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Sprint Cup
CUP: Red Bull Best For Kahne - Hendrick
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team owner Rick Hendrick would have preferred Kasey Kahne in a Chevy...
Rick Hendrick has won nine NASCAR Sprint Cup titles as a team owner. (Photo: Getty Images)
Trying to find Kasey Kahne a place to drive for 2011 took much longer than team owner Rick Hendrick wanted, but the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team owner said he was glad he waited to get the deal done with Red Bull Racing.
Hendrick, whose Hendrick Motorsports organization fields four teams, had to find a spot for Kahne for next season after he signed Kahne in April to replace Mark Martin in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports car beginning in 2012.
Kahne signed Monday with Red Bull for 2011, a deal that seemed a little strange because Red Bull is a Toyota while Hendrick fields Chevrolets. Also, Red Bull conflicts with Hendrick sponsor Amp.
“I would have rather put him in a Chevrolet for sure, but as it turned out, it was kind of a great deal for everybody because they wanted to make their deal better to build it for somebody else,” Hendrick said prior to the Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway. “We needed somebody that had a sponsor that was willing to do that.
“I didn’t realize it was going to be as hard. … Chevrolet understands, Amp understands, He is like every other driver in this garage [next year]. He’s not ours until ’12.”
Hendrick said when he first started talking to teams about Kahne, he did not talk to Red Bull.
TRB officials have not announced which driver Kahne will replace next year or whether it would add a third team. Current driver Brian Vickers is undergoing treatment for blood clots while second-year driver Scott Speed is 27th in the standings. Red Bull General Manager Jay Frye said earlier this week the team is evaluating options for next year.
“I didn’t know they were going to have an opening and I don’t even remember when we first talked,” Hendrick said. “Jay brought it up and I hadn’t thought of that.
“I had some other good teams that were non-Chevrolet that called me, too. In hindsight, I’m glad I waited because it was going to complicate everybody else’s deal. A lot of guys in here want to start a new team, but they want some assurance – they want me to help them find a sponsor but the sponsor has got to stay. Well, I can’t tell a sponsor they’ve got to stay somewhere else. It was just complicated.”
Hendrick said he is not paying Kahne a salary in 2011 – “His deal is with Red Bull,” he said.
“It’s real nice to get that over with so everybody can get on with what they’ve got to do,” Hendrick said.
It might be nicest for Martin, who grew frustrated with speculation that he might exit the No. 5 car after 2010 to allow Kahne to begin driving that car a year sooner than planned.
“I feel real bad that it drug out,” Hendrick said. “I told Mark from the very beginning that it was his ride. And I feel bad that he had to answer all those questions, and I think it was a distraction. I look to see Mark do a lot better here.”
So will Hendrick root for Kahne to make the Chase next year knowing he’ll get him in 2012?
“Not at the expense of one of my drivers,” Hendrick said. “I’ll root for him in ’12.”
Now that the Kahne deal is done, Hendrick’s main focus off the track will be finding a sponsor for Jeff Gordon, whose sponsor DuPont is scaling back after this season.
“We’ve got part of it done, we’ve got some others hanging,” Hendrick said. “I just move from one fire to the next.”
When asked if he was shopping at potential Gordon sponsor Wal-Mart, Hendrick said, “I shop everywhere.”
SceneDaily.com • Max Papis says he plans to retain GEICO sponsorship but series could change
Hendrick, whose Hendrick Motorsports organization fields four teams, had to find a spot for Kahne for next season after he signed Kahne in April to replace Mark Martin in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports car beginning in 2012.
Kahne signed Monday with Red Bull for 2011, a deal that seemed a little strange because Red Bull is a Toyota while Hendrick fields Chevrolets. Also, Red Bull conflicts with Hendrick sponsor Amp.
“I would have rather put him in a Chevrolet for sure, but as it turned out, it was kind of a great deal for everybody because they wanted to make their deal better to build it for somebody else,” Hendrick said prior to the Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway. “We needed somebody that had a sponsor that was willing to do that.
“I didn’t realize it was going to be as hard. … Chevrolet understands, Amp understands, He is like every other driver in this garage [next year]. He’s not ours until ’12.”
Hendrick said when he first started talking to teams about Kahne, he did not talk to Red Bull.
TRB officials have not announced which driver Kahne will replace next year or whether it would add a third team. Current driver Brian Vickers is undergoing treatment for blood clots while second-year driver Scott Speed is 27th in the standings. Red Bull General Manager Jay Frye said earlier this week the team is evaluating options for next year.
“I didn’t know they were going to have an opening and I don’t even remember when we first talked,” Hendrick said. “Jay brought it up and I hadn’t thought of that.
“I had some other good teams that were non-Chevrolet that called me, too. In hindsight, I’m glad I waited because it was going to complicate everybody else’s deal. A lot of guys in here want to start a new team, but they want some assurance – they want me to help them find a sponsor but the sponsor has got to stay. Well, I can’t tell a sponsor they’ve got to stay somewhere else. It was just complicated.”
Hendrick said he is not paying Kahne a salary in 2011 – “His deal is with Red Bull,” he said.
“It’s real nice to get that over with so everybody can get on with what they’ve got to do,” Hendrick said.
It might be nicest for Martin, who grew frustrated with speculation that he might exit the No. 5 car after 2010 to allow Kahne to begin driving that car a year sooner than planned.
“I feel real bad that it drug out,” Hendrick said. “I told Mark from the very beginning that it was his ride. And I feel bad that he had to answer all those questions, and I think it was a distraction. I look to see Mark do a lot better here.”
So will Hendrick root for Kahne to make the Chase next year knowing he’ll get him in 2012?
“Not at the expense of one of my drivers,” Hendrick said. “I’ll root for him in ’12.”
Now that the Kahne deal is done, Hendrick’s main focus off the track will be finding a sponsor for Jeff Gordon, whose sponsor DuPont is scaling back after this season.
“We’ve got part of it done, we’ve got some others hanging,” Hendrick said. “I just move from one fire to the next.”
When asked if he was shopping at potential Gordon sponsor Wal-Mart, Hendrick said, “I shop everywhere.”
SceneDaily.com • Max Papis says he plans to retain GEICO sponsorship but series could change
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