Kahne Fired

[Chris]

I see it is being reported that "effective immediately" Kasay Kahne has been fired from RPM

I guess his little tirade on Saturday night, and then refusing to get back in the car after it was repaired was the last straw...
Almirola is no suppose to drive the car.  Guess if Kahne drives Red Bull will have to put something together for him..??

[SMOKEN14]

 Kasey Kahne to drive No. 83 By David Newton
ESPN CONCORD, N.C. -- Kasey Kahne will drive the No. 83 at Red Bull Racing for the final five races after being released by Richard Petty Motorsports on Wednesday night, a source close to the situation told ESPN.com.

Aric Almirola will replace Kahne in the No. 9 at RPM at Martinsville. No plans were announced for the remaining four races, but a source said Kahne's release could pave the way for JTG Daugherty's Marcos Ambrose to move into the car that he will drive full-time next season.


 
Kahne
 
That would open the door for Bobby Labonte to replace Ambrose in the No. 47 he will drive next season.

Sources said there were talks before Kahne's release about moving Ambrose into the No. 9 and Labonte into the No. 47, but Kahne's sponsorship obligation with Budweiser was a holdup.

Kahne announced earlier in the year he will drive for Red Bull Racing in 2011 before moving to Hendrick Motorsports in 2012.

Crew chief Kenny Francis, who will move with Kahne to Red Bull next season, told ESPN.com he will be with Almirola this weekend and he expects to remain with the team through the end of the season.

"If they want me I will be there,"Francis said.

Francis would not elaborate on why Kahne was released, saying it had been in the works all day.

"I don't want to get into any of that," Francis said. "I'll do whatever they want me to do. I won't rock the boat. All that stuff is way above me."

Kahne was disgruntled after Saturday night's race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in which his brakes failed for the third time this season and second time in three races, leading to a wreck with Sam Hornish Jr.

After repairs Kahne refused to return to the race, saying he was ill. J.J. Yeley finished.

Kahne said an RPM officials told him after the race that, "I needed to start doing my part."

"I'm not going to say names, but I was told that I need to start doing my part," Kahne told reporters after his 5K fundraiser on Sunday. "I can't control the issues I've had this year. I don't know how many parts I've broke. If I really thought about it, I could come up with all kinds of stuff. You can't control that as a driver. I'm doing my part. I just need the car. I work as hard as anybody out there."

Francis said he was unaware if Kahne's decision not to return to the car had anything to do with the dismissal.

"We uncovered some stuff this week," Francis said of the problems the car had. "We found a problem with one of the master cylinders. It was just unfortunate that it happened. I don't know if that had anything do with what's happened."


David Newton covers NASCAR for ESPN.com. He can be reached at dnewtonespn@aol.com.

[CodeBlueEMT]

 I'm sure there was plenty of wheeling and dealing between RPM and Red Bull.

 Firing Kahne was the right thing to do. I hope Red Bull doesn't take any of Kahne's crap either.

 Kahne was hired to do a job. Do your damn job.

[scott b]

You would think Kahne would have learned something from the experience of having a bad "divorce" with Ford when he wriggled out of his developmental deal, then winding up right back in a Ford this season.  There may come a time when you need to move on, but the sport is too small to really burn bridges, you need to show a little bit of class.

I applaud Kenny Francis for doing the right thing, but wonder if it will affect his relationship with KK in the future.

[just a fan]

Kahne needs to grow up. He was hired to drive the car and be part of the team and if he can't do that he should have been fired. I think Red Bull will regret hiring him in the future. Definately a character issue.

[south jersey girl]

well, redbull only has to deal with him for a year

but on the other hand, it sounds like RPM owes KK a lot of $$$. I probably wouldn't put forth much effort on my job either, if the boss stopped giving me my paycheck...

[SMOKEN14]

MY GOD whats with the Kasey Khane Haters? Kasey is a  Winner when given good equipment. 3 brake failures this year and 2 in 2 races. Makes you wonder if RPM is butt sore over Kasey Leaving and just giving him Crap cars. everyone knows Kasey is 10 times the driver Almindinger is but AJ is always running up front Lately Something was Definitely wrong with that picture

[Montvale]

 Remember when AJ took the drunk driving rap?   For George Gillett Jr? Well, anyhow, that's the rumor in the garage. You  know how rumors are, right? 

[Chris]

well, redbull only has to deal with him for a year

but on the other hand, it sounds like RPM owes KK a lot of $$$. I probably wouldn't put forth much effort on my job either, if the boss stopped giving me my paycheck...

Kahne stated today that RPM has him paid in full

[just a fan]

I am not a Kahne hater but I still put a lot of value in my word. By taking the ride with RPM he agreed to give 100% for the entire year, not just on the days when he thought the car was good enough to win. Giving 100% on those challenging days shows more about ones character than winning and smiling when things are good. I still say this will come back to bite him at some point.

[CodeBlueEMT]

 I've changed my mind about the Kahne situation. Richard Petty Enterprises began as a homegrown operation. A family business. It's a damn shame, under the direction of NASCAR and Brian France, that carpetbaggers abound in this sport. George Gillett has picked the last bits of meat off of the bone. There's nothing left. Four generations  the Petty's pissed away on NASCAR.

 That's what happens when you sell your soul to the devil.

 What a shame.

[scott b]

It's not just the remains of the old Petty operation.  It's also built on the remains of the old championship winning Robert Yates team, and the Ray Evernham team, which had a shorter history but was home to some talented people.  When you think of all the drivers, crew chiefs, and engineers that have passed thru the doors of those combined operations over the years... wow! 

[OregonSHRFan]

Its a mess for sure. I would be willing to bet that either Mike Helton or Brian France made a call to RPM and told em they better clean up the mess and sweep it up ASAP. Its all too convuluted and disgusting.

Im not sure if I were Kasey that I would have gotten back in that car either after 2 major brake failures in the prior 2 weeks and being told each time that the problem was fixed. After a certain amount of time even a cat runs out of lives.