Red Bull Racing made it official today: Kasey Kahne will join the team in a one-year stint before driving for Hendrick Motorsports in 2012 and beyond.
Here are some key questions (and a few answers) about the Kahne-Red Bull deal:
Was this the best move Kasey Kahne and Hendrick Motorsports could make?
Yes, given the circumstances. After the story broke in May that Kahne would drive the No. 5 car at Hendrick Motorsports, it soon became obvious that the Kahne-Hendrick agreement for 2012 was missing a giant piece in 2011. Rick Hendrick didn't have a firm plan on where Kahne would go.
At first, it seemed that Kahne would land at Hendrick affiliate Stewart-Haas Racing for a year. Then some people speculated that Mark Martin would step out of the No. 5 a year early to bail out Hendrick.
Neither of those happened. And with very limited options when it came to sponsorship and decent open rides, Red Bull was the best available choice – and maybe the only one. (Kahne said Red Bull was the only team he ever discussed driving for in 2011).
Who is Kahne replacing at Red Bull: Brian Vickers or Scott Speed?
It's unclear. Team manager Jay Frye made it sound somewhat unlikely that Red Bull would expand to a third car next year. Brian Vickers is expected to return from the blood clots that ruined this season, and the second year of the Scott Speed experiment hasn't been as successful as the team hoped.
Frye said Vickers is halfway through his recovery, but there are no guarantees on his availability for 2011. Meanwhile, Frye also said Speed's team must improve or show progress over the next month.
Our guess is that if Red Bull doesn't expand, Speed's ride is in jeopardy given it would be terrible publicity to bump Vickers out of his ride while he was recovering from an illness. Even though the entire team has struggled this year and Speed was rumored to have already re-signed with Red Bull in the spring, he could be the fall guy.
How does Speed feel about this?
Speed seems to be taking the news in stride. Of the Kahne announcement, Speed said via text message: "Its good for Red Bull was kinda a no brainer really."
Asked if he was worried that Kahne might be in Speed's car next year, the ex-Formula One driver said he wasn't sure.
"Dunno about my stuff," he texted. "I do think it's hilarious how Casey (Mears), Reed (Sorenson) and myself have all ran well in past and now can't run top 25 and WE need to get better, lol."
Who is paying Kahne: Red Bull or Hendrick?
Frye was asked this question directly and said a couple different times, "We have a contract with Kasey Kahne." He also said "No" when asked if Hendrick was providing a stipend to help Red Bull with Kahne's salary. Still, by not saying specifically that Red Bull is paying all of Kahne's salary, Frye left the door open for some people to wonder.
How do Kahne's future sponsors feel about this? Chevrolet can't be happy Kahne is driving a Toyota next year, right?
Probably not. But Chevy understands Kahne will be in their stable for years to come. Toyota will undoubtedly put Kahne in commercials and make sure race fans know what kind of car he's driving next year.
As for other sponsors, it seems stickier. Amp Energy and Pepsi will work closely with Kahne beginning in 2012, since he'll be a teammate of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Though we doubt the Amp/Pepsi people would say so publicly, they can't be happy Kahne will drive for a rival energy drink company next season.
What about Kahne's crew chief Kenny Francis? Will he go with Kahne to Red Bull?
Our prediction is yes, though that's just a guess based on how highly Kahne spoke of Francis during a teleconference on Tuesday. With Richard Petty Motorsports in continual turmoil, it's doubtful Francis would remain there and pass up an opportunity to go with Kahne if it was an option.
Frye said those details will be worked out in the next month or six weeks, and Kahne indicated the decision would be up to Francis.
What's in this for Red Bull? Why would they be happy with a one-year rental driver when they're trying to build a program?
Frye compared the acquisition of Kahne to the Minnesota Vikings getting Brett Favre for a year: Because Kahne is a winner and can help Red Bull be successful, even for one season.
He also said Kahne can help the team point the program in the right direction.
Still, we have to wonder if Red Bull is getting some sort of assurances of future help from Hendrick Motorsports if it was to ever switch from Toyota to Chevrolet (such as Hendrick engines). That's purely speculation, though.
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Kasey Kahne Joins Red Bull Racing For 2011
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Comments
The winners?
This is a major win for Red Bull- just the other day I was thinking to myself that Team RB has not had the sort of success that it’s had in other sections of motor sports and sports in general. TRB gets a “pretty boy” (to quote Kurt Busch) who can sell anything, and they also get an established driver that can only help the team develop.
My assumption is that Scott Speed will be out. With how they’ve been running this year I can’t see them funding a third team. They’d have a major lawsuit on their hands if they were to release Brian Vickers. Unfortunately for SS this is the way it goes in racing. He’ll land on his feet somewhere else. He’s talented and just needs good support behind him.
by mandysuemccaul on Aug 10, 2010 1:33 PM EDT reply actions
I so called this!
My family thought I was nuts when this whole “Where does Kasey fit in at Hendricks in 2011?” hooplah started and I told them that some kind of deal would be worked out with Red Bull — I actually said that Kahne would be replacing Speed for the year and that there would be a high possibilty they’d switch to Chevys with HMS support. Kind of a “you give my driver a ride for a year, we’ll help you out in the engine department” deal.
Either way, I’m glad Red Bull gets this opportunity. This kind of thing will open so many more doors for them.
by Melinda80 on Aug 10, 2010 1:49 PM EDT reply actions
Kasey Kahne is Overrated
And he’s never sold anything to me, I’ve considered many of his ad attempts to be a disaster.
On Kahne’s end, I’m 100% sure he will make the most of his time being a Red Bull athlete with all the stuff they get invited to do. It will help him deal with another disappointing season.
Red Bull’s new Cup management is under pressure to get that program up to par in line with the F1. For equipment, they have an enormous amount of improving to do. Kahne is a race winner, so with Vickers unknown, they jumped at getting another experienced driver to try & help things. I definitely think there is more to this deal than what is required to publicize right now (like future HMS Chevy support)
I don’t see a 3rd car. I feel bad that probably more people than just Scott (if Vickers is healthy) will be shown the door since Kahne would like Francis to come, this is a tough business.
by DRLDeBoer on Aug 10, 2010 1:56 PM EDT reply actions
Kahne is overrated, and so is Junior
but it doesn’t stop them from being NASCAR’s biggest revenue draws (I know DEJ is number one, but I’m not sure where Kahne is). We may not care, but lots of people do. And you’re right about red bull not being as successful in NASCAR as they are in other sports, but they’ve put far, far more money into F1 (with a great deal more factory support from Renault) than they have in to NASCAR. In addition, Toyota (and really any manufacturer, but the rules were written with Toyota specifically in mind) can’t provide as much factory support as they do in other sports due to NASCAR’s rules about manufacturers. Red Bull will have to be more of a generative force for tech than they are used to, but they’ll probably adjust (will we ever see Red Bull sleds for sale? that would be nice).
"Voetbal is pas totaal als je wint"- Coach Adun
"The greatest sin is to spurn the gift"- Coach Alistair
by Londonjoe on Aug 10, 2010 5:36 PM EDT up reply actions
Francis replace Gustafson?
Jeff,
Francis only goes to RBR if there are assurances he stays there. Do you really believe Hendrick would pull Alan Gustafson off the #5 to make room for Kenny Francis?
by Keith_KaGee on Aug 10, 2010 3:37 PM EDT reply actions
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