NOTEBOOK:Kahne wants his crew chief joining him at Hendrick

Kahne wants his crew chief joining him at Hendrick


By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(February 2011)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—Kasey Kahne knows where he'll be in 2012—and he'd like to take crew chief Kenny Francis with him.
Kahne has a one-year deal with Red Bull Racing, as he waits for Mark Martin to complete his contract in the No. 5 Chevrolet at Hendrick Motorsports.
Francis, who moved with Kahne from Richard Petty Motorsports, also has a one-year deal with Red Bull, but beyond that his plans are uncertain.
There's no doubt, however, as to what Kahne would prefer.
"I think Kenny's been enjoying Red Bull so far, and that might be something that he wants to keep doing," Kahne told Sporting News on Thursday at Daytona International Speedway. "I'd imagine they really enjoy having him. He's a great guy to have around no matter what. He's just a good guy to work with.
"I can tell you Hendrick would enjoy having him, too—and I really want him. Every since we got with Kenny, he's the only guy I want to be with. We have a good relationship and good communication there, as far as trying to figure out these racecars. They're tough to figure out, and I feel like we do a pretty good job of it at times."
As for Kahne's strategy for the Feb. 20 Daytona 500?
Simple—just follow Kevin Harvick.
"There's a few guys who are really good at putting themselves in position each year," Kahne said. "Kevin Harvick's definitely one of them. I don't know how he does it, but every year, at the right time, Kevin Harvick's there. …
"So maybe I'll just try to stay with Kevin all day—he does it right."
Harvick, the 2007 Daytona 500 winner, will attempt to win his third straight Budweiser Shootout on Saturday night.
Robby Gordon juiced about Penske relationship
Robby Gordon is his own driver, car owner and sponsor.
Now he has a deal with Dodge that will put the versatile, flamboyant Gordon in competitive equipment for the NASCAR races he'll run this year.
Gordon says he plans to run 18 NASCAR events in a Dodge Charger sponsored by Speed Energy Drink, his own brand. Following an outside-the-box business model, Gordon has bartered positions on the hood of his car in exchange for positioning of his product in stores.
"We're gaining more distribution on a daily basis, and we're kind of controlling our own destiny," Gordon said. "Our program is different with sponsors than it was before. We're really not selling sponsors, we're selling, 'Hey, the spots next to Red Bull and Monster. Those are the spots that I want on your shelf—and I'll give you Daytona.'
"So we've been able to do deals with GNC. We've done deals with Bashas' (Supermarkets). We've signed up multiple, multiple Budweiser distribution deals. Our product is just starting to roll again (after a lawsuit that was settled with a logo change). I am the driver. I am the owner, kind of the sponsor, except for our sponsorship with Dodge. We can be as creative as we want to do."
Gordon will use Penske Racing engines, which powered his cars briefly in 2008, after a deal with Gillett-Evernham Motorsports fell apart.
"The best that we ran with the COT (NASCAR's new racecar) is when I had my split with Gillett-Evernham," Gordon said. "I bolted a Penske engine, and we ran in the top 15 pretty much every week."
Unable to find sponsorship for Sam Hornish Jr., team owner Roger Penske dialed his Cup effort back from three cars to two this year. That downsizing may have been to Gordon's benefit.
"If Penske would not have reduced down to two cars, there wouldn't have been an opportunity for me just because they (Dodge) had their program," Gordon said. "When that happened, it opened up a great opportunity for us."
Gordon has three wins in the Cup series, the last coming at Watkins Glen in 2003, when he drove for Richard Childress Racing.
Johnson's pit crew to be determined
Who's fastest? Who's most reliable under pressure?
Those are questions Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 crew has been trying to answer during the offseason.
Blown pit stops almost derailed Johnson's quest for a fifth straight NASCAR Sprint Cup championship last year. Crew chief Chad Knaus got so exasperated with mistakes on pit road that he borrowed Jeff Gordon's over-the-wall crew in the middle of the Chase race at Texas (after Gordon fell out) and kept them for the final two races.
Johnson and Knaus hope to eliminate the mistakes in 2011.
Our over-the-wall crew is going to be much different," Johnson said. "We're still trying to sort everything out on that side. We're in a very fortunate situation where we're making big changes—a very young crop of guys coming along and a situation where guys are earning their way onto the team and competing for (positions).
"We've had a series of competitions and tests to see who is the fastest. That's one aspect. Who can withstand the pressure? We had all four cars at Charlotte Motor Speedway (last week) doing live pit stops to see."
Johnson attended the pit practice session at Charlotte , but as of Thursday morning, he didn't know which crewmen would be in the No. 48 team's starting lineup.
"What I saw (was) a very, very strong first and second string of guys. That's our plan, to make sure we have depth, and if someone is hurt or having a bad day, we can make changes and not lose anything on pit road."
Bayne can't compete for Cup rookie title


Though he plans to run 17 Sprint Cup races for the Wood Brothers this year, Trevor Bayne won't be eligible to compete for the Cup rookie of the year title, NASCAR officials told Sporting News.
Bayne, however, may be able to defer his eligibility for Cup rookie of the year to the first year he elects to compete for the championship in that series. NASCAR is considering a change to its rookie eligibility requirements that would dovetail with its new rule that requires drivers to choose one series, and one only, in which they compete for championship points.
Such a change would allow drivers to compete in more than seven Cup races in a given season and still maintain the eligibility for rookie of the year in the season they first opt to race for points in that series. Previously, any driver who competed in more than seven races in one season subsequently lost eligibility for the rookie title.
As late as Thursday morning, Bayne, 19, still had hopes of running for the Nationwide Series title and the Cup rookie of the year title, but NASCAR decided otherwise. Because Bayne has elected to run for the points championship in the Nationwide Series for Roush Fenway Racing, he won't be eligible for any of the annual Cup awards.
Bayne accepted the decision philosophically.
"It's better than nothing," he said. "At least they're trying to accommodate."
He'll also be able to concentrate on the single goal of running for the Nationwide championship.
“It's hard to focus, because you're running for a championship there, but then you've got a 17-race Cup deal that you're focused on, too," Bayne told Sporting News. "To me, I've always thought the Cup deal would be the bigger deal and the most pressure.
"Now it's like winning the Nationwide championship is more pressure to me, because there's points involved."