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Sprint Cup
CUP: Kahne Released By Richard Petty Motorsports
Aric Almirola will drive the No. 9 Ford Fusion at Martinsville Speedway this weekend...
Kasey Kahne's run at Richard Petty Motorsports is over. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Kasey Kahne's move to Red Bull Racing likely will get an early start, as the veteran driver was released from Richard Petty Motorsports Wednesday night.
For this weekend’s Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway, Kahne will be replaced in the No. 9 RPM Ford by Aric Almirola, who was originally scheduled to run the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota.
Kahne’s release capped a season of frustration for the driver, frustration that came to a head Saturday night, when he lost the brakes in his car and crashed at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Kahne left the track, saying he didn’t feel well enough to get back in the car. J.J. Yeley finished the race in the No. 9 Ford.
Afterwards, Kahne and his team traded barbs about the quality of the cars and Kahne’s commitment to the team.
“When you know that [you’re leaving] is in the back of your mind, it gets harder and harder when you’re having adversity to fight through it,” RPM Vice President Robbie Loomis told SceneDaily.com on Monday. “The real champions in life learn how to fight through those things even on the bad days. It’s all part of a growing process for us all.”
The past few seasons have been trying ones for Kahne. He signed to drive for what was then known as Evernham Motorsports prior to the 2004 season. But his former boss, Ray Evernham, sold the majority interest in the team to businessman George Gillett in 2007.
Gillett brought on NASCAR Hall of Fame legend Richard Petty as a limited partner prior to the 2009 season. He also relocated the team from Statesville, N.C., to Concord, N.C., and switched the team from Dodge to Ford.
With Kahne’s departure and the expected release of Elliott Sadler, RPM is likely to shrink from four cars to two cars next season.
Kahne, meanwhile, will spend the 2011 season at Red Bull, before moving to the powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports team in 2012, when he will replace Mark Martin behind the wheel of the No. 5 Hendrick Chevrolet.
It was announced in April that Kahne would move to Hendrick in 2012, but it took several months to put together the Red Bull deal.
“Trying to find a home for him, where someone was willing to say, ‘OK, here’s a ride and we’re going to give you up in a year,’ it’s kind of hard to do,” said Hendrick Motorsports team owner Rick Hendrick.
“You had teams who were willing to start a new team and they were glad to have him for a year, but they didn’t want to put a sponsor on him and then lose the sponsor,” said Hendrick. “It was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. I thought it was going to be a lot easier than it was. It just so happened that the deal with him and Red Bull worked out, where they could use somebody for a year and they didn’t need a sponsor. They had a sponsor and the sponsor was good with it.”
“With where we are at Hendrick, it just didn’t work out for 2011 and I think Kasey knew that going in,” said Jeff Gordon of Kahne’s move to Red Bull. “I think it is a good team. It is a good option. Hopefully that goes well for him and then we get him in 2012 and rock and roll.”
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.
For this weekend’s Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway, Kahne will be replaced in the No. 9 RPM Ford by Aric Almirola, who was originally scheduled to run the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota.
Kahne’s release capped a season of frustration for the driver, frustration that came to a head Saturday night, when he lost the brakes in his car and crashed at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Kahne left the track, saying he didn’t feel well enough to get back in the car. J.J. Yeley finished the race in the No. 9 Ford.
Afterwards, Kahne and his team traded barbs about the quality of the cars and Kahne’s commitment to the team.
“When you know that [you’re leaving] is in the back of your mind, it gets harder and harder when you’re having adversity to fight through it,” RPM Vice President Robbie Loomis told SceneDaily.com on Monday. “The real champions in life learn how to fight through those things even on the bad days. It’s all part of a growing process for us all.”
The past few seasons have been trying ones for Kahne. He signed to drive for what was then known as Evernham Motorsports prior to the 2004 season. But his former boss, Ray Evernham, sold the majority interest in the team to businessman George Gillett in 2007.
Gillett brought on NASCAR Hall of Fame legend Richard Petty as a limited partner prior to the 2009 season. He also relocated the team from Statesville, N.C., to Concord, N.C., and switched the team from Dodge to Ford.
With Kahne’s departure and the expected release of Elliott Sadler, RPM is likely to shrink from four cars to two cars next season.
Kahne, meanwhile, will spend the 2011 season at Red Bull, before moving to the powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports team in 2012, when he will replace Mark Martin behind the wheel of the No. 5 Hendrick Chevrolet.
It was announced in April that Kahne would move to Hendrick in 2012, but it took several months to put together the Red Bull deal.
“Trying to find a home for him, where someone was willing to say, ‘OK, here’s a ride and we’re going to give you up in a year,’ it’s kind of hard to do,” said Hendrick Motorsports team owner Rick Hendrick.
“You had teams who were willing to start a new team and they were glad to have him for a year, but they didn’t want to put a sponsor on him and then lose the sponsor,” said Hendrick. “It was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. I thought it was going to be a lot easier than it was. It just so happened that the deal with him and Red Bull worked out, where they could use somebody for a year and they didn’t need a sponsor. They had a sponsor and the sponsor was good with it.”
“With where we are at Hendrick, it just didn’t work out for 2011 and I think Kasey knew that going in,” said Jeff Gordon of Kahne’s move to Red Bull. “I think it is a good team. It is a good option. Hopefully that goes well for him and then we get him in 2012 and rock and roll.”
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.
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