After spending much of last season mired in a slump, the No. 5 Chevrolet team sprang to life in the final third of the season and were one of the more consistent and competitive teams of the stretch run of the season. Kahne posted five Top-10 finishes during the Chase, although he was not a part of the championship playoff. This has been the norm for the 13-year veteran. Partial seasons of high performance coupled with long stretches of struggles have led to finishes of 15th-, 18th- and 17th-place in the driver standings each of the last three years. This is far below what this driver, team and owner expect. 2017 will be a make or break year for Kahne and his future at Hendrick Motorsports. He would like to get back to winning and getting berths in the Chase. Kahne and crew chief Keith Rodden are under the gun for improvement and the clock is ticking.

In a lot of ways the last two seasons have been very disappointing for Kahne and his Hendrick Motorsports race team. The veteran driver has only won one event the last two years and he missed the Chase for the Cup field in 2015. The drop in performance is almost unexplainable. We expect the driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet to make some gains in 2016, but not all at once. He will be once again paired with crew chief, Keith Rodden, and they will need some time to correct the performance issues they've battled the last year. Considering that Hendrick Motorsports star Jeff Gordon retired at the end of 2015, there will be more pressure on Kahne to lift his level of performance to the numbers of a couple seasons ago. We wouldn't rule out a two-win, 16 top 10 campaign.

The first season with Hendrick Motorsports is now under Kahne’s belt and it was a rousing success. He piloted the No. 5 Chevrolet to two victories, 19 Top-10 finishes and a career-best fourth-place finish in the final driver standings. The nine-year veteran may just be getting started and even more success could be in store. Kahne and long-time crew chief Kenny Francis have one of the longest running driver/crew chief relationships currently running in the sport. The duo has combined to win 13 races, 20 pole positions and 99 Top 10’s since the 2006 season. The combination of this solid relationship and top notch Hendrick Motorsports equipment should keep paying dividends in 2013.

Khane suffered a poor second season in Nextel Cup in 2005. However, he did collect his first series win and shows some signs of ability despite the equipment problems. If Dodge can get their house in order in 2006, Kahne could do some big things.