6-30-10 —     When Kasey Kahne announced he was leaving Richard Petty Motorsports at

the end of 2010 and moving to one of Rick Hendrick¹s teams, fans were told

his car and deal would be finalized within 90 days.

    But according to Rick Hendrick, that isn¹t going to happen.

    ESPN reported that Hendrick has a lot more options for Kahne in 2011

than he expected when he first signed him in April.

    ³A lot of it is just waiting for the right time and the right deal,²

Hendrick said. ³I haven¹t been in a hurry. We¹ve got some good options and

there are new deals coming out every day. I get unbelievable calls from

people in this garage. We¹re just not ready to pull the trigger yet.²

    Hendrick downplayed a report that said Kahne would drive the No. 09 car

for James Finch and Phoenix Racing next year before replacing Mark Martin in

the No. 5 at HMS in 2012. That report also said Martin could take over part

ownership of Phoenix Racing in 2012. Phoenix Racing officials said no

conversations with Hendrick have taken place.

    ³I don¹t know where that rumor came from,² Hendrick said.

    Kahne said he and Hendrick spoke on Friday and that his 2011 situation

wasn¹t part of the conversation.

    ³I didn¹t even ask anything about next year and he didn¹t bring it up,

either,² Kahne said. ³We were just talking about other stuff, so I would say

there is no new news.²

    Among the speculated possibilities for Kahne next year, in addition to

Phoenix Racing, have been Stewart-Haas Racing and Red Bull Racing. Hendrick

did say that Kahne would be in a Chevrolet, and Red Bull currently fields

Toyotas.

    ³The biggest problem with us, with me and the whole situation is I want

to make the right decision for him and our company,² Hendrick continued.

³I¹m not really procrastinating as much as I¹m trying to let everything

unfold.²



    Weekend Racing: The Cup and Nationwide teams are at the 1.058-mile New

Hampshire Speedway in Loudon, NH. The Truck teams do not race again until

July 11.

    Sat., June 26, Nationwide Series race, 16 of 35; Starting time: 3:30 pm

ET; TV: ESPN.

    Sun., June 27, Sprint Cup Lenox Tools 301, 17 of 36; Starting time: 1 pm

ET; TV: TNT.



    Racing Trivia Question: How many career road course wins does Denny

Hamlin have?

    Last Week¹s Question: How many Cup teams does Hendrick Motorsports have?

Answer. Four, the drivers are Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, and

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

    You may contact the Racing Reporter at: hodgesnews@earthlink.net