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Problems at Atlanta, Texas ruined Chase comeback for No. 9 team
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
November 17, 2006
12:50 PM EST (17:50 GMT)




HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Kasey Kahne looks at what Jimmie Johnson has done in the Chase and thinks, "I could have done that."

Johnson famously rallied from eighth to the points lead in just four races. Kahne, who leads the series with six victories, appeared primed for a similar rally, but crashes and engine failures squelched any hope of a dominating stretch run.

Kahne came into the Chase with the strongest 1.5-mile program, which made up half of the final 10 races. He did score one victory on one of those 1.5-mile tracks (Charlotte) but a self-induced accident at Atlanta and a blown motor at Texas ended his chances.

The maddening thing for Kahne is that he felt his program was good enough to reel off a Jimmie Johnson-esque string of runner-up finishes.

"There are three cars that have been better than us during the Chase, and that is the 29 [Kevin Harvick], the 20 [Tony Stewart] and the 48 [Johnson]," Kahne said. "We could have battled with them."

Kahne said that Johnson's experience slightly changed his attitude toward the Chase. There was always a perception that two poor finishes were a death knell to a driver's title hopes, but Johnson has scored three finishes of 23rd or worse.

"It looks like it is his year," Kahne said. "They have been really, really good and right there every weekend.

"If you look back six weeks ago, everybody was thinking he was out. It just shows how quickly a team can pull together and work together and get themselves right back in the middle of it."

Johnson has finished second four times in the last five races and won the other (Martinsville), but Kahne isn't surprised at the stretch run put together by Johnson.

"To run second is pretty tough at times, but the position that the team's in, I'll bet it has been a lot easier for them," Kahne said. "I think they probably really felt like a second place was a like a win a lot of times. They have done a pretty awesome job. You can't take anything away from running second."

Kahne is more surprised at the startling struggles of Matt Kenseth, who surrendered the points lead to Johnson after battling ill-handling cars at Kansas, Texas and Phoenix.

Kahne points out that Kenseth's decent results (six consecutive top-15s) despite the struggles demonstrate his talent behind the wheel.

"He has had such great racecars, and it is like, you get to the Chase and his cars are not as good," Kahne said. "There is no way it can be easy on a person. He has done a good job -- he is still second in points because they are inconsistent.

"There is no way that would be easy on you. It shows why he has been a Nextel Cup champion in the past."

You think you could be a little more honest Kasey?

We'll get them next year Kasey!! Thanks for posting!

Luck is such a part of the game, but they will work on everything they can work on to get the team better and put themselves in a better position and hopefully the luck will take care of itself

Not just luck, either. Things the driver and team needs to work on. My dad and I had this convo yesterday---next year, both driver and team won't make the stupid mistakes, won't keep shooting themselves in the foot, and they'll contend.

I think drivers are always gonna make stupid mistakes even if it is their year. Their humans. But it's getting past the fact that you made a mistake and not being so hard on yourself and rallying your team together to move past the mistake that proves you are a champion.

Kasey will get a championship. It's just a matter of time.

:nod

:nod It sure is.

I think KK might be able to make the chase next year. I think his talent might be able to carry Francis, but he will never win a championship with Francis as his crew chief.

thats a pretty bold statement........care to elaborate on why you think that?

I am very confused by that too. Kasey and Kenny have shown multible times that they are a winning combination. How can anyone look back at this season and say that these too can't win a championship together. Everybody is entitled to there opinions, but I just don't understand that one.

Let's not forget that Kenny just finished his first full season as a Team Director/Crew Chief.

I'd say they've done a damn good job, and I think Kenny is the final piece the puzzle was missing.

They'll only come back stronger next season.

I agree with Carrie.

Not to mention it's said that more and more to be an effective crew chief you need a formal engineering education (Not saying it can't be done without it, but that's the wave of the future) and Kenny has that.

I think Lena you said this on Sunday... Kenny and Kasey have a really good chance of becoming the next Jimmie/Chad or Zippy/Tony combo and look what those guys have done in the past.

:nod That's truly how I feel. I mean, wasn't it a while back that Kasey said that Kenny and him would be the only ones awake on the plane, and Kenny would listen to Kasey, and Kasey would learn a lot from him?

Yup. These two are going to be a team to reckon with next season and I can't wait.!

To win a championship, you have to be consistent. They have been hit or miss all season. I blame Francis for their inconsistency. He has been unable to consistently make the right adjustments. One thing that is essential to be a good crew chief is common sense. From what I've seen this year, Francis doesn't have any. Yes, KK has made mistakes and cost them a bunch of points, but I believe he makes those mistakes because he has too much on his shoulders. He tries too hard to make up for what his car lacks.

Having an enginneering education has been the trend lately. If the COT is what nascar says it is, the engineering aspect may be no more.

I think, that, considering it was their first year together, it was pretty damn impressive. (You're really close to giving yourself away). And Kenny-Kasey sure as hell beats the Tommy-Kasey tandem.

:nod

I couldn't agree more.

I heart Kenny Francis. And that's all I have to say on the subject.

I'll admit when this first came out that Kenny was going to Kasey this season I was a little apprehensive about it, but I'm really glad they switched this season, casue Kenny is awesome.

I agree that Francis is better than Tommy, but that isn't much of an accomplishment.

I'm alot like you. I hope that I have to eat my words next year for Kasey's sake.

Definitely.

Lord knows I've done plenty of the eating of words.

For a first year together, with a brand-new Crew Chief paired with a 3rd-year driver, it was IMMENSELY impressive. I refuse to discount anything that the team has done this season. It is very clear to me that Kasey and Kenny have really great chemistry, as well as loads of respect for each other.

Did Kenny make mistakes? Of course he did. But give me one Crew Chief in the garage that has never made a mistake, and never made mistakes HIS FIRST YEAR IN THE POSITION.

And how the hell can a team get stronger and better if they don't make mistakes to learn from? You can't get the consistency until you learn from mistakes and know how to make the right decision next time.

Kasey's going to win a Cup. And I wouldn't be a damn bit surprised if Kenny is the man on the box when he does. He's focused, determined, he listens to Kasey, and I think he does a pretty good job of making adjustments.

Exactly. CCs that have been doing the job for years make mistakes, they are human. It happens. As I said in my class last week. What you learn from mistakes is far more important than the mistake itself.

There isn't a crew chief in the garage that hasn't made a mistake. I don't expect Francis to be perfect. I just expect him to be able to make the right adjustments most of the time and to learn from it when he doesn't. I think a crew chief at the nascar level should be able to consistently provide his driver with a car that equals his driver's talent. Francis can't do that. I think that Francis is doing nothing but bringing Kasey down. Kasey is one of the best drivers in cup, but with Francis it doesn't appear that way.
This is not Francis' first year in the position. He was crew chief for Mayfield.

You're right, but Francis keeps making the same rookie mistakes over and over and over and over...

That's why he keeps making the same mistakes. He's determined to make his way work whether it's right or wrong.
Oh yeah, I loved the way he listened to Kasey at Pocono about the clutch. :ohyea

He CC'd for Mayfield for 8 races. Which means he just wrapped up a full year in the position.

I think if you want to be determined to see it your way, that's fine. But I think there is plenty of evidence to the contrary.

He was also crew chief for Mayfield in 2003 and 2004.

http://jayski.com/pages/2003teams.htm

http://jayski.com/pages/2004teams.htm

If KF can stop loosing races on gas mileage, we might have a chance. There was no reason for Kasey to run out of gas with as many laps to go as there were at Kansas and whatever else track. They are both fairly young and no one is perfect.

All I know is the season is over and it was a mighty good season... especially after the dismal 2005 season they had...

Do Kasey, Kenny, and the team have things to work on... sure they do and I think they know that... but I'm sure Jimmie Johnson and Chad Kanus could tell you the same thing that there are things THEY need to work on... no one is ever going to be perfect. Kasey has grown up a lot in the last year... he's communicating more... Kenny is actually listening to him (as much as I love Tommy that was his down fall) and they are working together on the adjustments... are there times Kenny hasn't listened or interpreted something wrong... SURE... are there times Kasey hasn't listened or explained something wrong... of coarse... but that goes with any team... and I think that Kasey and Kenny know what they need to work on and will work on it... Has Kasey made bone head mistakes... yep... but again I think he knows what he needs to work on and will do that... Kasey has said a bajillion times (at least ha ha) that he is his worst critic... after the wreck w/ Stremme Ray was telling Kasey to move on and Kasey was still kicking himself about it...

Any who... to make a short story long... it's been a fantabulous season and no one can take that away...

But you also have to remember he'd never worked with Kasey before. Stuff's going to happen because they aren't going to understand each other yet.

No ones perfect, they all make mistakes and you have to take the good with the bad. That's how it goes.

I don't believe that's entirely correct, since Slugger Labbe was at the helm the majority of last season. And, they went to the Team Director setup in the offseason last year, from what I recall.

And going on what Nic mentioned... Jimmie and Chad almost "broke up." So I still maintain that Kasey and Kenny will be fine in the seasons to come.

I would be worried if people on the team weren't owning up to their mistakes, but I think that's one of their stronger points. If Kenny messes up, he admits to it. If Kasey messes up, he admits to it. IMO, that's a clear indicator of how well they work together.

Kenny is an awesome crew chief. He did something Tommy couldn't, and that was make Kasey into a driver rather than just a fly by the seat of your pants racer. It's going to take time, but this crew chief, this driver, and this team will be vying for the Cup next year.

I don't fault Kenny at all for anything that happened this year. You can't control faulty parts that you didn't make breaking. You can't control your driver going into ditz mode. What you can control are the changes that you make to the car during the race and your initial race set-ups. This team made improvements when their set-up went south. More often than not, Kasey qualified in the top 20 for every race this year. I had 6 poles this year. That says to me that the crew chief knows what he's doing.

If anyone can have a finger pointed at them in regards to improvements, it's Kasey. If he can illuminate more of the blond moments, he'll be their in the thick of the hunt, if not win the championship next year. A crew chief can't make a driver do the things he needs to in critical moments. That's on the driver. It's the human factor.

I think you miss understood what I was trying to say. I was refering to 2003 and 2004. I know that Labbe was Mayfield's crew chief some in 2005. The chart says that Francis is the team director because in 2002, Evernham Motorsports decided that the #19 team would run under a new management system consisting of a team director, a lead mechanic and a race engineer.

Then I stand corrected.

He's still doing a damn better job with Kasey than anybody's been able to do with Mayfield. And as much as I liked Tommy... yeah. That wasn't going to cut it.

Kenny and the 9 crew helped mold Kasey into a bona fide winning driver. Next season, I expect more of the same, with success on different tracks as well. Ray clearly believes in Kenny's chops as Team Director for Kasey, and Kasey does, too. I think it would be unfair to use Kenny's history with Jeremy as an indicator of what he's done with Kasey, since he's proven on more than one occasion to be resilient when faced with adversity. The 9 team has the ability to "come back" in races where they weren't able to before. I attribute that to both Kasey's change in attitude, and Kenny's support, determination, and focus.

Very well said Carrie!

That right there is the $1.000,000 answer to the question!

The only reason that I brought up Francis being Mayfield's crew chief was because you said it was his first year as a crew chief. I never compared what Francis did with Jeremy to what he has done with Kasey. The comparison would be irrelevant anyways because Mayfield isn't the caliber of driver that Kasey is. That would be like comparing Francis to Knaus.

Francis > Knaus