Notebook: Kahne to the No. 5? It happened Wednesday

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(June 11, 2010)

BROOKLYN, Mich.—Those who bet that Kasey Kahne would be in the No. 5 car before the 2012 season, step up to the pay window.

No, not THAT No. 5 car. Kahne said Wednesday before the Prelude to the Dream that his plans for the Sprint Cup Series still aren’t set.

But when Kahne had engine trouble with the No. 9 dirt late model he was driving in Tony Stewart’s charity race at Eldora Speedway, the backup car he was given for the main event was decaled with the No. 5.

Kahne recently signed to drive the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet starting in 2012, when Mark Martin vacates the car. Team owner Rick Hendrick is obligated to find a suitable ride for Kahne next year, but that hasn’t happened yet.

“It keeps getting a little bit later in the year, so I’d imagine it’s coming soon,” Kahne said before the race. “But whenever we find out what it is, I’ll be happy with it and be ready to start working on it for next year and making sure it’s strong when we start the season.”

Given that the Kahne-to-Hendrick deal leaked before the Texas race in mid-April, Kahne said he is surprised something for 2011 has yet to materialize.

“But at the same time, Mr. Hendrick has a lot of patience, and he does things the right way, and he’s just trying to make sure he puts me in the best possible spot that he can,” Kahne said.

“To me, it’s exciting to know that he’s waiting and making sure he does it right. There are so many things with teams and people and drivers and sponsors. There’s just a lot that goes with the whole deal. I think he’ll get it. It’ll be good.”

Kahne took a second look when he saw the No. 5 car he was to drive in the Prelude’s main event.

“I thought it was really ironic, but it is what it is,” Kahne said after the race. “That’s what they pulled out. I had an engine problem in the other one, and that’s what they pulled out. I didn’t mind driving it. That’s the truth.”

Father knows best?

In the aftermath of last week’s fracas at Pocono between Kevin Harvick and 20-year-old Joey Logano, it’s understandable that the drivers don’t see eye to eye.

Apparently, neither do Harvick and Mark Martin, when it comes to a father’s role at the racetrack.

Logano’s father, Tom Logano, was front and center after the race ended at Pocono, where contact between the cars of Harvick and Logano sent Logano spinning and forced the race to overtime. Tom Logano was called to a meeting with NASCAR president Mike Helton after pushing a TV reporter and a crewman out of the way.

Martin, who recognized Joey Logano’s talent more than six years ago, defended Tom Logano on Friday at Michigan International Speedway.

“I loved seeing Tom Logano’s reaction—and I’m a dad,” Martin said. “And anybody who would criticize that, a lot of them aren’t dads. I have a son that competed, not only in racing, but in hockey, too. Heck, I stood up one day, yelled at him, ‘Hit him with your stick,’ when he was playing hockey. And the kid’s dad was standing next to me, and I didn’t care. So, I’m a dad, and I am a Tom Logano fan as well.”

Harvick, on the other hand, believes a father should have no role in a dispute between drivers.

“His father has no place in this,” Harvick said Friday afternoon. “His father needs to stick back and act like all of the rest of the dads and be happy that his kid’s here. This isn’t Little League baseball anymore. He just needs to stay away and act like a 50-year-old man, or however old he is.

“You’ve got to figure Mark Martin—him and the Loganos are buddies—so he’s on whoever’s side that’s most convenient this week.”

Matt Kenseth, who has two children, agreed that fathers should keep their distance.

“Once you’re 18 and an adult, if you are out there racing with adults, you have to be able to take care of your own situations and your own problems.”

Hamlin not sold on spoiler as difference-maker

It’s easy—and accurate—to point out that Denny Hamlin has been a prolific winner in the Cup series since NASCAR returned to the spoiler. It’s equally accurate to point out that Jimmie Johnson hasn’t won since the change was made before the late March race at Martinsville.

To Hamlin, though, it’s not necessarily accurate to assume there’s a correlation.

“It’s tough to say, really,” said Hamlin, who has won four times since the switch. “It’s maybe changed a little bit, but for us, we’re winning with similar setups that we had last year with the wing, and they’ve performed well. It’s tough for me to justify that there’s much difference between the two.”