AVONDALE, AZ - MARCH 11: Dale Earnhardt Jr, driver of the #88 Axalta Chevrolet, talks to Kasey Kahne, driver of the #5 Great Clips Chevrolet, in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Good Sam 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on March 11, 2016 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

An ex-Hendrick Motorsports driver is glad he's gone


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Kasey Kahne's six-year stint with Hendrick Motorsports produced five wins and four playoff appearances, but the 37-year-old admitted he's glad his time with the team is over.

Kahne is moving on to Leavine Family Racing after Hendrick replaced him with William Byron, and he said he's happy to be moving on to another team.

"I'm glad that I moved on because what we were doing there was not working for me," Kahne said via Autosport.

"So to have that part of it over with is great."

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Related: Kasey Kahne relishes his new-found freedom away from Hendrick Motorsports

Kahne said he knows he would probably be back with Hendrick if his results had been better in the last few years.

"I told all my guys that I wish the results would have been better the last three years there," he said. "If the results were better, I would still be there. I've moved on, they've moved on and that's all perfectly fine. I don't have any bad feelings at all."

Kahne will have more freedom at Leavine Family Racing, and he is already planning on racing in 20-30 midget and sprint car races during the 2018 season. Hendrick had limited him in the number of races he could run in outside of the Cup Series.

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The pressure will be on him to deliver for LFR, and the team expects him to compete for a playoff spot. Leavine hasn't come close to reaching the playoffs in its seven seasons in the Cup Series. Kahne has the skill and experience to get the team into the playoffs, and perhaps he will perform better now that he's more comfortable with his current team.