Kasey Kahne finds himself in a worrisome place in the points standings, but he's not concerned about his slow start.

Kahne, who won a series-high six Nextel Cup races in 2006 and finished eighth in the standings, is 36th in points after three races this season.

He lost 50 points before the season started as part of the fines levied by NASCAR for rules infractions after qualifying inspections at Daytona. Kahne's crew chief, Kenny Francis, was suspended for the first four races.

"At this point, I could care less what I did last year," Kahne said Tuesday. "Yeah, we won six races, but it's time to start winning this year. The points are a huge deal. I was looking at them myself, kind of trying to see where we are at and how far we're out of getting back in the top 20.

"I feel like we could have three top 10s. I made a mistake (an accident at Las Vegas). I had an engine problem (at California). We're in a little hole, but we can dig ourselves out of that pretty quickly. We've got speed. We've been up front every single race so far. I'm not worried."

One of Kahne's victories last season came in the spring race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

"Atlanta is a good track for us," he said. "We've always seemed to run pretty solid at it, and we're making some adjustments with our car this week and I'm going to make some adjustments hopefully to finish the race."

The slow start isn't as baffling to the Enumclaw, Wash., native as the opposition of fans and Washington state politicians to a racetrack that International Speedway Corp. proposes to build in the Seattle area.

"They've kind of made it sound differently than what it really would be to the taxpayer," Kahne said. "So I am surprised what it's turned into.

"Come to Vegas and look at what (a track) does down there, or go to Atlanta or go to Texas or go to Kansas. There's so much stuff going on. Look at all the hotels and the malls, and everything is packed full of people. Go look somewhere else and see what it's like. If you do, there's no way you wouldn't want one (track) where you're living."

March Madness

Plenty of Nextel Cup drivers follow the NCAA Tournament, but Elliott Sadler is one of the most ardent followers of the Big Dance.

"I'm a huge basketball fan," he said. "I'm looking forward to watching everybody play. It doesn't get any better to me than college athletics, especially in March Madness.

"My boys (North Carolina Tar Heels) are a No. 1 seed. I'm kind of pulling for (Tyler) Hansbrough to have a good tournament and hopefully they will play well."

Dave Blaney is pulling for another No. 1 seed, Ohio State.

The Hartford, Ohio, native has remained loyal to his roots, even though his brother, Dale, played guard for West Virginia and led the Mountaineers in scoring in 1986 with a 17-point average.

Kurt Busch, who attended Arizona for a year before starting a full-time racing career, has made his Final Four picks.

"I'll have to go with UCLA, Kansas, Arizona . . . the Wildcats will have to have miraculous tournament play, but I just have to hang with them since they did get a bid. . . . And, of course, I have to throw the North Carolina Tar Heels in there, too."

Pit stops

? Three of the 11 closest NASCAR finishes since the advent of electronic scoring in May 1993 have come at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Kevin Harvick defeated Jeff Gordon by .006 seconds for the third-closest margin of victory on March 11, 2001. Dale Earnhardt edged Bobby Labonte by .010 seconds, the fifth-closest finish, on March 12, 2000, and on March 20, 2005, Carl Edwards beat Jimmie Johnson by .028 seconds. That tied the mark for the 11th-closest finish.

? Bristol Motor Speedway reportedly will be repaved after the Food City 500 on March 25. The track will be widened by 4 feet, with gradual banking. The concrete track is deteriorating and will be resurfaced with asphalt. Las Vegas Motor Speedway was recently repaved, a project that drew criticism from drivers, especially after Saturday's Busch race, which turned into a mini-demolition derby.

Inside line: Chad Knaus

Knaus won the 2006 Nextel Cup series title as the crew chief for driver Jimmie Johnson. A one-time tire changer for Jeff Gordon, Knaus has finished in the top five in the standings all five seasons with Johnson. He recently answered questions from Rocky Mountain News NASCAR reporter Jim Benton.

? If racing hadn't worked out: I would probably be an engineer.

? Greatest influence: My father early in life and Mr. (Rick) Hendrick later in life.

? Person in history you would most like to meet: Leonardo da Vinci.

? Change you'd make in Nextel Cup: Thinner rule book.

? Favorite music: All kinds, rock mostly.

? Childhood hero: My dad was my biggest influence, but I didn't really have a hero growing up.

? Last book you read: Good to Great (by Jim Collins).

? Beach or mountains: I like them both. My most recent trip was actually to the mountains of Colorado over the holidays. I really liked it.

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