By: Jay W. Pennell
Sprint Cup Correspondent
HardcoreRaceFans.com

"Thanks to the fans," an excited Kasey Kahne radioed to his crew after winning Saturday night's Sprint All-Star Race. "We didn't even make the race without the fans."

Kahne, who has struggled over the past two years to find the chemistry and momentum that took him to victory lane six times in 2006, received the Sprint Fan Vote to qualify for Saturday night's main event after finishing 5th in the Sprint Showdown.

Using pit strategy on the final pit stop between segments three and four, Kahne's crew chief Kenny Francis made the call for no tires and fuel only. The No. 9 Budweiser Dodge entered the pits in seventh and, thanks to the call, restarted the final segment in second spot behind Jimmie Johnson.

With about fifteen laps to go, Kahne looked to get by Denny Hamlin for the lead going into Turn 1. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver also opted for fuel only and had restarted the final segment in the third spot. As Kahne made the move underneath Hamlin going down the backstretch, the No. 11 Fed-Ex Toyota Camry's engine let go, giving Kahne the lead.

Holding off a hard-charging Greg Biffle, Kahne never looked back. With the win, Kahne became the first driver to receive the fan vote to win the All-Star Race. Biffle's Roush Fenway Racing teammate Matt Kenseth came home third, with Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart rounding out the top-5.

"I would have loved to have raced my way in, but we have great fans, and it's cool they voted for us and got us in the race," Kahne explained. "We need all the fan support we can have. They've stuck behind us.

"I was going to head home, drink a couple of Budweisers and watch the All-Star race."

Instead, Kahne and his Gillett Evernham Motorsports team celebrated in Victory Lane and earned themsevles a cool million dollar check from Sprint.