Kahne looks to future with Hendrick team

By Reid Spencer

Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

SONOMA, Calif.

Kasey Kahne, at least, has an exit strategy.

Red Bull’s decision to withdraw from its ownership role in NASCAR racing has cast doubt over the future of the team that currently fields cars for Kahne and Brian Vickers. But Kahne, 31, won’t have to worry about the future of the organization beyond this year.

In 2012, he moves to Hendrick Motorsports and the No. 5 Chevrolet currently driven by Mark Martin. To hear Kahne tell it, it’s evident that crew chief Kenny Francis, who has followed Kahne through various incarnations at Evernham/Gillett-Evernham/Richard Petty Motorsports to Red Bull, will be part of the package at Hendrick.

Kahne, though, says he’s convinced Red Bull will maintain a relatively seamless commitment to the team through the end of the season.

“I think Red Bull is going to do all they can to help out the team and try to get people involved and hopefully carry the two teams on and keep racing,” Kahne said.

Team general manager Jay Frye is looking for investors to sustain the team going forward, and Kahne said he wouldn’t rule out some involvement by Red Bull in the future — just not as a team owner.

“Just talking to him [Frye] or just talking with the Red Bull people or the Austrian side of it — they’ve told me that they really want to figure out how to make this program go on,” Kahne said. “They just don’t want to own it anymore. My gut feeling is that there will be two cars there next year.”

Two cars or not, Kahne won’t be there. Despite recurring drama in his racing life and three rounds of knee surgery to deal with a basketball injury, Kahne feels he’s nearing the peak of his career, and that the move to Hendrick will help him achieve peak performance.

“I still feel really young so I think I’m all right,” Kahne said. “I think I’ve still got some years left. I think I’m right about at my best point. My next four years should be my best four years — [that] would be what I would certainly hope out of myself and out of the situation that I’m going to be in. I think it’s going to be a great opportunity and I can’t wait.”

The move to Hendrick will represent a sea change for Kahne, who won’t have to carry the organization as the No. 1 driver — a role he has played since signing with owner Ray Evernham in 2004. At Hendrick, he’ll have Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. as teammates.

“I think it will definitely be a bit different than the situation that I’ve been in the past,” Kahne said. “I actually look forward to it knowing that I’ll be the guy with the least amount of statistics.”