After watching Kasey Kahne dominate the Truck race at Darlington Raceway this last Saturday night, something crossed my mind. Is it time for a Kasey Kahne comeback? Are we going to see the Kasey Kahne we saw back in 2006 when Richard Petty Motorsports was simply Evernham Motorsports? Did this truck win light a fire in Kahne’s belly, signaling it was time to start a new? When you really think about it, Kahne’s ‘bad luck’ all started in 2007, when Ray Evernham decided to sell a portion of his race team. Maybe all of this switching of team owners and makes and sponsors really got to Kasey’s head these past few years. Kasey’s 2010 season looked promising…until his decision to not to renew his contract with RPM. And when he decided to sign with Hendrick Motorsports for 2012 (the best thing he could have done in my eyes), that’s when it got really bad if you ask me. Fast forward to a few weeks before Kahne’s early release. Brake issues and a wreck in three of the last four races before Kasey left. Go ahead. You can say that Kasey left Richard Petty Motorsports on a bad note. Everybody has said it. Kasey will be making a one-year stint at Red Bull Racing before taking his place at Hendrick in the No. 5 car. Will 2011 be a turning point for Kasey Kahne? To get a look at this, I took the topic to Facebook messaging with a panel of junior experts: Stephanie Piech, Garrett Beishiam, Ashley Schindler, Laura Anthony, and yours truly. We all come from different parts of the US, but our mutual love of NASCAR and my love for Kasey Kahne, brought us together. Here’s what we kind of came up with in our 1 hour session.
First thing to discuss: With Kasey's dominating performance on Saturday at Darlington, are we going to see a Kahne comeback? the Kahne that we saw in 2006?
Steph Piech: I actually didn't get to see much of the race from Saturday, but the part that i saw, Kasey was up front and running' pretty fast! :-) well, I’ve been a pretty big Kasey fan since '04! I think Kasey has the right equipment and the tools to definitely get the job done at Red Bull Racing. I definitely think he's making a comeback, but i don't know if he's gonna win 6 or so races like he did in '06. He'll definitely have a strong year no doubt! RPM definitely didn't give him what he needed, and it sucked having to watch that... but I’m happy that he ended up with RBR this season and it seems like he'll be consistent and running' up front like he has been so far this year!!
Garrett Beishiam: i didn’t get to see ANY of the race...just got caught up by watching a few of the videos on Nascar.com I may not be the biggest Kasey Kahne fan but the next few years will be like 2006 again. He went to RBR since he has one more year till going over to Hendrick Motorsports. Kahne will do a lot for Red Bull Racing this year and i would love to see him get at least one if not two or three wins for that team. Vickers got one a few years back at(I believe it was Michigan) and that was a big headline not just for him but for his race team. So just imagine if Kahne(one of the top followed drivers in NASCAR) got a few wins for Red Bull this year it would be a big help for both him and his team.
Samantha Rae: if you really think about it, if Kasey makes the chase and does well, it will really propel RBR even further than when Vickers made the chase in 2009. I've been a BIG Kasey Kahne fan since May 28th, 2006 (yeah, i know the date) and seeing him get screwed over by RPM time and time again, I really hope that 2011 is a start of a Kahne comeback
Steph Piech: definitely!!! i agree with both of you!! :-) i also think it would have been really cool if Kasey hadn't had signed a contract with HMS for next year because i think him and Vickers would work well together as teammates and, like you guys have said, propel the organization to what i feel it's capable of in the near future, maybe even in a couple of years! ha-ha but I’m a little biased because I’m a fan of both Vickers and Kahne! :-)
Ashley Schindler: I missed the last 25 laps of the race, but I saw the rest of it. I agree with Steph and Garrett. I think he definitely started off the 2011 season in a really good way, this season is looking good for him and RBR. I mean, even if he's not the most dominant driver all year, and he gets two or three wins this year, it will be a huge step up from last year and a confidence booster because of his unfortunate suckish season last year.
Samantha Rae: I really hate to ask the second question I got from denver2u on twitter without miss Laura, but since you guys are here, here it is:
Who is RBR going to get to fill Kasey's seat next year?
Steph Piech: hhmmmm that's a reeaaalllyyyyy good question that i don't think i have an answer too! LOL i can't think of a specific driver, but i think they'll definitely look for a driver (like Kasey and Brian) who have had some Cup experience and maybe a driver who has a similar driving style to Brian or another driver that Brian can relate too. Maybe a guy like Casey Mears... him and Brian are pretty good friends. ha-ha great question because i really have nnnoooo idea!!!
Garrett Beishiam: cant say we will have to wait till we get closer to the end of the season to see who is looking for a ride..... i cant see Elliott Sadler in Red Bull but he moved down to Nationwide after his contract expired at the end of the season in 2010. But just not seeing him in cup is strange, but he does have the potential for a cup ride again. But like i said before we will have to see who is looking for a new ride at the end of the year
Samantha Rae: We all know this. Red Bull Racing will NOT bring Scott Speed back after he sued them for breach of contract. it would be kind of stupid to do that. I like Scott Speed, i really do, but i don't think RBR should bring him back. For all we know, they may decide to bring the young Cole Whitt up to Cup, but I'm pretty sure he is definitely not ready for that. maybe someone that they used in the 83 car last year Like Casey Mears or Reed Sorenson
Steph Piech: oh yeah, Reed would also be another good replacement. He was in Cup for a few years, and unfortunately, it didn't work out with Ganassi. But Reed is still young (mid 20s) and he's definitely running' in the top 5-top 10 every week in Nationwide!
Garrett Beishiam: there are so many people that could move up, i just think it is too early to say who could possibly be the 2nd driver at red bull
Samantha Rae: Reed is leading the NNS points right now, he was doing well in cup (he's 25). if Reed could get another chance at Cup racing, I thin he will do very good.
Laura Anthony: Alright well to answer question 1: yes! A huge comeback is gonna happen. Literally Kasey is going to be a hurricane and be a chase contender and win some more. He showed so much glitz at Darlington, he has to be on cloud nine and know he can do this in his cup car. Kahne will lead with emotion and power. I tell you all this is the start to one heck of a season for Kasey As for the second question: for RBR next year. Scott speed will not return, not only because of the lawsuit but also because of the fact he really wasn’t content with RBR. they took him under their wing in F1 and he was so grateful, after all the red bull stuff, I think Scotty is ready for a new sponsor and a new ride maybe in trucks or nationwide first. I could easily see Cole Whitt or someone else take over next season for cup. They got that motivation and drive to be there.
This could have gone on for a long while, bringing in so much more. There is no real way to know if we will see Kasey Kahne from 2006 comeback to 2011. Kasey’s truck win was his first win of any kind in a POINTS race since September of 2009 when Kasey won at Atlanta in the Cup series. Is this a turning point in Kahne’s career? Will Kasey be the one to beat this year? Or even next year when he moves to Hendrick Motorsports? Only time will tell if Kasey has gotten his mojo back. Here’s a pattern for you. 2004 and 2005: missed the chase, 2006: made the chase, 2007 and 2008: missed the chase, 2009: made the chase, 2010: missed the chase. If this pattern were to continue, Kasey should miss the chase this year. I really don’t want this pattern to continue. Kasey, break the pattern and make the chase this year. That’s all the fans are asking for.
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