Kasey Kahne hasn’t spoken with Kyle Busch and has no intention of doing so anytime soon.
Quicken Loans 400: Kasey Kahne not speaking to Kyle Busch
After a series of run-ins has left him with wrecked cars, Kahne is done trying to reconcile with Kyle Busch.
Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
The bitterness expressed by Kahne is understandable. Busch is responsible for causing four wrecks that have taken out Kahne since the beginning of the 2013 season, including a crash last Sunday at Pocono Raceway.
To no avail, Kahne previously spoke with Busch to settle each of their differences. But after the latest incident Kahne avoided responding when Busch attempted to reach out.
“He sent me an email, then a text to ask if I got it,” Kahne said Friday at Michigan International Speedway. “I told him I did, and that is how it went.
“I don’t really care anymore. I don’t care to talk to him or anything.”
From Kahne’s perspective Busch all but deliberately wrecked him at Pocono.
The contact began when Busch dove to the inside of Kahne’s No. 5 Chevrolet. But instead of lifting, Busch accelerated expecting Kahne to concede the position. Busch then washed up the track and into Kahne, who made significant contact with the wall.
“I knew it was coming as soon as he floored it in the corner,” Kahne said. “I was like ‘He can’t. He can’t. He’s going to run me right in the wall.’ I think he was having a bad day, and just loses it.”
Kahne had been running near the top 10, but finished 42nd. Another frustrating result in a season filled with them for the Hendrick Motorsports driver. While each of his three teammates has won at least once this season, Kahne has languished. He enters Michigan with one top-five finish and sits 22nd in points.
Compounding Kahne’s frustration is the uncertainty over his future at Hendrick.
Kahne’s contract expires at the end of the 2015. That along with Chase Elliott’s ascension has created questions how Hendrick, which is at NASCAR’s four-team cap, will clear room for the 18-year-old, who owns a pair of victories in his rookie season in the Nationwide Series.
Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. all have long-term contracts in place with Hendrick. Unless Gordon retires in the next couple of years it creates a realistic scenario where Kahne may find himself the odd man out.
“We still have a year and a half before my deal’s up,” Kahne said. “We’ve struggled some this year for really no reason. If we can get rid of some of those struggles, I would hope that I would be at Hendrick Motorsports for a long time.”
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