Kahne Extension Raises Eyebrows

The Kasey Kahne three-year extension with Hendrick Motorsports a few weeks ago was very intriguing. Not because the 34-year old Kahne doesn’t deserve it after persevering his way into a spot in the Chase, despite a dismal early season. It just seemed like odd timing because of the 18-year old elephant in the room named Chase Elliott.

This space has praised Elliott long before his NASCAR Nationwide Championship was earned in his first season in the series. There’s just a point when you know a guy is going to be really successful when you see him in good equipment. I never thought Jimmie Johnson would win six championships, but I knew when I first saw him race for Hendrick in Sprint Cup that he just had something that would lead him to a lot of success. Chase Elliott has that.

I also heard whispers that Elliot’s Sprint Cup future was bright and that he will get a chance with Hendrick, where he is currently under contract until 2016. Hendrick Motorsports GM Doug Duchardt told Sirius XM NASCAR Radio that they will put Elliott in a Sprint Cup car in “a handful of races” next season with Kenny Francis likely to be the crew chief. Elliott may get that chance as soon as February’s Daytona 500.

But now Hendrick has four drivers under contract, and Kahne is there until 2018. Would it be impossible to move Kahne or buy him out if he does not produce? Not at all. But Hendrick likes Kahne and he obviously feels he can be successful, which is behind the reasoning of bringing back Keith Rodden as his new crew chief. But where does that leave Elliott?

Will Jeff Gordon retire after 2015 opening up the #24? Not impossible, but good luck trying to get Gordon out of that ride until he’s good and ready to hang it up. Jimmie Johnson’s contract is up after this upcoming season, but something tells me Hendrick will take care of that before the season starts in Daytona. And no matter what happens, Hendrick is not going to part with the most popular driver in the sport in Dale Earnhardt Jr.

One thing is certain with Elliott in 2015, he defend his championship in the new Xfinity Series for Jr Motorsports. Anything else is up for speculation, but it leaves Rick Hendrick in quite a situation considering how loyal he is to his drivers. Would Jeff Gordon or Junior start his own Cup team with Hendrick backing just like Tony Stewart? They have the resources and money to do so. Stay tuned.

Harvick A Deserving Champ

Kevin Harvick deserves this Sprint Cup title. It was his season. He has been nicknamed “The Closer” at times, but in 2014 he was the dominator. He wanted it bad and he took it.

In a 10-race Chase that saw two post-race altercations and a tremendous amount of stress and pressure on the teams involved, Harvick stepped up and won the final two races to claim his first championship in 13 seasons. Harvick’s late charge from 12th to 1st in the final 15 laps at Homestead in the finale was exactly what NASCAR wanted when they changed the playoff format to a final four of drivers in which the highest finisher won the Sprint Cup.

“If you want to win the championship, you’re going to have to figure out how to win races,” Harvick said after his 4th win of the season. “In the end, that’s what it came down to, was winning the race to win the championship. It all worked out.”

He made it sound like it was easy. Harvick’s race through the field will go down in NASCAR history. He would not be denied. He was driving like a man possessed. All those sports cliches applied to Harvick passing the other contenders Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman, and Joey Logano. He left them in the dust, like he did much of the season. Despite winning just four races, (Phoenix twice, Darlington, and the Charlotte Chase race) Harvick finished second 6 times, and led 2,137 laps. When he got to the front he rarely gave it up.

The NASCAR community all seemed estatic for Harvick as well. All the drivers have racing families that they bring to the track, but the Harvick family truly lives and dies with what happens every weekend. His wife Delana is the first lady of NASCAR, no offense to Danica Patrick. Delana sometimes wears a drivers suit and always sits in the pit box, almost like she is assisting crew chief Rodney Childers with strategy. Her Twitter feed is passionate and she will share whatever opinion she has on the racing and other things. It almost appears that family has helped Harvick focus in the past two years, especially through his move this past year from Richard Childress Racing to Stewart-Haas.

Recently Harvick has taken to putting his young son Kelan in the car before the start of the race. Fans loved it. Media embraced it. Not only did Harvick desperately want this title to validate his career, his family wanted it too. As he crossed the finish line, Delana cried tears of joy. That’s what NASCAR is all about. The Harvick family is gonna enjoy every second of this.

(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)