Kasey Kahne offered a bit more clarity to the confusing events surrounding his team on Saturday night, when Kahne crashed and JJ Yeley was left to finish the race in the No. 9 car.
Kasey Kahne Says He Was Sick, Angry After Team’s Latest Mechanical Problem
Kahne, speaking to a handful of reporters who attended his foundation’s 5K charity run on Sunday morning, said he was physically ill and vomited on Saturday night, adding he “didn’t feel good enough to get back in the car.”
But he was also incensed over yet another mechanical problem for his Richard Petty Motorsports team – this time a brake failure that sent him crashing on lap 124. He acknowledged that if the car was in contention for the win, he could have continued driving.
So while Kahne said he was sick – adding he wasn’t 100 percent for his early-morning run – he was also angry about the brake situation and recalled how he “lost it” over the team radio.
“I was just mad,” he said. “I came into the race thinking we had a shot to win. We had a good car in practice. It went green, and I was still a little bit tight, but I passed cars and felt really good and then – boom – my brakes are gone (on lap 40).
“It’s not like you have half brakes and you can pump them; your foot goes to the floor – it bottoms out. There’s nothing. I mean, it’s a joke.”
Kahne said this was his third brake issue of the season and second in three weeks. He lamented the fact that RPM was unable to come up with solutions to his troubles and said he’s been the only one in the eight-car stable (including Roush Fenway Racing) to experience the brake problem.
“Well, this isn’t the first time we’ve had this exact problem,” he said. “So I was yelling, ‘How can we not fix this?’ I guess it’s something to do with the fluid, and basically, we run stuff that’s not very good compared to some of the other teams. So once you lose your brakes, you can’t get them back – because that fluid, you can’t get back.
“Their point is, we have eight teams and I’m the only one that’s had this issue. And that’s a good point, but I’ve never had any issues in my past six years, and if you look at brakes after race, my brake pads are better (less worn) than any one of the other seven or the same as the best ones who don’t use much brake. I don’t use much brake. So it’s just a mess, really.”
To cap it all off, Kahne said an unidentified member of the RPM organization accused him of not pulling his weight behind the wheel following Saturday's crash. That outraged Kahne, who said he's doing all he can.
"I was told I needed to start doing my part, is what one guy told me last night after the race, and I told him he needs to do his part," he said. "I mean, I can't control the issues I've had this year. I don't know how many parts I've broken, how many shifter handles, control arms, brakes – if I really thought about it, I could come up with all kinds of stuff.
"I can't control that as a driver. I'm doing my part; I just need the car. I work as hard as anybody out there."
Kahne and crew chief Kenny Francis are both headed to Red Bull Racing next season, where Kahne could be part of a three-car stable with Scott Speed and Brian Vickers.
It doesn’t sound like it can come soon enough.
Will Kahne have the chance to leave RPM early and drive a few races for Red Bull this year?
“Um...I don’t know,” he said. “I really don’t know if that’ll happen or not. I doubt it.”
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