Kasey Kahne will drive the No. 5 car for HMS in 2012 and Mark Martin will run his final full season in 2011.
The ink on the deal is still wet, but Rick Hendrick told the media today, via teleconference, that Kahne has been in his sights since Ray Evernham hired the youngster back in the day.
More intriguing is what Hendrick revealed about Martin's role in the deal. Apparently, Martin was key to naming his own succssor.
"Mark came to me a year ago saying that’s the guy you oughta put in the car," Hendrick explained. "It’s been on the radar for a good while."
About a year ago, Martin was also encouraging Kahne to take a serious look at Team Hendrick.
"I talked to Mark Martin and learned a lot about the place from Mark and talked to him about things," Kahne explained. "He had a lot of really good advice."
Kahne's ride for 2011 has yet to be announced. Hendrick declined to give any specifics today regarding where Kahne will go during that one-year interim.
However, the team owner did say fans will have the answer to this and other questions soon enough.
"I don’t think it's something we've got any deadline on," Hendrick said. "But surely we should have something done in the next 90 days."
Stay tuned ...
I wouldn't trust Mark to keep his word and actually retire. Remember Mark told Jack Roush to hire Jamie McMurray to replace him in the #6 and then didn't leave. I think Jeff Gordon will leave before Mark. He just can't give up racing.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't surprise me to hear that Mark had a hand in this.
ReplyDelete