the No. 9 Budweiser/Gillett Evernham Motorsports Team is all for ushering in the new, they aim to return to the form that made Kahne NASCAR’s Rookie of the Year in 2004 and one of the most promising young drivers in the Cup Series.
Contending for championships is something with which Kahne has become well acquainted. Before making a name for himself in NASCAR, Kahne was a sprint car star in his own right. With support from his father, Kelly, Kahne started racing at the age of 14, competing in a limited number of micro-midget car events near his hometown of Enumclaw, Wash. Just two years later, in 1996, Kahne got his first taste of success by capturing the Hannigan (WA) Speedway Mini-Sprints championship and the Northwest Mini Sprints championship.
Kahne honed his skills from 1998 to 2002 when he competed in the World of Outlaws, All-Star Circuit of Champions, Gumout Racing Series and Northern Sprint Tour winged sprint car series. In 2000 he enjoyed a breakout season, winning the USAC Midget Series championship and earning the title of National Midget Driver of the Year. Kahne built on those accomplishments the following season by scoring four wins and 10 top-five finishes in just 11 USAC Midget Series starts. He also won his second consecutive “Night before the 500” Classic at Indianapolis Raceway Park, a feat previously achieved by only one other driver – Jeff Gordon.
By 2001, Kahne’s successes in sprint cars had started to capture the attention of the NASCAR community. As a result, Kahne landed a part-time NASCAR Busch Series ride during the 2002 season. Without an abundance of resources behind him, Kahne made the most of the year, highlighted by a top-10 finish at Michigan International Speedway in August. One year later, Kahne earned his first Busch Series win and scored four top-five and 14 top-10 finishes in route to a seventh-place finish in the series point standings.
With less than two years of stock car racing experience under his belt, Kahne’s talent and track record had attracted the attention of team owner and former crew chief Ray Evernham. Evernham saw great potential in the young driver, and his intuition proved to be correct.
Kahne burst onto the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series scene in 2004 by contending for wins on a weekly basis. The 2004 Rookie of the Year recorded 13 top-five finishes and completed the season 13th in the point standings, missing the Chase for the Cup (?) by a mere 28 points. Kahne followed the 2004 season up by scoring his first career Cup Series win during the 2005 season at Richmond International Raceway, followed by a close second to Tony Stewart in the prestigious Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
During the 2006 NASCAR season Kahne established himself as a contender. He won a series-high six races and started from the Bud Pole six times. He finished the year with 12 top-five and 19 top-10 finishes and earned an eighth-place finish in the driver point standings after qualifying for the Chase for the Cup (?).
The No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Team looks to build on what it accomplished during the latter part of the 2007 NASCAR season. Kahne won Bud Poles at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway, finishing a season-best second at Bristol after starting from the pole. Late in 2007, marketing giant Anheuser-Busch announced that it would sponsor Kahne and the No. 9 Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge Team with its Budweiser brand beginning with the 2008 NASCAR season. Armed with a new sponsor, Kahne and the No. 9 Budweiser team look for redemption in 2008.
Driver No. 10 Dodge
Patrick Carpentier is about to embark on the biggest challenge of his racing career.
But he’s ready for it.
The Quebec native and former open wheel stand out, will drive the No. 10 Dodge in the Sprint Cup series as well as the No. 9 Dodge in the NASCAR Nationwide series for Gillett Evernham Motorsports in 2008.
“It’s a big learning curve and will be a big process,” Carpentier said. “I am looking to finish races. I am lucky enough with Gillett Evernham Motorsports to run all winter and get ready.”
What Carpentier lacks in experience he makes up for in enthusiasm. He also knows he’s going to have to be a student of the sport.
“We had a very good test at Daytona in January so we are quite optimistic about this season. Every time I go on the track, or watch the other drivers, or talk to the guys on my team I try to learn. There’s just so much to learn in NASCAR. It’s going to take a while to take it all in.”
Carpentier's accomplishments outside of NASCAR include two Champ Car World Series wins, three CART victories, and a Toyota Atlantic Championship.
In 2007 Carpentier turned heads by qualifying on the pole for his first ever NASCAR race, the first NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. He went on to lead 14 laps of the event and finish an extremely impressive second in that race.
The effort caught the eye of the Gillett
Evernham Motorsports organization which gave Carpentier the opportunity
the following week to make his first start in the Sprint Cup Series,
driving the No. 10 Dodge at Watkins Glen subbing for Scott Riggs. Again
Carpentier was impressive finishing 22nd and leading seven laps (the
only laps led by the No. 10 team that season) in front of a hard
charging Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart.
Heading into 2008, Carpentier very well may have the fastest moving career in NASCAR. At each challenging opportunity, Carpentier has risen to the occasion and exceeded expectations. Carpentier's rapport with fans, competitors, and media has earned him quick acceptance in the world of NASCAR.
He’s already impressed one racing legend.
“Patrick is someone who’s only going to get better and better as he gets more experience in these types of cars,” said co-owner Ray Evernham.
Driver No. 9 Dodge
At only 21 years of age, Chase Miller not only brings youthful exuberance to the Gillett Evernham Motorsports family, but more importantly, over 16 years of racing experience.
Miller is a native of Canton, Ga., who has been racing competitively since the age of five. He initially joined forces with Gillett Evernham Motorsports in the No. 9 Nationwide Series entry at Nashville Superspeedway in the summer of 2007. He went on to drive six races in the No. 9 Dodge Charger and qualified on the outside pole at Kentucky in his second career start.
Miller was signed on as part of the Dodge Driver Development program in 2006. While driving in the ARCA Series he went on to win at Pocono Raceway in only his second start. Miller also added a pole at Gateway to his early success in ARCA. Later that year, Miller filled the seat for the Bobby Hamilton Racing No. 4 Dodge Ram in the Truck Series. He competed in eight events and scored his first top 10 finish at Martinsville in only his fourth start in the series.
Miller will be running several races in the Nationwide Series this season. He will be the fourth driver set to pilot the No. 9 Ultimate Chargers Dodge this season along with other drivers Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler, and Patrick Carpentier.
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Kasey
Kahne 
Patrick
Carpentier
Chase
Miller