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Sprint Cup
CUP: Kahne, Red Bull Rolling
Kasey Kahne will drive for Red Bull for the next 41 races...
Kasey Kahne, driver of the #83 Red Bull Toyota, speaks to the media prior to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. (Photo: Getty Images)
The bizarre saga of Kasey Kahne's 2010 season took another turn Friday morning, as the driver officially joined Red Bull Racing, where he will finish out this season and race all of 2011 before joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2012.
Kahne parted company with Richard Petty Motorsports Wednesday night, capping the end of enormously frustrating 2010 season. There are conflicting reports about whether RPM will even survive the remainder of this season given its deep and ongoing financial struggles.
Also uncertain is who Kahne’s partner will be at Red Bull next year. Brian Vickers is expected to return next year after missing most of 2010 while being treated for blood clots. That would seem to make Scott Speed the odd-man out next year, but Red Bull Vice President Jay Frye said that wasn’t a done deal — yet.
“Our plan right now is to have two cars,” Frye said Friday morning at Martinsville Speedway. “We’re monitoring Brian’s (Vickers) health and it appears to be on course and doing great. Again, we’re also monitoring Scott (Speed) and his performance, where he’s at and what’s going to happen next. We’re going to end up having, at this point, two cars and possibly three drivers. At that point, decisions will have to be made. It’s not necessarily the case that decisions have been made yet.”
For Kahne, the move comes as a big relief after a turbulent season at RPM. In his last seven races at RPM, Kahne finished 28th or worse five times.
“I’m excited. It’s a big change for myself,” said Kahne. “I’ve been doing really the same thing for six and a half years. To make a change like this is — it’s new people, it’s new cars, manufacturer, sponsor — everything is different. It’ll be a big change for myself. Just starting to work with new people, but I’m looking forward to it.”
Kahne said he was enthused by the attitude of his new team.
“I was with the guys yesterday putting seats in the cars and just trying to get prepared as well as we could for today and for this weekend,” said Kahne. “The atmosphere and the excitement up at Red Bull right now, it’s nice to be part of that. I’m looking forward to the last five races and getting started this weekend.”
Next year, Kahne will drive the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota and will be joined by crew chief Kenny Francis, his crew chief at RPM. The No. 4 is Kahne’s sprint car number.
As far as the rumors RPM, which is deeply in debt, will shut down before the year is out, Kahne seemed as much in the dark as anyone else in the garage.
“I’ve heard a lot. I think everybody has,” Kahne said “It’s just speculation. I think it’s a lot of talk. For me, I certainly hope that RPM keeps rolling. I hope that they finish out this season and put together another great season next year. That’s what I want them to do. I want that team to keep going. There’s a lot of good people there that deserve to have job and deserve to be working on these race teams.”
And, of course, Red Bull is an interim stop for Kahne.
In 2012, the driver will move to the powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports organization, where he’ll replace Mark Martin in the No. 5 Hendrick Chevrolet. Future boss Rick Hendrick is already excited about the prospects of getting Kahne on board.
“I’ve always admired Kasey, how fast he was, aggressive when he needed to be and a good, clean racer,” Hendrick told SPEED.com. “And he was such a nice, young guy that I thought he’d fit into this organization really well.”
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.
Kahne parted company with Richard Petty Motorsports Wednesday night, capping the end of enormously frustrating 2010 season. There are conflicting reports about whether RPM will even survive the remainder of this season given its deep and ongoing financial struggles.
Also uncertain is who Kahne’s partner will be at Red Bull next year. Brian Vickers is expected to return next year after missing most of 2010 while being treated for blood clots. That would seem to make Scott Speed the odd-man out next year, but Red Bull Vice President Jay Frye said that wasn’t a done deal — yet.
“Our plan right now is to have two cars,” Frye said Friday morning at Martinsville Speedway. “We’re monitoring Brian’s (Vickers) health and it appears to be on course and doing great. Again, we’re also monitoring Scott (Speed) and his performance, where he’s at and what’s going to happen next. We’re going to end up having, at this point, two cars and possibly three drivers. At that point, decisions will have to be made. It’s not necessarily the case that decisions have been made yet.”
For Kahne, the move comes as a big relief after a turbulent season at RPM. In his last seven races at RPM, Kahne finished 28th or worse five times.
“I’m excited. It’s a big change for myself,” said Kahne. “I’ve been doing really the same thing for six and a half years. To make a change like this is — it’s new people, it’s new cars, manufacturer, sponsor — everything is different. It’ll be a big change for myself. Just starting to work with new people, but I’m looking forward to it.”
Kahne said he was enthused by the attitude of his new team.
“I was with the guys yesterday putting seats in the cars and just trying to get prepared as well as we could for today and for this weekend,” said Kahne. “The atmosphere and the excitement up at Red Bull right now, it’s nice to be part of that. I’m looking forward to the last five races and getting started this weekend.”
Next year, Kahne will drive the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota and will be joined by crew chief Kenny Francis, his crew chief at RPM. The No. 4 is Kahne’s sprint car number.
As far as the rumors RPM, which is deeply in debt, will shut down before the year is out, Kahne seemed as much in the dark as anyone else in the garage.
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“I’ve heard a lot. I think everybody has,” Kahne said “It’s just speculation. I think it’s a lot of talk. For me, I certainly hope that RPM keeps rolling. I hope that they finish out this season and put together another great season next year. That’s what I want them to do. I want that team to keep going. There’s a lot of good people there that deserve to have job and deserve to be working on these race teams.”
And, of course, Red Bull is an interim stop for Kahne.
In 2012, the driver will move to the powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports organization, where he’ll replace Mark Martin in the No. 5 Hendrick Chevrolet. Future boss Rick Hendrick is already excited about the prospects of getting Kahne on board.
“I’ve always admired Kasey, how fast he was, aggressive when he needed to be and a good, clean racer,” Hendrick told SPEED.com. “And he was such a nice, young guy that I thought he’d fit into this organization really well.”
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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