Move effective immediately; Almirola to drive No. 9 car at Martinsville
By NASCAR.COM October 20, 2010 10:59 PM EDT
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CONCORD, N.C. -- Kasey Kahne has been released from his driving duties with Richard Petty Motorsports effective immediately, the team announced late Wednesday in a statement. Aric Almirola will drive the No. 9 Ford in the Sprint Cup Series race this weekend at Martinsville Speedway.
The team's driver lineup beyond Martinsville is to be determined.
Kahne
Kahne's release comes just days after the race at Charlotte, where Kahne had brake problems and smacked the wall, causing damage to his car that took several laps to repair. Only an ill-feeling Kahne did not return to the track along with his car, much to the dismay of at least one RPM team member.
The next morning, Kahne ran in his charity 5K event.
Kahne, who earlier this season signed with Hendrick Motorsports and will be loaned out to Red Bull next year before taking over the No. 5 car in 2012, has been visibly frustrated with his car's performance, or lack thereof. Kahne in particular has been critical of recent brake troubles and in the past seven races, he has finished 28th or worse five times.
After making the Chase and winning twice in his first season under the Richard Petty Motorsports banner -- the latest version of the former Evernham Motorsports team for which he began his career -- Kahne is 21st in points and winless this season.
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2003 & 2005 P-10 CHAMPION 2008 P-10 BUSCH CHAMPION 2007 & 2008 MEMBER LROC TEAM CHAMPION 2009 LUCKY DOG RACING NATIONWIDE ROTY 2010 LDR NATIONWIDE CHAMPION 2010 COOL POOL NATIONWIDE RTY 2013 COOL POOL CUP SERIES CHAMPION
Not only that, but it looks like RPM may be done after this weekend.
RPM may not run past Martinsville: UPDATES: The house of cards is finally falling for George Gillett's Richard Petty Motorsports. The assembly line from Roush Fenway Racing and Roush Yates engines has stopped running to RPM. Engines have been picked up, cars have been repossessed, and sources on both sides -- RPM and RFR -- say no cars will be delivered beyond Martinsville this weekend. On Thursday morning, crewmen at RPM were told they may not have jobs after the race at Martinsville Speedway this weekend. Neither Petty team CEO Foster Gillett nor team Vice President Robbie Loomis could be reached for comment. RPM currently fields four cars in the Sprint Cup Series -- the #9, #19, #43 and #98. Kasey Kahne was released from his contract as of Wednesday night and is expected to drive for Red Bull Racing for the remainder of the year and in 2011. Elliott Sadler is expected to drive for Kevin Harvick Inc. next year. Paul Menard signed a multi-year deal to drive for Richard Childress Racing starting next year. His current crew chief Richard "Slugger" Labbe will continue his duties at RCR. AJ Allmendinger re-signed a multiyear deal to drive the #43 Ford this summer. Allmendinger is currently 20th in the point standings. Marcos Ambrose was signed to drive the #19 Ford in August. Ambrose currently drives for JTG/Daugherty Racing and is 26th in the point standings.(Fox Sports)(10-21-2010)UPDATE: The story has now been updated to include: "Sources tell FOXSports.com that the Talladega cars were returned after 11 a.m. ET Thursday, but they do not have engines or gears yet."(10-21-2010)UPDATE 2: Multiple sources confirmed to SPEED.com on Thursday that Roush Fenway Racing, which builds RPM's cars, briefly repossessed RPM's Talladega cars and engines because of non-payment. Roush Fenway Racing allowed RPM to take the cars back Thursday morning, sources told SPEED.com. Additionally, sources said that one of the reasons Kahne was released from the team is that RPM owed him a substantial amount of back salary. A team spokesperson contacted Thursday afternoon declined to say whether or not Kahne was owed money, Roush Fenway Racing was owed money, when team owner George Gillett would publicly discuss his team's situation or what RPM's plans were beyond this weekend. "There's just nothing much to comment on right now," said Tiffany Breaux of Richard Petty Motorsports.(SPEED)(10-21-2010)