Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Kasey Kahne Makes his Move

With a surprising, and early, move to begin the 2010 Silly Season, Kasey Kahne has signed with Hendrick Motorsports to drive the #5 car in 2012. That’s right, 2012. Two years away.

That leaves Kahne, and Budweiser, without a ride for 2011 at the moment, not that Kahne should have a tough time finding a ride for next season. A few different scenarios could play out here.

Kahne could move to Stewart-Haas Racing for next season since that is a satellite program of Hendrick Motorsports anyway. Or, the ever-possible move of JR Motorsports to the Cup level could happen next year.

Think about this, Danica Patrick signed a two-year deal to drive the #7 car in the Nationwide series, leaving her with the option to move up to the Cup series in 2012. One of the questions that has cropped up with Kahne making this move is what Budweiser will do. In all likelihood, it will not stay at Richard Petty Motorsports. This is just another blow to an organization that has, for the most part, struggled since Kahne won six races for what was then Evernham Motorsports in 2006.

The way thing are shaping up, no matter what Kahne does next season, JR Motorsports would become a Sprint Cup team with Patrick in 2012, taking the GoDaddy.com sponsorship from Hendrick’s #5 car. That would leave Budweiser with the opportunity to hop on the #5 car with Kahne in 2012.

So, if Kahne goes to Stewart-Haas in 2011, Budweiser would likely follow and then move to Hendrick in 2012. If JR Motorsports becomes a Cup team in 2011, Kahne could go there and essentially trade sponsorships with the #5 car when Patrick moves up the following season.

All of this is speculation at this point, but Kahne will be fine. He just signed a contract with the best team in NASCAR. Maybe this shows just how much better Hendrick Motorsports is than everybody else in the garage if a driver is willing to wait basically two years before having the chance to actually drive one of its cars.

As for Kahne moving, the surprise isn’t that he will be leaving RPM at the end of the season. That was expected, especially with the terrible start to the season that has him sitting 26th in the points standings. The surprise is the fact that he signed with the best team in racing, even when they didn’t have a spot open for him. Kahne is a top-tier driver and, although through very long-range planning, has cemented himself as a title contender for the next decade.

However, not that he was on the path to a title this season anyway, this does kind of put the nail in the coffin for his 2010 title hopes, and probably 2011 as well. But, once he gets in the #5 car, Kahne could be a real title threat for many years.

So, welcome to Silly Season. Remember when driver movement wasn’t discussed until, at the earliest, August or September? It’s April, and we just had a deal go down for something that can’t even happen for two years.

Many people expected this to be a big free agent offseason with two big names in Kahne and Kevin Harvick in the final year of their respective contracts, but a move this early is a shock to the system.

Strap down your driver/team charts, folks, because this Silly Season could, and already has been, huge and could play a big part in aligning the power structure in NASCAR for the next several years.

10 comments:

  1. you reckon Bud and Amp might swap drivers if they are both with HMS teams?

    ReplyDelete
  2. tezgm99 - Now that would be something wouldn't it? If they want to get real creative they might even try and bring back the #8 since it's not currently in use.
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Excellent post Mayer. You analyzed this decision from every angle. Kahne made the best move he possibly could, and it will really pay off. Now I take it that Mark Martin is going to retire after next season???

    ReplyDelete
  4. jmayer, excellent analysis. As much as I am wont to disagree with DW, on his Fox Sports column, I have to agree with DW when he says that Kahne will be a championship contender. It's like a stud baseball player playing for a sucky team being traded to the Yankees in mid-season. Kahne's signing with Hendrick pretty much keeps Harvick at RCR.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I heard that MM said he couldnt do another full season after 2011...not sure what "couldnt" means but thats what I read.

    So if I were speculating with the finest here is what I see --

    JG, JJ & Kasey at HMS in 2012 (Harvick possible?)

    Jr with Bud and Danica with GD at JRM CUP in 2012

    Kasey rides around with Bud at SHR in 2011 biding his time and essentially testing the 3 car deal for SHR

    Course I am only dreaming on this one...

    Kurt and Miller are also both technically up this season too but would be shocked if they left since Addington signed on for 2 years with agreement Kurt would also extend.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Gonger - This certainly opened the floodgates as far as other possible moves goes. Martin could move to Stewart-Haas next year and get out of the #5 a year early. Or, what do you think of him moving to Jr. Motorsports with Danica as a two-car team to help get that program up and running? Interesting stuff to be sure.
    Thanks!

    jon_464 - Sounds like a Johnny Damon or Carlos Beltran story. As for Harvick, right now hey are having a great season and things are getting full on the other Chevy teams. However, I still have a feeling Harvick wants to do his own thing.
    Thanks!

    klvalus - Interesting, Silly Season has certainly kicked into high gear. There is a race this weekend isn't there? lol. Bet the prerace shows are filled with nothing but this story.

    Even though they had a tough week, the #2 crew has a good thing going on right now. That would be a huge shocker if things got shook up there.
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  7. JMO- but it seems to me that if Budweiser wanted to be associated with HMS, they would have stuck with Jr when he made his move.

    I'm not so sure that Kasey at SHR would be a good thing. I can't see Tony signing a driver who he knows will only be there for one year then head for the competition. Then again, it would certainly give Tony some interesting bargaining chips with Rick.

    ReplyDelete
  8. SpeedBeagle - Good point. Also, I think Amp's contract is as long as Jr.'s so something would have to change there.

    Mark Martin said this morning that he is happy they found someone to take his place, but he also said he plans to continue racing even after his contract with Hendrick is up. In that scenario, he could move over to the SHR car when Kasey moves over. That way he would still have Hendrick equipment.
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I feel like Mark would be more likely to go to Jr. Motorsports because of the GoDaddy sponsorship. Junior also could move over there next year if he decides to part with Hendrick...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Gonger - The GoDaddy sponsorship will certainly be key in that move. I'm not sure both Jr. and Martin would leave Hendrick the same year. Then, all of a sudden JR Motorsports would have to be a three-car team in 2012 if Danica is going to come up, and they would still need to find another sponsor for Martin. But, having Amp or Bud and GoDaddy as your sponsors would be a pretty sweet deal. And, maybe Danica and Martin share the ride in 2012. The possibilities are endless! lol.
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete