Kasey Kahne is now the second veteran NASCAR driver in two days to announce his plans to retire from full-time racing at the end of the 2018 season. Sharing the news on Twitter on Thursday, he said he’s thought about this for a long time and “couldn’t commit” to more years racing in the Cup Series. Longtime driver Elliott Sadler made a similar announcement Wednesday. Kahne has been racing in NASCAR for 17 years, 15 of which were full-time at the top in the Cup Series. Currently, the 38-year-old drives the No. 95 for Leavine Family Racing, following six seasons with Hendrick Motorsports form 2012 to 2017. He has accumulated 18 Cup Series victories with his most recent one being the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2017. He also won the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway — NASCAR’s longest race — three times (2006, 2008, 2012). In his announcement on Twitter, Kahne said: I’ve thought about this decision for many months, if not longer. It’s time for me to step away from racing in NASCAR full-time. I appreciate everything LFR has done for me this season and offering me the opportunity to race in 2019. However. racing in cup (sic) full time for a few more years was just something that I couldn’t commit to. I’m not sure what the future holds for me, but I know I’m at ease with the decision that I have made. The highs didn’t outweigh the lows and the grueling schedule takes a toll on your quality of life. I need to spend more time doing the things that I enjoy and love and that’s spending time with Tanner and my sprint car teams. I’ve had a great career in racing and met so many amazing people and fans along the way, some that I’ll remain in touch with for life. We still have some work to do this year in the #95 and I look forward to finishing the season with this team. Thanks to everyone that believed in this kid from Enumclaw, Washington. I hope I made you all proud. Kahne is currently 28th in the Cup Series standings and would need to win one of the final three regular season races to qualify for the 16-driver, 10-race playoffs this fall. His best career finish was fourth in 2012. Kasey Kahne has been in the top 10 of the Most Popular Driver voting for 14 straight seasons. He was as high as second in the voting (2013). So he continues to have a very large fan base. — Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) August 16, 2018 He has 748 total starts across NASCAR’s three national series, including 527 in the Cup Series. He he also won eight second-tier XFINITY Series races and five Camping World Truck Series events out of six starts. Here’s how some in the racing world reacted to the news Thursday. I’m so excited for you Kasey. You are a great friend. This is a hard decision. Much respect. https://t.co/9CkQAXsZ5d — Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) August 16, 2018 Thank you @kaseykahne for allowing us to be a part of your memorable career in NASCAR! Thanks for everything you’ve done for this sport & all of your fans over the years. We’re ready to close out this season together on a positive note as you then chase after your next adventure! https://t.co/B7MNO8rwKR — LeavineFamilyRacing (@LFR95) August 16, 2018 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 — landon cassill (@landoncassill) August 16, 2018 Sad to see, I hope you enjoy some well deserved time with your family! https://t.co/5dSG0Xj7pe — Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) August 16, 2018 Thanks for being a great teammate and friend, we’ve had some great times over the years! 🍻 https://t.co/kPB86YKXzY — Jimmie Johnson (@JimmieJohnson) August 16, 2018 It’s been fun racing with you bud. The best always, my friend. https://t.co/ZqPfL5PlY5 — Daniel Suárez (@Daniel_SuarezG) August 16, 2018 Wish you the best buddy! 2019 World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year sounds pretty cool. https://t.co/jKXw7BoFzQ — Kyle Larson (@KyleLarsonRacin) August 16, 2018<doc-sep>Elliott Sadler releases a retirement letter Back-to-back championship runner-up, Elliott Sadler will retire at the end of 2018 Elliott Sadler ran 438 races in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series over a 17 year career. 11 of those seasons were as a full-time driver. He collected three wins along the way. Until 2013, Sadler totaled $46,968,494 in Cup Series race earnings. Since 2011, the focus has shifted to the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Sadler has collected 13 wins in the series. Sadler has yet to win a season ending championship in either series. However, he’s claimed the runner-up position four times including 2011, 2012, 2016 and most recently in 2017 for JR Motorsports. In 2017 he was crowned the regular season champion in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He went on to finish 2nd in the playoffs after battling for the win in the closing laps at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Earlier in the year, it was announced that OneMain Financial will be stepping back on their sponsorship support in NASCAR. The company has seen an ownership change several times in recent years. Now, Elliott Sadler has announced that 2018 will be his final season as a full-time NASCAR driver. Elliott Sadler retirement letter Dear NASCAR Family, “After mich consideration and many conversations with my family, I’ve decided this will be my last season racing full time in NASCAR. It’s time for me, as a Dad, to help pursue their dreams. Wyatt is 8 and Austyn is 6 and both of them are very active at school and in extracurricular activities. I was to be with them for all of their special moments. I want to be there to hug them when they do well and dust them off and send them back out there when they fall. It’s time for me to be the full-time Dad that I want to be.” “As I look back, I’ve had an amazing career thanks to an overwhelming amount of support from so many family members, friends, team members, corporate partners and fans. I know I’m going to miss seeing all of y’all week in and week out. The people are what make our sport so special.” “My Mom and Dad have always been my biggest fans. They always did whatever it took to provide me with competitive equipment and I’ll always be thankful for their sacrifices during the early years in my career. Hermie opened so many doors for me as my bigger brother and Missi was always at the track cheering from the sidelines.” “Amanda has always allowed me to pursue my racing career despite the rigorous lifestyle. She’s kept the home fires burning while I’ve been out doing what I love. I look forward to the next chapter on our lives where we can spend even more time together and more time as a family.” “There are too many names to mention, but I’m appreciative for every owner who gave me a chance, every crew chief who worked endless hours to provide me with fast racecars, every crew member who spent time away from their families to help my career and for every sponsor who partnered with me over the years. Thank you all for the support and even so, thank you so much for the memories.” “NASCAR fans have always been the most loyal fans in sports. Thank you all for your support. It has been awesome to meet so many of you over the years at the track, at an autograph session or just out during my everyday life. Thank you for every time you’ve clapped when we’ve had good days and for all of the nice words on days when things didn’t go our way. I’m thankful social media is around and a way for us to all stay in touch.’ “My work here isn’t done just yet. Dale Jr, Kelley and Mr. Hendrick have afforded me the opportunity to win races and championships at JR Motorsports. We’re going to finish 2018 doing everything we can as a team to go out on top. I love my guys and appreciate everything they’ve done for me since I came to JRM. It has been so much fun racing for Dale and Kelley because we’re known each other for such a long time. It’s always fun to win and celebrate but it’s even more fun to do so with lifelong friends. I’m going to give everything I have in the playoffs to end my career on a high note.” — Elliott Sadler — Dale Earnhardt Jr Sadler has driven for JR Motorsports full-time since 2016. In the previous two year, he’s finished 2nd in the playoffs. His team owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr released a note: “I met Elliott Sadler racing late model stocks in the 90’s. We raced each other in the BGN series and on through several years at the Cup level.” “We spent a ton of time together off the track. What I’ll always appreciate about Elliott, is how he valued our friendship. I always felt like with Elliott that my friendship mattered as much to him as it did to me. That’s what made having him drive at JR Motorsports so special. He was a total professional and we have had some great success.” “Enjoy these last few months Elliott. Battle hard for that championship and leave no regrets. Love ya buddy.” Jeff Burton Jeff Burton was a fellow competitor of Elliott Sadler during their racing careers across many levels. Burton released the following note: “You have much to be proud of. You have won races at every level you have competed in and have done it while earning the respect of those you worked with and also those that you competed against. The next few months will go by quickly, enjoy it! !” NASCAR “Thank you Elliott Sadler for everything you’ve done for NASCAR. You’ve helped Xfinity Series grow mentoring young drivers, while still racing at a high level, and being a fan favorite. We wish you nothing but the best over the rest of this season.” More Related: Dale Earnhardt Jr retirement announcement (Video) Links Elliott Sadler | JR Motorsports | NASCAR<doc-sep>Kasey Kahne took to social media on Thursday to announce that 2018 would be his last season as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver. The 38-year-old veteran currently drives the No. 95 for Leavine Family Racing and his contract was set to expire at the end of the season. "I've thought about this decision for many months, if not longer," Kahne said on Twitter. "The highs didn't outweigh the lows and the grueling schedule takes a toll on your quality of life. I need to spend more time doing things I enjoy." Kahne also added that part of his decision to retire was to spend more time with his young son, Tanner, and also focus more attention on his sprint car teams. Here is the full statement. The 2004 Rookie of the Year is coming off a playoff appearance in 2017 and has put together an impressive resume over 527 career Cup starts. Kahne won 18 races at NASCAR's highest level with some notables including three Coca-Cola 600s and his last win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2017. Kahne's departure opens the door for Leavine Family Racing to make a change or potentially go younger next season. LFR has been mentioned as a possible candidate to switch from Chevrolet to Toyota next year. The team also took to Twitter to thank Kahne for his career in NASCAR. He plans to finish out the year in the No. 95<doc-sep>
Veteran NASCAR driver Elliott Sadler announced he is retiring from full-time racing at the end of the 2018 season after more than two decades of racing stock cars. In his announcement on Twitter on Wednesday, 43-year-old Sadler — who’s currently driving the No. 1 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports team in the second-tier XFINITY Series — said this was something he discussed with his family, and it’s “time for me to be the full-time Dad that I want to be” for his 8- and 6-year-old kids. After much consideration and many conversations with my family, I’ve decided this will be my last season racing full time in NASCAR. (Full Statement: https://t.co/iLQnNG215o) pic.twitter.com/cKEclUt55F — Elliott Sadler (@Elliott_Sadler) August 15, 2018 His decision to retire from full-time racing follows the news from June that his team was in need of a new primary sponsor with OneMain Financial taking on “a little bit lesser of a schedule” compared with the 2018 season. Sadler made his XFINITY Series debut in 1995 and made the switch to racing in the NASCAR Cup Series full-time in 1999. He competed at the top of the sport for 12 full-time seasons through the end of 2010 before returning to the XFINITY Series full-time in 2011. Overall, he has 17 total wins — three in Cup, 13 in XFINITY and one in the Camping World Truck Series — and has made 841 starts across all three national series in 24 years. His statement about retiring, in part, reads: “As I look back, I’ve had an amazing career thanks to an overwhelming amount of support from so many family members, friends, team members, corporate partners and fans. I know I’m going to miss seeing all of y’all week in and week out. The people are what make our sport so special. … NASCAR fans have always been the most loyal fans in sports. Thank you all for your support. It has been awesome to meet so many of you over the years at the track, at an autograph session or just out during my everyday life. Thank you for every time you’ve clapped when we’ve had good days and for all of the nice words on days when things didn’t go our way. I’m thankful social media is around and a way for us to all stay in touch. My work here isn’t done just yet. Dale Jr., Kelley (Earnhardt Miller) and Mr. Hendrick have afforded me the opportunity to win races and championships at JR Motorsports. We’re going to finish 2018 doing everything we can as a team to go out on top. I love my guys and appreciate everything they’ve done for me since I came to JRM. It has been so much fun racing for Dale and Kelley because we’ve known each other for such a long time. It’s always fun to win and celebrate but it’s even more fun to do so with lifelong friends. I’m going to give everything I have in the playoffs to end my career on a high note.” Despite not yet winning a race this season, Sadler is second in the XFINITY Series regular season standings and fourth in playoff points. Here’s how the racing world reacted to his retirement news. Thank you for all you've done for this sport @Elliott_Sadler. Let's finish 2018 on a high note! https://t.co/SsPalsALe8 — JR Motorsports (@JRMotorsports) August 15, 2018 . @Elliott_Sadler Best of luck to our sport’s undisputed eyewear trendsetter pic.twitter.com/8WzgRqFSX0 — nascarcasm (@nascarcasm) August 15, 2018 You have much to be proud of. You have won races at every level you have competed in and have done it while earning the respect of those you worked with and also those that you competed against. The next few months will go by quickly, enjoy it!! https://t.co/vbdw9Qpr4J — Jeff Burton (@JeffBurton) August 15, 2018 Now we can't let @Elliott_Sadler ride off into the sunset without a look back at his first Cup Series race here at AMS in 1999! pic.twitter.com/CG19pHGe8i — Atlanta Motor Speedway (@amsupdates) August 15, 2018 So many great memories here with you, @Elliott_Sadler. It’s been a heck of a ride! Thank you! https://t.co/esh2teZJjg — Talladega Superspeedway (@TalladegaSuperS) August 15, 2018 Congrats on a tremendous career @Elliott_Sadler and going out on your terms! I’ve been a fan of yours since before my driving days and consider it an honor to have shared a racetrack with you.