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Sprint Cup
CUP: Kasey Kahne – Man In A Maelstrom
Kasey Kahne's NASCAR Sprint Cup career has been a bumpy ride so far...
Kasey Kahne was released by Richard Petty Motorsports on Wednesday night. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Kasey Kahne's motorsports career wasn’t supposed to be this complicated.
At the turn of the century, he was the next USAC Sprint-Midget-Silver Crown boy wonder, following in the tire tracks of Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart. And, like Gordon and Stewart, he abandoned the open-wheel world for the greener pastures of NASCAR, where he moved into the Nationwide Series in 2002.
Virtually from the beginning, it was clear that Kahne – blessed with sharp driving skills and a physical appearance that sent women into backflips – could be a NASCAR superstar.
He moved into Sprint Cup full-time in team owner Ray Evernham’s Dodges in 2004, but his much-anticipated ascension to the sport’s top level was clouded by an ugly public disagreement with Ford, which had nurtured Kahne’s career. The manufacturer sued Kahne for breach of contract.
Kahne cashed in on his promise with Evernham, winning a race in 2005 and then scoring for six wins and a Chase run in 2006.
But the escalator slowed with Evernham’s departure from the sport, the team’s sale to sports entrepreneur George Gillett and the later merger with Richard Petty’s operations to form the new Richard Petty Motorsports.
Suddenly, it seemed, Kahne was approaching his 30th birthday. And he still was mostly mired in neutral, driving for a second-level team that showed sparks of promise but lacked consistent strength.
Then along came Rick Hendrick. He signed Kahne to a deal that would put him in Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets in the 2012 session – the delay caused by the fact that Mark Martin will be in Hendrick cars again next year. Kahne will replace Martin in 2012.
But what about next year? There followed an uncomfortable period during which Hendrick searched for a solution for 2011, leaving Kahne – and the garage area – to wonder precisely what was going to happen to one of the sport’s top drivers.
Kahne’s 30th birthday – April 10 – came and went. Finally, in early August, it was announced that Kahne would be a one-year fill-in driver at Team Red Bull next season as he waits for the Hendrick vacancy to appear.
And there continued the almost always awkward relationship between a team – in this case, Richard Petty Motorsports – and a lame-duck driver. Although he has had some impressive runs this year, the season has been mostly forgettable for Kahne. He has bounced around the 20th position in points most of the year.
The season reached a boil-over point last week at Charlotte Motor Speedway, as a brake failure caused Kahne to crash during the Bank of America 500. Upset about the incident, Kahne left the track and was not available to finish the race after his team repaired the damage. J.J. Yeley completed the run.
Thus, it was not a complete surprise Wednesday when RPM released Kahne from his contract five races early. Aric Almirola was named to drive the No. 9 Ford this weekend at Martinsville Speedway, and Kahne will move on to Team Red Bull early, finishing this season with that operation.
The bottom line for Kahne is that he appears to be still waiting for his career to really take off.
The road to the top has been steeper than expected.
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
At the turn of the century, he was the next USAC Sprint-Midget-Silver Crown boy wonder, following in the tire tracks of Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart. And, like Gordon and Stewart, he abandoned the open-wheel world for the greener pastures of NASCAR, where he moved into the Nationwide Series in 2002.
Virtually from the beginning, it was clear that Kahne – blessed with sharp driving skills and a physical appearance that sent women into backflips – could be a NASCAR superstar.
He moved into Sprint Cup full-time in team owner Ray Evernham’s Dodges in 2004, but his much-anticipated ascension to the sport’s top level was clouded by an ugly public disagreement with Ford, which had nurtured Kahne’s career. The manufacturer sued Kahne for breach of contract.
Kahne cashed in on his promise with Evernham, winning a race in 2005 and then scoring for six wins and a Chase run in 2006.
But the escalator slowed with Evernham’s departure from the sport, the team’s sale to sports entrepreneur George Gillett and the later merger with Richard Petty’s operations to form the new Richard Petty Motorsports.
Suddenly, it seemed, Kahne was approaching his 30th birthday. And he still was mostly mired in neutral, driving for a second-level team that showed sparks of promise but lacked consistent strength.
Then along came Rick Hendrick. He signed Kahne to a deal that would put him in Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets in the 2012 session – the delay caused by the fact that Mark Martin will be in Hendrick cars again next year. Kahne will replace Martin in 2012.
But what about next year? There followed an uncomfortable period during which Hendrick searched for a solution for 2011, leaving Kahne – and the garage area – to wonder precisely what was going to happen to one of the sport’s top drivers.
Kahne’s 30th birthday – April 10 – came and went. Finally, in early August, it was announced that Kahne would be a one-year fill-in driver at Team Red Bull next season as he waits for the Hendrick vacancy to appear.
And there continued the almost always awkward relationship between a team – in this case, Richard Petty Motorsports – and a lame-duck driver. Although he has had some impressive runs this year, the season has been mostly forgettable for Kahne. He has bounced around the 20th position in points most of the year.
The season reached a boil-over point last week at Charlotte Motor Speedway, as a brake failure caused Kahne to crash during the Bank of America 500. Upset about the incident, Kahne left the track and was not available to finish the race after his team repaired the damage. J.J. Yeley completed the run.
Thus, it was not a complete surprise Wednesday when RPM released Kahne from his contract five races early. Aric Almirola was named to drive the No. 9 Ford this weekend at Martinsville Speedway, and Kahne will move on to Team Red Bull early, finishing this season with that operation.
The bottom line for Kahne is that he appears to be still waiting for his career to really take off.
The road to the top has been steeper than expected.
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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