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Sprint Cup
CUP: Francis Brings New Eyes To Hendrick
Kenny Francis followed Kasey Kahne to Hendrick Motorsports...
Kenny Francis (Right) and Kasey Kahne (Left) have a long, successful history together. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Of all the myriad personnel changes made over the winter in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, none comes with higher expectations than Kasey Kahne’s move to Hendrick Motorsports. The bar is set: Kahne’s goal is to win races, make the Chase for the Sprint Cup and race for a championship right out of the box. Period.
Kahne certainly has the ability behind the wheel, and now that he’s at Hendrick, for the first time in his career, he’ll have equipment that’s as good or better than anyone else in NASCAR.
He also has something of an ace in the hole: Kenny Francis, Kahne’s crew chief for the last six seasons, has moved over to Hendrick with him.
Francis, 42, a University of Florida engineering graduate, already has his eyes on the prize. “We expect to win our share of races and be in the Chase and contend for the championship,” he said. “I don’t think you can ever expect anything, but we certainly feel like we have the equipment and capability to do that.”
The good news for Francis is that his teammates at Hendrick Motorsports have welcomed him with open arms.
“The thing I’m most excited about for the future is his intelligence and his intensity and his work ethic — the information and the perspective that he’s going to bring us for a long time to come,” said Alan Gustafson, crew chief for Jeff Gordon and the No. 24 Hendrick Chevrolet, which shares a garage with Kahne, Francis and the No. 5.
“Kenny brings a whole new set of ideas, a new pair of eyes, a fresh perspective,” said five-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. “Things like that. And we’ve seen it already just in how he sets up a race car. The little things like, ‘Nah, I want this in my car. I want this here and that there.’ Chad (Knaus) has his ideas, Stevie (Letarte) has his. They all do, oddly enough, with all the equipment the same, the regulations so tight. There still is a style from a crew chief. And we’re learning Kenny’s style and thought process.”
For Francis, the move to Hendrick brings some much-needed stability after four years of ownership chaos, none of which was his fault. Francis started as a crew chief at what was then Evernham Motorsports with Jeremy Mayfield in 2003. But after founder Ray Evernham sold the team to George Gillett, it gradually imploded, eventually going into foreclosure. In mid-2010, Kahne signed with Hendrick for 2012 while team owner Rick Hendrick tried to find a one-year deal for Kahne for 2011.
Prior to the fall Martinsville race in 2010, Kahne left Gillett’s team, which had been renamed Richard Petty Motorsports, to move to Red Bull Racing. But in June 2011, Red Bull announced it would close its doors at the end of the season. Despite that, Kahne and Francis won at Phoenix in November 2011 and, although he didn’t make the Chase himself, Kahne earned more points over the final 10 races than any drivers other than Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards.
Francis said the constant uncertainties around Gillett and Red Bull took their collective toll.
“It was pretty tough. Personally, I felt confident that I would have a job and Kasey felt confident that he would have a job, so for us two it wasn’t as big an issue as it was for a lot of people who worked for us,” Francis said. “When the people who work for you get distracted and aren’t sure of their future, that’s when things starting getting a little tough — trying to keep their spirits up and make sure they're 100 percent on their job. That big distraction was more of a distraction for the workforce as opposed for us. ... It definitely took away our focus from making the cars better and driving better because of always having to worry about the other aspect of it.”
Clearly, that won’t be a problem at Hendrick Motorsports, NASCAR’s most successful team over the past 15 seasons.
Team owner Hendrick likes what he sees with Kahne and Francis.
“I always look at the (Hendrick) drivers that tell me who they like and who they get along with and I watch ‘em in the garage area,” said Hendrick. “And they all respect Kasey, they all like Kasey. They know that Kasey could beat them, and they understand that. But if he does, they’ll be beat by a guy that they respect and not I guy that they don’t like.”
As for Francis, Hendrick is bullish.
“Kenny is very smart,” he said. “You see how good these other teams are, they’ve got smart guys, too. I think the thing about Kenny is he’s an engineer, he’s worked with Kasey. They have this relationship, but he’s won in a Dodge and he’s won in a Ford and he’s been around Roush, he’s been around Evernham. And he’s seen a lot.”
And now, it’s a matter of going out and getting it done.
“We’ve got to win races, we’ve got to make the Chase,” said Francis. “The biggest thing, I think, is we’ve got to consistently week in and week out contend for top fives. At the end of last year we got on a roll and learned a few things and are hoping we can continue that.”
As for the championship expectations? Well, they’re there for both Francis, Kahne and each of the four Hendrick teammates.
“There’s always pressure here,” said Johnson, a man who knows a thing or two about high expectations. “When you sign on the dotted line to be a Hendrick driver, you’re assuming a ton of pressure. The great thing is, Rick gives us all the tools we need to go out and do our jobs. We just have to go out and do them.”
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.
Kahne certainly has the ability behind the wheel, and now that he’s at Hendrick, for the first time in his career, he’ll have equipment that’s as good or better than anyone else in NASCAR.
He also has something of an ace in the hole: Kenny Francis, Kahne’s crew chief for the last six seasons, has moved over to Hendrick with him.
Francis, 42, a University of Florida engineering graduate, already has his eyes on the prize. “We expect to win our share of races and be in the Chase and contend for the championship,” he said. “I don’t think you can ever expect anything, but we certainly feel like we have the equipment and capability to do that.”
The good news for Francis is that his teammates at Hendrick Motorsports have welcomed him with open arms.
“The thing I’m most excited about for the future is his intelligence and his intensity and his work ethic — the information and the perspective that he’s going to bring us for a long time to come,” said Alan Gustafson, crew chief for Jeff Gordon and the No. 24 Hendrick Chevrolet, which shares a garage with Kahne, Francis and the No. 5.
“Kenny brings a whole new set of ideas, a new pair of eyes, a fresh perspective,” said five-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. “Things like that. And we’ve seen it already just in how he sets up a race car. The little things like, ‘Nah, I want this in my car. I want this here and that there.’ Chad (Knaus) has his ideas, Stevie (Letarte) has his. They all do, oddly enough, with all the equipment the same, the regulations so tight. There still is a style from a crew chief. And we’re learning Kenny’s style and thought process.”
For Francis, the move to Hendrick brings some much-needed stability after four years of ownership chaos, none of which was his fault. Francis started as a crew chief at what was then Evernham Motorsports with Jeremy Mayfield in 2003. But after founder Ray Evernham sold the team to George Gillett, it gradually imploded, eventually going into foreclosure. In mid-2010, Kahne signed with Hendrick for 2012 while team owner Rick Hendrick tried to find a one-year deal for Kahne for 2011.
Prior to the fall Martinsville race in 2010, Kahne left Gillett’s team, which had been renamed Richard Petty Motorsports, to move to Red Bull Racing. But in June 2011, Red Bull announced it would close its doors at the end of the season. Despite that, Kahne and Francis won at Phoenix in November 2011 and, although he didn’t make the Chase himself, Kahne earned more points over the final 10 races than any drivers other than Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards.
Francis said the constant uncertainties around Gillett and Red Bull took their collective toll.
“It was pretty tough. Personally, I felt confident that I would have a job and Kasey felt confident that he would have a job, so for us two it wasn’t as big an issue as it was for a lot of people who worked for us,” Francis said. “When the people who work for you get distracted and aren’t sure of their future, that’s when things starting getting a little tough — trying to keep their spirits up and make sure they're 100 percent on their job. That big distraction was more of a distraction for the workforce as opposed for us. ... It definitely took away our focus from making the cars better and driving better because of always having to worry about the other aspect of it.”
Clearly, that won’t be a problem at Hendrick Motorsports, NASCAR’s most successful team over the past 15 seasons.
Team owner Hendrick likes what he sees with Kahne and Francis.
“I always look at the (Hendrick) drivers that tell me who they like and who they get along with and I watch ‘em in the garage area,” said Hendrick. “And they all respect Kasey, they all like Kasey. They know that Kasey could beat them, and they understand that. But if he does, they’ll be beat by a guy that they respect and not I guy that they don’t like.”
As for Francis, Hendrick is bullish.
“Kenny is very smart,” he said. “You see how good these other teams are, they’ve got smart guys, too. I think the thing about Kenny is he’s an engineer, he’s worked with Kasey. They have this relationship, but he’s won in a Dodge and he’s won in a Ford and he’s been around Roush, he’s been around Evernham. And he’s seen a lot.”
And now, it’s a matter of going out and getting it done.
“We’ve got to win races, we’ve got to make the Chase,” said Francis. “The biggest thing, I think, is we’ve got to consistently week in and week out contend for top fives. At the end of last year we got on a roll and learned a few things and are hoping we can continue that.”
As for the championship expectations? Well, they’re there for both Francis, Kahne and each of the four Hendrick teammates.
“There’s always pressure here,” said Johnson, a man who knows a thing or two about high expectations. “When you sign on the dotted line to be a Hendrick driver, you’re assuming a ton of pressure. The great thing is, Rick gives us all the tools we need to go out and do our jobs. We just have to go out and do them.”
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.
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