CONCORD, N.C. -- This week, Kasey Kahne joined Nate Ryan on the NASCAR on NBC podcast.
Kahne and Ryan delved deep into many topics, including Kahne's son Tanner, the driver's charity initiatives, Kasey Kahne Racing and his 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series campaign.
The driver of the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS acknowledged that this season has been one of ups and downs for his team.
"One of the reasons it makes it as tough as anything is because I know I'm at Hendrick Motorsports," Kahne explained. "I know that should be as good of an opportunity as I've had in racing and we should be able to carry that and be consistently fast every single weekend, every single year. That's the way I think about it and that's why I'm at Hendrick Motorsports. The first half of this year and basically the last half of last year, we were far from that."
However, the the No. 5 team has turned a corner and has discovered the speed they were lacking in the first portion of the season, logging seven top-10 finishes in the last 10 races.
"I think Hendrick Motorsports as a whole came together and worked in the right areas, hit on some things, and it's helped," Kahne said. "The No. 5 as a team, we've made gains and I feel like that's been as much of our gains as anything -- the team side of it, the communication, the believing in each other from an engineer, crew chief, driver standpoint, and having cars prepared that we haven't had any issues with. I think the believing in each other has really improved and it's been fun."
To hear more of what Kahne and Ryan discussed, including the driver's favorite PDQ sandwich (we'll give you a hint: it starts with "Karolina" and ends with "Kahnewich") and his pick for the 2016 championship, click here.