The selection process was tough and the interviews were intense, but the winner of the Kasey Kahne Dream Job contest was up to the challenge – and took home the top prize for his efforts.
David Metzger from Fremont, Calif., was named the winner after final interviews at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 9. Metzger, a policeman with the Atherton Police Department and a member of the San Mateo Narcotics Task Force, was one of three finalists who traveled to Las Vegas for the judging and the weekend’s NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race. Metzger was selected for his problem-solving skills, commitment to improving performance, creative thinking and ability to deal with pressure on the job.
“This is a dream come true,” said Metzger after learning of his selection on Sunday morning. “I can’t wait until Darlington.
I worked really hard to get the word out and get folks voting for me. I reached out to all the police on the force and had my family campaigning in their offices.
The contest, sponsored by Dodge Motorsports, offered contestants an opportunity to be Kahne’s assistant at the Dodge Avenger 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race on May 12 at Darlington Raceway. More than 20,000 fans entered the contest, held online at www.kaseykahnedreamjob.com. Almost 116,000 people voted for the nine semifinalists. The top three finalists were Kelli Quattlebaum of Greenville, S.C., received the most votes with 33,251. David Metzger from Fremont, Calif., received 20,891 votes and Erin Coates of Dubuque, Iowa., received 13,028 votes.
Metzger said he wants to help make Kasey Kahne’s life easier and keep him looking good. On the track, Metzger said he would tell Kahne to drive fast and keep all four wheels on the ground.
Fans completed a questionnaire to show why they would be the best candidate to assist Kahne at Darlington. A panel of judges reviewed the applications and selected the best nine for the No. 9. Those nine semifinalists responded to questions submitted by Dodge on video and the video was used on the official website. Fans then voted online for the best contestants.
“I’m looking forward to working with David at Darlington,” Kahne said. “He’s got great skills and experience, and I think we’ll have fun together. And, it will be great to have a policeman around. Darlington is a race that I’d like to win. It’s a tough track, and you almost need a perfect day to win the Dodge Avenger 500. I’m sure my assistant will be ready for the challenge.”
Metzger will spend four days at the Evernham Motorsports headquarters in Statesville and work with the Marketing Department scheduling Kahne’s at-track activities for the Dodge Avenger 500 at Darlington Raceway. Duties will also include working with the marketing and public relations team to get Kahne to all the appearances, media interviews, on-track and NASCAR-mandated responsibilities on his schedule that weekend.
3.14.2007
Great story on Kasey Kahne
Quick revival is Kahne aim
By Jim Bentonemail bio
March 14, 2007
Kasey Kahne finds himself in a worrisome place in the points standings, but he's not concerned about his slow start.
Kahne, who won a series-high six Nextel Cup races in 2006 and finished eighth in the standings, is 36th in points after three races this season.
He lost 50 points before the season started as part of the fines levied by NASCAR for rules infractions after qualifying inspections at Daytona. Kahne's crew chief, Kenny Francis, was suspended for the first four races.
"At this point, I could care less what I did last year," Kahne said Tuesday. "Yeah, we won six races, but it's time to start winning this year. The points are a huge deal. I was looking at them myself, kind of trying to see where we are at and how far we're out of getting back in the top 20.
"I feel like we could have three top 10s. I made a mistake (an accident at Las Vegas). I had an engine problem (at California). We're in a little hole, but we can dig ourselves out of that pretty quickly. We've got speed. We've been up front every single race so far. I'm not worried."
One of Kahne's victories last season came in the spring race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
"Atlanta is a good track for us," he said. "We've always seemed to run pretty solid at it, and we're making some adjustments with our car this week and I'm going to make some adjustments hopefully to finish the race."
The slow start isn't as baffling to the Enumclaw, Wash., native as the opposition of fans and Washington state politicians to a racetrack that International Speedway Corp. proposes to build in the Seattle area.
"They've kind of made it sound differently than what it really would be to the taxpayer," Kahne said. "So I am surprised what it's turned into.
"Come to Vegas and look at what (a track) does down there, or go to Atlanta or go to Texas or go to Kansas. There's so much stuff going on. Look at all the hotels and the malls, and everything is packed full of people. Go look somewhere else and see what it's like. If you do, there's no way you wouldn't want one (track) where you're living."
By Jim Bentonemail bio
March 14, 2007
Kasey Kahne finds himself in a worrisome place in the points standings, but he's not concerned about his slow start.
Kahne, who won a series-high six Nextel Cup races in 2006 and finished eighth in the standings, is 36th in points after three races this season.
He lost 50 points before the season started as part of the fines levied by NASCAR for rules infractions after qualifying inspections at Daytona. Kahne's crew chief, Kenny Francis, was suspended for the first four races.
"At this point, I could care less what I did last year," Kahne said Tuesday. "Yeah, we won six races, but it's time to start winning this year. The points are a huge deal. I was looking at them myself, kind of trying to see where we are at and how far we're out of getting back in the top 20.
"I feel like we could have three top 10s. I made a mistake (an accident at Las Vegas). I had an engine problem (at California). We're in a little hole, but we can dig ourselves out of that pretty quickly. We've got speed. We've been up front every single race so far. I'm not worried."
One of Kahne's victories last season came in the spring race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
"Atlanta is a good track for us," he said. "We've always seemed to run pretty solid at it, and we're making some adjustments with our car this week and I'm going to make some adjustments hopefully to finish the race."
The slow start isn't as baffling to the Enumclaw, Wash., native as the opposition of fans and Washington state politicians to a racetrack that International Speedway Corp. proposes to build in the Seattle area.
"They've kind of made it sound differently than what it really would be to the taxpayer," Kahne said. "So I am surprised what it's turned into.
"Come to Vegas and look at what (a track) does down there, or go to Atlanta or go to Texas or go to Kansas. There's so much stuff going on. Look at all the hotels and the malls, and everything is packed full of people. Go look somewhere else and see what it's like. If you do, there's no way you wouldn't want one (track) where you're living."
3.13.2007
Breaking News for Kasey Kahne
KAHNE WINS COMMIT® TO WIN AWARD FOR SECOND STRAIGHT WEEK AT VEGAS
PITTSBURGH, PA (March 13, 2007) – For the second straight week, Kasey Kahne is the winner of the Commit® Lozenges Commit to Win Award. Kahne won the award by leading the first green flag lap of Sunday’s UAW Daimler-Chrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
For his award at Las Vegas, Kahne will be presented with a check for $5,500 during pre-race ceremonies at this weekend’s Nextel Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. A $101,000 bonus will be presented to the driver that wins the most Commit to Win Awards in 2007.
Kahne won the season Commit to Win Award in 2005 and 2006, and with his two awards in ’07 leads this season’s standings. Along with Las Vegas, Kahne won the Commit to Win Award the previous race at California Speedway.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Healthcare has the only smoking cessation sponsorship in NASCAR history featuring the brands NicoretteÒ nicotine gum, NicoDermÒ CQÒ nicotine patches and Commit nicotine lozenges. GSK Consumer Healthcare’s NASCAR involvement also features the first-of-its-kind “QUIT Crew” program that provides smoking cessation coaching to NASCAR teams and fans. Hendrick Motorsports, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, Petty Enterprises, Joe Gibbs Racing, Richard Childress Racing and NASCAR officials have enrolled in the program. For more information, go to quit2winracing.com
2007 Commit to Win Standings
Driver Team Commit to Win Awards
Kasey Kahne Evernham Motorsports 2
David Gilliland Robert Yates Racing 1
2007 Commit to Win Award Winners
Date Race Track Winner
2/18/07 Daytona 500 Daytona International Speedway David Gilliland
2/25/07 Auto Club 500 California Speedway Kasey Kahne
3/11/07 UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400 Las Vegas Motor Speedway Kasey Kahne
PITTSBURGH, PA (March 13, 2007) – For the second straight week, Kasey Kahne is the winner of the Commit® Lozenges Commit to Win Award. Kahne won the award by leading the first green flag lap of Sunday’s UAW Daimler-Chrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
For his award at Las Vegas, Kahne will be presented with a check for $5,500 during pre-race ceremonies at this weekend’s Nextel Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. A $101,000 bonus will be presented to the driver that wins the most Commit to Win Awards in 2007.
Kahne won the season Commit to Win Award in 2005 and 2006, and with his two awards in ’07 leads this season’s standings. Along with Las Vegas, Kahne won the Commit to Win Award the previous race at California Speedway.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Healthcare has the only smoking cessation sponsorship in NASCAR history featuring the brands NicoretteÒ nicotine gum, NicoDermÒ CQÒ nicotine patches and Commit nicotine lozenges. GSK Consumer Healthcare’s NASCAR involvement also features the first-of-its-kind “QUIT Crew” program that provides smoking cessation coaching to NASCAR teams and fans. Hendrick Motorsports, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, Petty Enterprises, Joe Gibbs Racing, Richard Childress Racing and NASCAR officials have enrolled in the program. For more information, go to quit2winracing.com
2007 Commit to Win Standings
Driver Team Commit to Win Awards
Kasey Kahne Evernham Motorsports 2
David Gilliland Robert Yates Racing 1
2007 Commit to Win Award Winners
Date Race Track Winner
2/18/07 Daytona 500 Daytona International Speedway David Gilliland
2/25/07 Auto Club 500 California Speedway Kasey Kahne
3/11/07 UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400 Las Vegas Motor Speedway Kasey Kahne
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