Richard Petty Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne may be lapping his competitors in the race for the Cup, but he will still be doing it in the number 9 Dodge car. Kahne said Friday he does not want to break his contract and would like to remain with Richard Petty Motorsports beyond 2010, but he would also like to see a boost in the company's NASCAR Sprint Cup performance.
Since joining the team in 2004, what was then known as Evernham Motorsports, Kahne has endured ownership changes and transitions within the organization over the years. The Washington-native enjoyed his most successful season in 2006, when he earned six victories and finished eighth in the Cup standings. Since then, Kahne has not made the field for NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup any other season.
This year, he is 10th in the standings but has not been a regular contender for wins against the powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Fenway Racing groups. During his tenure, the Gillett family took over majority ownership of the team, and then last winter the group merged with Petty Enterprises to create the new organization.
Asked about his future with the organization, the 29-year-old made it clear that he'd like to stay put.
"I'm definitely not exploring other options," he said Friday at Phoenix International Raceway. "I have another year with Richard Petty Motorsports, the Gilletts have been good to me since I came here and I made a commitment to them to race for them through 2010, so I'll do that for sure. I've told them from the start that if we can get our cars to where I feel they're right and we're competitive with the best teams out here, then I don't know why I would ever want to move from that company.
"I like the people, from the guys building the race cars in the shop, the engine guys, the guys painting the cars. I have a good relationship with everybody, so for me to leave, I wouldn't want to. At the same time, I want to get a chance in some really good equipment, too, and I think that we're working on that and if we get there, I'll stay with RPM for a long time."
Kahne says that his organization continues to play catch-up with NASCAR's new-model car, which debuted full time in the series last season. While he sees improvement, he also sees other groups getting stronger. He adds that performance would "be my only factor" should he decide to make a change and that closing the gap on the frontrunners is difficult, but he is confident his team can continue to improve.
"We've made gains, but so has everybody else," he said. "So we're still just as far behind Hendrick Motorsports this year as we were last year, and the other teams in there that are really good. ... I don't think we're getting any further behind. We started out behind with the [car of tomorrow]. I remember people were testing it and we didn't even have one in our garage yet because Ray [Evernham] didn't want to - I think it was Ray, we've went through a lot of owners since then - and so we were behind at that point. And ever since they started, boom, boom, they keep getting better. ... We're always behind. It's hard to take that huge jump."
Richard Petty Motorsports is expected to switch to the new Dodge engine later this season. Penske Racing has already implemented the new engine and Kahne expects to see a significant boost when his team makes the switch.
"I think everybody's working hard and we're making gains. We're just not closing that gap that we need to be closing," said Kahne. "I want to get a chance to compete in some really good equipment," he said. "Were working on that and if we get there, I'll stay with RPM."
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