How should we remember Kasey Kahne now that his NASCAR career is over?

If all you know is Kasey Kahne this decade, he was a better driver than you might recall.

Even when NASCAR drivers have everything lined up to leave the sport on their own terms, something that is increasingly a luxury, sometimes fate intervenes and keeps it from happening. Kasey Kahne is living proof.

Kahne announced in August that the current NASCAR season would be his last, citing a desire to spend time with his family. He later revealed that he had offers to continue driving in the Cup Series full-time in 2019, but he still preferred to return to his sprint car roots on a schedule that would allow him to see his wife and kids more often. It was an admirable stance to take for the 38-year-old Washington native, and everyone wished him well as he finished out the year for Leavine Family Racing.

Except it didn’t play out that way. Just a few weeks later, problems with serious dehydration during races forced Kahne out of the No. 95 Chevrolet, with LFR turning to Regan Smith to fill in until he was cleared to resume racing.

On Tuesday, Kahne revealed that day isn’t going to arrive.

If this is the end for Kahne, which is definitely what it seems, at least he went out in one of NASCAR’s premier events, as his last start was in the Southern 500. His final Cup Series campaign was otherwise unremarkable, with his lone top-10 finish coming when he came home fourth at Daytona this summer.

Kahne also won just once in his final three seasons at Hendrick Motorsports, meaning newer NASCAR fans may only think of him as a non-factor. That’s kind of a shame, because in the first half of his career, he was kind of a big deal. Kahne carried the banner for Evernham Motorsports in the mid-2000s, becoming the de facto face of Dodge’s return to Cup Series racing.

The 2006 season was especially good for Kahne, as he won six times, including a sweep of both Charlotte races, leading all drivers and tying with Kurt Busch for the most poles. He ended up finishing a distant eighth in the Chase, but losing to Jimmie Johnson in his prime is no cause for shame.

He got even closer to a championship in 2012, his first with Hendrick Motorsports, ending the season fourth. That year also saw Kahne capture his third Coca-Cola 600 victory, arguably the most impressive feat among his 18 Cup Series wins. For comparison’s sake, Dale Earnhardt Jr. ended his career with 26 top series victories, so they’re not as far apart in that respect as you might think.

All of this is a long-winded way of saying that Kahne was better than you might remember if you go back a little more than a decade to find his glory years. He’s hardly alone in that regard, and while he’s off now to do exactly what he said he wanted to do anyway, it would have been nice for him to get a little bit more of a sendoff.

Thanks for the memories, Kasey.