News for April 15th 2010

Kasey Kahne will leave Petty

There are only two things known about Kasey Kahne’s status at this point: He will leave Richard Petty Motorsports at the end of this season, and he’ll join Hendrick Motorsports to drive the team’s No. 5 entry in 2012.

Anything else at this stage of the game is pure speculation.

So let’s play that game.

Kasey Kahne will be a teammate with Jimmie Johnson, but only starting in 2012. (Getty Images)

With no room at the Hendrick inn until 2012 — Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin are all under contract until at least then — Kahne won’t be able to officially become a member of the stable next year. Martin’s deal expires after 2011, and Hendrick made it official this week, saying the 5 car will be Kahne’s new home at that time.

But where does Kahne spend the 2011 season? You can be sure he’ll be a full-time Sprint Cup regular, but what car he drives is the $64,000 question.

Smart money has Kahne over at Hendrick-affiliated Stewart-Haas Racing, a team that has enjoyed a relationship with Hendrick since it began operation last year and receives everything from technical assistance to engine and chassis resources. Kahne in a third entry alongside owner/driver Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman makes sense for 2011 as a bridge until he can move permanently into the Hendrick fold.

But not so fast, according to SHR.

“Stewart-Haas Racing is focused on its existing two cars and getting both Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman into the Chase,” team spokesman Mike Arning said in a statement. “While a third team cannot be ruled out for 2011, it’s also not a priority.”

Stewart said earlier this year that he’s in no rush to add an entry to his team until he feels the time is right.

“We’ll expand when we think the time is right, and right now we feel like we have plenty to do to keep the cars we have competitive and to contend for wins and a championship,” Stewart told reporters at the annual preseason media tour.

But the current scenario put into play by Kahne and Hendrick may make the time right, especially if sponsorship comes along.

Budweiser currently backs Kahne at RPM and, after spending millions of dollars to make the transition from the company’s long-time relationship with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Anheuser Busch will likely elect to continue its alliance when Kahne moves under the Hendrick umbrella. Bud has a long history of association with Rick Hendrick and has sponsored cars in his stable over the years including those driven by Tim Richmond, Ken Schrader and Ricky Craven. There’s no doubt if the opportunity presented itself, the beer giant would welcome the chance to get reconnected to the powerhouse NASCAR team.

So as a transition, the plan of Kahne and Budweiser in the SHR operation for 2011 before sliding over to Hendrick’s shop in 2012 does make the most sense.

But there are a lot of details to work out on a variety of fronts, and you can be sure Kahne’s move will have a major impact throughout the entire sport.

Garage Chatter

• The Kahne development was part of a frenzy of activity around NASCAR this week that resulted in a number of driver and crew chief changes. JR Motorsports replaced Kelly Bires with Sprint Cup regular Jamie McMurray in the No. 88 Nationwide Series entry beginning with Saturday’s O’Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. Mike Bliss moves from Tommy Baldwin Racing to Phoenix Racing and will pilot the No. 09 Cup entry. Johnny Sauter takes over for Bliss at TBR. And Camping World Truck Series veteran Chad McCumbee is the new driver for R.A.B. team’s Nationwide Series ride.

• Add Clint Bowyer’s name to the replacement driver list as he’ll once again pilot the Richard Childress Racing Nationwide Series entry in favor of Jon Wes Townley Saturday in Texas. Bowyer stepped in for the struggling young driver last week in Phoenix and drove the car to an 11th place finish. Townley is still employed by the team but his future remains undecided.

• Apparently longer is better. Saturday night’s Subway Fresh Fit 600 at Phoenix included 63 more laps than previous years and lasted nearly 3 hours and 45 minutes. But the race earned a 3.4 rating for Fox, a 3 percent increase from last year’s 3.3. The network reports telecasts are down 4 percent overall for the year through seven races.

• The Indy Racing League’s inaugural Grand Prix of Alabama last weekend at Barber Motorsports Park outside Birmingham was a smashing success. More than 55,000 fans jammed the picturesque road course to see Helio Castroneves take the checkered flag with a weekend crowd of more than 84,000 reported. Needless to say, the series will return in 2011.

Edited: April 15th, 2010