NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: No Let Up For Kahne, Francis
Kasey Kahne’s average Chase finish is 8.00...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted November 16, 2011   Charlotte, NC
Kasey Kahne (Left) celebrates in victory lane with crew chief Kenny Francis (Right) after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. (Photo: Getty Images)
One of the most remarkable stories of the Chase for the Sprint Cup is also one of the most underreported stories: Kasey Kahne, in his last days with a team likely on the verge of folding, has been on fire of late.

On Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway, Kahne won the Kobalt Tools 500 and gave Red Bull Racing only its second NASCAR Sprint Cup race victory in 320 career starts, dating back to 2007. Of the team’s 20 top-five finishes since its inception, Kahne has scored eight of them this year, and his 8.00 finishing average in the nine Chase races trails only Carl Edwards (5.22) and Tony Stewart (6.89).

Since the start of the Chase, Kahne has finished sixth at Talladega, fourth at Dover and Kansas, third at Texas, second at Charlotte and Sunday in Phoenix, Kahne broke an 81-race winless streak to score the victory.

Unfortunately for Kahne, he ended NASCAR’s 26-race regular season 21st in points and failed to make the Chase at all, something that makes his recent hot streak all that much more impressive.

So does the fact that Kahne’s Red Bull deal is essentially 2011 only, before he moves to Hendrick Motorsports, where he certainly will be one of the pre-season championship favorites for next year.

Most daunting is the fact that in June, Red Bull announced that it would shut the team down at the end of the season. To date, there have been many discussions but no firm deal for the team to continue into next year. Despite this uncertain future, Kahne, crew chief Kenny Francis and the entire team have gone above and beyond the call of duty.

“These last couple months, I don't know if it's 10 races or 12 or 15, we've been really competitive and really fast,” said Kahne. “There at the beginning of then when we got competitive, we had a little bit of bad luck, things happened, didn't get the results we were looking for. But since it's been great.

“So I've been each weekend going into the race feeling confident and feeling like we had a shot,” said Kahne. “Then to win a race, it boosts you even more, boosts the guys. Those pit crew guys, they've really stepped up the last couple races, which is exciting from my standpoint. I come into the pits, know we're going to have a good stop, know we're going to be in the mix still. That's pretty good.”

Crew chief Francis agreed.
Kasey Kahne celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 At Phoenix International Raceway. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

“The biggest thing for me is how proud I am of the guys that put these cars together,” he said. “We built all these things in-house, pretty much the whole thing. So to see this team, it's kind of go their own way, do their own thing type of team. We feel like we've been growing all year and getting better and better and better. To finally cap it off with a win, I'm excited for the guys that built these cars and put all the effort into making this happen.”

So even if Kahne and Francis have little time left at Red Bull — and even if Red Bull has little time — they can leave with their heads held high.

“It feels great to get a win for Red Bull and get a win in the 4 car,” said Kahne. “It's something new for both of us to come over and have a one-year deal. It takes time to get familiar with things and the people and working together. To win a race at this level, as competitive as everything is right now, for myself, to see how happy all the pit crew guys were, the guys preparing the race cars at Red Bull, it was pretty cool. Makes you feel pretty good to be part of that.”

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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