Kyle Larson has seen plenty of surprising developments in NASCAR, but the latest news involving Kasey Kahne caught him so completely off guard that he thought someone had made it up.
The two-time Cup Series champion was scrolling through Facebook when he spotted reports that Kahne was preparing for a full-time return to NASCAR in 2027.
His first reaction? It had to be an AI-generated joke.
But after seeing the story repeatedly, Larson decided to text Kahne himself. The response confirmed that one of NASCAR’s most unexpected comebacks was indeed in the works.
Kyle Larson Couldn’t Believe Kasey Kahne’s NASCAR Return
During an appearance on the “Stacking Pennies” podcast with Corey LaJoie and Ryan Flores, Larson admitted that Kahne’s reported return surprised him even more than the recent news surrounding Brad Keselowski and RFK Racing.
“I actually thought the more shocking news of the weekend, though, was Kasey Kahne full-time Truck Series,” Larson said. “I was more shocked about that.”
The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi recently reported that Kahne, 46, is expected to join Spire Motorsports for the 2027 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season.
For Larson, the surprise wasn’t simply seeing Kahne return to a NASCAR national series. It was the prospect of him committing to a full season.
“I was never expecting to be a full-time anything,” Larson said.
Kahne last raced full-time in the Cup Series in 2018, when health concerns, including dehydration during races, forced him to step away. The 18-time Cup Series winner has continued racing in other disciplines, particularly sprint cars.
Kyle Larson Texted Kasey Kahne to Find Out the Truth
Larson explained that he initially encountered the comeback reports on Facebook, where he mistook them for another internet joke.
“I’m like, ‘Oh, I see that. Oh, it’s funny. You know, it’s Kasey Kahne Friday,'” Larson recalled.
“Like somebody made a funny AI thing. I scroll some more. I’m seeing a few different posts.”
As the posts kept appearing, Larson started wondering whether there was actually something to the story.
“I’m like, no way.”
Rather than continue guessing, he reached out directly.
“Yeah, I did. I was like, is this for real?” Larson said when asked whether he’d texted Kahne.
The response was brief but enthusiastic.
“He’s like, yeah, man, I’m excited.”
Kahne’s reported return would put him back in full-time NASCAR competition for the first time since 2018, nearly a decade after his final full Cup Series season.
For Larson, who knows Kahne through their years in NASCAR and dirt racing, the news was apparently surprising enough to warrant a personal fact-check.
And in an era when AI-generated posts can make almost anything look believable, Larson discovered that sometimes the most unbelievable NASCAR news is actually real.
Kyle Larson Thought Kasey Kahne’s NASCAR Comeback Was an AI Joke