Hendrick takes responsibility for Kahne's struggles

Wednesday, 09 August 2017


By Kelly Crandall / Images by Nigel Kinrade/LAT & John Harrelson/LAT


Rick Hendrick admitted Wednesday it was time for a fresh start in the No. 5 camp.
Change comes in the form of William Byron, the 19-year-old who will replace NASCAR veteran Kasey Kahne beginning next season. Byron will move up from the Xfinity Series to take over the ride, even though Kahne still had another year on his contract.
However, the performance of the group has simply not been where it should have been the last few seasons. And so when asked if the driver change would be taking place had Kahne run better, Hendrick (pictured at right, above, with Kahne) pointed fingers only at himself.
"I have to take responsibility for that," Hendrick said on a media teleconference announcing Byron's future. "For whatever reason, we have not performed and I take the blame myself. We just haven't gotten the job done like we should, and so sometimes when you have those kinds of situations you have to change something up to get a fresh start."
Kahne joined Hendrick Motorsports in 2012 and immediately won two races. Yet that has been the only season, to date, Kahne has finished in the top 10 in points with Hendrick. While he's gone on to win four more races – including the Brickyard 400 last month to lock himself into the playoffs – Kahne failed to make a post-season appearance in 2015 and 2016.
Through 22 races this season, Kahne has just four top-10 finishes.
"I take responsibility for that," Hendrick reiterated. "I'm not blaming anybody – crew chief or drivers. For whatever reason, we weren't hitting it."
Even with the driver change, Hendrick revealed he will still be paying Kahne next season. And without going into details, Hendrick said he is also helping Kahne "in another situation that we could be involved with in helping another team."