Kasey Kahne Released from Richard Petty Motorsports

A little before ten o'clock on Wednesday at night, a press release dropped that surprised some and did not surprise others. Indeed, Richard Petty Motorsports released Kasey Kahne from driving the number nine Budweiser Ford Fusion for the remaining five races of the season.

The beginnings of this came last Saturday during the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway when Kahne's braking system seemed to fail (later it was found as a braking fluid issue). The handling of the car was frustrating to Kasey and the nine team, who had been at the top of the board in the final two practices. Kahne and his team began that race with high hopes, which came crashing down when Kasey's car spun in turn four. After limping the ill-handling car to the garage, Kahne got out of his car; he had not felt well before the race.

This is where it all went downhill. An unidentified Richard Petty Motorsports member told Kahne "to start doing his part." Kahne left and never returned to the number nine. JJ Yeley completed the race for him.

The next day, Kasey ran his 5 Kahne to raise money for his Kasey Kahne Foundation. After running in that race, he adressed the media, saying, "I 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."

When given the possibility about switching to Red Bull Racing (where he is headed for the 2011 season) early, Kahne thought for a moment and replied with "I don't think so. I doubt it."

Monday morning, Robbie Loomis, Vice President of Competition at Richard Petty Motorsports, adressed the media. He accused the Budweiser driver of not being able to handle adversity and because of that, he was not championship material. Whether Kahne heard this or not, we will never know.

Kahne is headed to Hendrick Motorsports in 2012 after a year at Red Bull Racing. Sure, he is anticipating better equipment and a better season. Can you blame a man for that after the season that he has had? He is winless with three poles and a handful of top-tens. But, he is the only one who has dealt with this braking system.

So, when the press release dropped, it was official; Kasey Kahne is done driving the nine Budweiser For Fusion for RPM. His plans? Red Bull Racing has signed him on to finish out the season in Brian Vickers' 83. Originally, Aric Amirola was to drive the 83, but will now drive the nine for RPM.

It seems as though this mess is over. Or we could only hope, at least.

Photo credit: www.Kaseykahne.com

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JR Motorsports announces new sponsor

On Thursday Oct. 14th, 2010, JR Motorsports announced a new sponsorship with TaxSlayer.com, an internet tax preparation service, for NASCAR’s Nationwide Series for 2011. It’s scheduled for nine races: two of them are with the No. 88 Chevrolet, driven by Aric Almirola; one is with Dale Earnhardt Jr. for one race at Bristol; and the other six races are scheduled for the No. 7 car, driver to be determined at a later date.

The TaxSlayer.com car will be a red and black color scheme. Its marketing campaign and commercials featuring Almirola and Earnhardt Jr. will start airing this December.

Because of the potential for a strong partnership, Kelly Earnhardt, general manager for JR Motorsports, said this is an exciting announcement because of what they have to offer from a competition standpoint as well as a marketing and brand-building perspective. She continued to say, “We feel like we align ourselves with the best of sponsors and best people and we look forward to building a long-lasting relationship with TaxSlayer.”

Earnhardt Jr. told reporters earlier today, “From a team ownership standpoint, TaxSlayer coming on board is a significant factor in keeping our race team, particularly the No. 88 team - in the hunt for wins and championships. Our expectations have always remained high; we think we have the right guy behind the wheel in Aric Almirola.” He continued to say, “Our No. 7 program is really coming together. Tony Eury Jr. has done a really good job working with young drivers and we look for the No. 7 to be competitive next year.”

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Almirola gets win of his own in Truck Series race at Dover

Aric Almirola celebrates his first NASCAR Camping 

World Truck Series win in Victory Lane at Dover. 

(Geoff Burke / Getty Images for NASCAR)

By Lee Montgomery

Special to Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
 

DOVER, Del. - This time, Aric Almirola was able to celebrate.

Almirola took advantage of Kyle Busch's empty fuel tank to win the Dover 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race Friday and get his second official victory in one of NASCAR's national series.

The other victory was in name only, as Almirola started Joe Gibbs Racing's Busch Series car at Milwaukee in 2007 but was pulled for Sprint Cup driver Denny Hamlin during the race. Though Almirola was credited with the victory, he had left the track long before Hamlin took the checkered flag.

At Dover International Speedway on Friday, though, Almirola had some fun with a smoky burnout, a reverse victory lap and a wild victory lane celebration.

"Put it this way, that trophy's not at my house on a mantle," Almirola said of the Milwaukee race. "This one will be—tonight. … It's a dream come true. Track position is so tough here, you have to have a phenomenal truck to do what we did today. I'm not going to take any credit for that. It's a lot of fun when you have a really good truck here. … We fought hard today, and it was a good day."

Almirola had fallen two laps down because of a flat tire but rallied to get back in contention. He was one of several drivers to pit for fuel and tires under caution with 54 laps to go.

Kyle Busch won the pole for the Dover 200.
(Jason Smith / Getty Images for NASCAR)

Busch wasn't one of them, though, as his Kyle Busch Motorsports truck had stopped 30 laps earlier. On the penultimate restart, Busch didn't come up to speed with apparent vapor-lock trouble and slipped back to third. The yellow waved for Austin Dillon's blown engine, giving Busch a chance to reclaim the lead he had held for 172 laps.

But as the field was getting the green, Busch's Toyota headed to pit lane.

"Ran out of gas," a frustrated Busch said as he sped out of the track. He finished 16th, with fuel pump issues listed as his reason out.

James Buescher came back from a spin to finish second, passing Justin Lofton on the last lap. Both posted their best career finishes in the truck series. Ricky Carmichael also had his best career finish in fourth, giving Turner Motorsports second and fourth. Todd Bodine sputtered on the final restart but finished fifth.

The win also gives Almirola the series points lead. He has a 27-point cushion ahead of Bodine.

Dover 200 results:

1. Aric Almirola
2. James Buescher
3. Justin Lofton *    
4. Ricky Carmichael    
5. Todd Bodine    
6. David Starr    
7. Matt Crafton    
8. Mike Skinner    
9. Ryan Sieg    
10. Johnny Benson    
11. Carl Long    
12. Ron Hornaday    
13. Stacy Compton    
14. Jason White    
15. Johnny Sauter    
16. Kyle Busch    
17. Chris Fontaine    
18. Mario Gosselin
19. Donny Lia
20. Tayler Malsam    
21. Austin Dillon *    
22. Jennifer Jo Cobb *    
23. Norm Benning    
24. Elliott Sadler    
25. Timothy Peters    
26. Chris Jones    
27. Terry Jones    
28. Brett Butler *
29. Max Papis    
30. Johnny Chapman    
31. Brent Raymer    
32. Tim Andrews    
33. Shane Sieg    
34. Mike Harmon    
35. Donnie Neuenberger
36. Chris Lafferty

*Rookie

PHOTOS FROM NASCAR MEDIA

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