Jeff Hammond FOX SPORTS
Kasey Kahne and crew chief Kenny Francis find themselves in a unique situation.
After spending a year at Team Red Bull Racing, the winning driver/crew chief pairing must find a way of fitting into a winning organization over at Hendrick Motorsports. Whether it was at Red Bull last year or what is now Richard Petty Motorsports in years past, Kahne and Francis have shown they know how to win together. With the resources they will have at their fingertips now, I see the sky as the limit for the No. 5 bunch.
Kasey and Kenny have proven to be winners every place they have been. The only issue in the past has been being able to do that on a consistent basis. Now being with an organization with the experience and depth of Hendrick Motorsports, they are now in the ultimate/envious position where they can be a force to be reckoned with as soon as Daytona rolls around.
This isn’t a situation of if, but more one of when success will come to this pairing. I don’t think we will be sitting here waiting to see if there are or will be results. To me, this will be a combination that will be able to see results almost instantly.
I think the key is how quickly can Kasey and Kenny fit in with the way Hendrick Motorsports run their programs?
If I am Kasey and Kenny, I am loving life right now. They know they will have winning cars immediately. You can only imagine what that does to their confidence level. Again, developing chemistry between them and the other three race teams is going to be extremely important.
When Hendrick Motorsports rolls into Daytona International Speedway in 2012, the organization will know that Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and now Kasey Kahne are all legitimate threats to win our version of the Super Bowl. I just can’t fathom how good that must feel across the board at Hendrick Motorsports.
Additionally, if you look at the bigger picture, Kasey Kahne and that No. 5 car will be a championship-contending team in 2012. I will be absolutely shocked if they aren’t.