Media Tour Stop No. 10: Kasey Kahne ‘Needed A Change’ ... And Got One

After a pre-dinner reception hosted by TRG Motorsports (that was Stop No. 9, at which nothing was announced and therefore not blog-worthy), the media was treated to a nice meal provided by ESPN and Red Bull Racing.

ESPN had one brief announcement: Rusty Wallace’s contract has been extended through the end of ESPN’s current NASCAR TV deal, which means he’ll be on your TV sets until at least the end of 2014.

The main focus for the Red Bull portion of the evening was split between Brian Vickers (who fielded another round of questions about his recovery from blood clots) and newcomer/lame duck driver Kasey Kahne.

Kahne is in a situation perhaps unmatched in NASCAR history: Having already signed for 2012 and beyond at Hendrick Motorsports, Kahne is basically a one-year rent-a-driver for Red Bull (which booted Scott Speed in the offseason).

From an outsider’s view, it has all the potential to be a strange, awkward arrangement. But Kahne pointed out that his final year at Richard Petty Motorsports figures to have been far worse than what awaits this season.

In the grand scheme of things, especially after so much uncertainty surrounding where he’d land for 2011, Kahne’s Red Bull ride is actually pretty sweet.

“Rick (Hendrick) told me that whatever it was, it would be right – and he would make sure it was right,” Kahne said. “This whole Red Bull deal came together, and it’s right. It’s as good as anything I’ve ever had, if not the best thing I’ve ever had.”

Clearly, that wasn’t the case last year. Kahne was excited about his chances heading into the 2010 season, but “then it just really fell apart pretty quickly,” he said.

Kahne completely lost his brakes several times. His car sustained broken parts on seven different occasions during the season, he said.

“I was worn out, and then some other stuff happened later in the season that made my mind up that I needed to change, and that was what I did at that point in time,” Kahne said, referring to the aftermath of the Charlotte race. “I’m glad I did, because it was good for me to get out of there – it would have only gotten worse.”

Kahne said his confidence wasn’t necessarily suffering, but his morale was. And what he needed the most heading into his tenure with Hendrick was something to spark his inner fire.

“I think what I needed was a change – and I got it,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing I needed, to kind of let go and move on from where I was. I have that now, and I feel like we can do all kinds of good stuff this year, and that will be great going into next season.

“I think this year is a year that we can get off to a great start and have a lot of fun.”

Of course, just because Kahne makes that fun transition to the Red Bull lifestyle doesn’t mean crew chief Kenny Francis fits the brand’s “edgy” mold.

Francis, it seems, is about as dry as they come.

“He’s probably not the edgiest guy I know,” Kahne said with a smile, “but that’s fine.”