Kahne's long-term future with RPM hangs in limbo (cont'd)

So would he leave?

"For me to leave ... well, I wouldn't want to -- but at the same time, I want to get a chance in some really good equipment, too," Kahne said. "I think we're working on that. If we get there, I'll stay with RPM for a long time."

“

What gets to me is when you start getting happy with running 12th or 14th. That's not where I want to be. And at times right now, I leave the track and finish 13th -- and yeah, I'm a little upset.

”

-- KASEY KAHNE

Richard Petty, who owns the team along with the Gillett family, said he doesn't know what the future holds for Kahne or anyone else under the current economic conditions in which they all operate.

"As far as I know, he's signed up through next year. If the economy don't turn around, none of us might be in business," Petty said. "I think we will be -- but it's going to have to be a situation where he weighs his options and we weigh our options. And hopefully we weigh both of them on the same side of the scale. But nobody knows what's going to happen next week, let alone what's going to happen in a year and a half.

"Whether the economy turns around -- how much and how quickly it turns around when it does -- nobody knows any of that stuff right now. It's one of those deals where nobody has any control. We just have to go with what we've got and what we know, and make the best out of it right now."

Petty added that he understands Kahne's need for more consistent speed. He pointed out how Kahne followed strong finishes at Atlanta and Bristol, where he finished seventh and fifth, respectively, with back-to-back 19th-place finishes in the next two races at Martinsville and Texas.

Asked to assess the performance of Kahne's No. 9 team, Petty admitted: "It could be a lot better. From Kasey's standpoint, he's doing all he can do. We've got to give him a little bit better equipment from the point of consistency. He'll run good one race and then bad the next race and then good again. We've got to get more consistent with that team, but that doesn't have anything to do with the economy. That's an inside job that we as Richard Petty Motorsports must overcome those shortfalls that we have."

Kahne hopes that they can. They tried a new engine package Friday during practice at Talladega, as did teammate A.J. Allmendinger in his No. 44 Dodge. But by late afternoon, both teams had decided to switch back to what they had been running previously with mixed success.

"I like to win. I know that much," Kahne said. "I want to have an opportunity to win each week, and just be in a position where as a driver if I make all the right decisions, and the team and the crew and the crew chief [make the right decisions], if the calls on pit road are right, if everything goes our way, if everybody has a perfect race, you are in position to win. And we're not there right now, as far as doing that consistently.

"I think right now we have our shots two or three times a year where we are that team. And when we have those shots, we usually win one or two races a year."

Well, he won two last year -- plus the non-points all-star race. But after running in the top 10 in points most of the season, he fell off at the end and finished 14th, missing the cutoff to the Chase. And last year's two trips to Victory Lane remain his only two victories in point races since capturing a career-high six wins in 2006.

Kahne wants to get that winning feeling back more regularly again, whether it's at RPM after next season or somewhere else.

"I don't know. I just think it's still a ways away from really having to make a lot of decisions about that stuff. But I like what Jimmie Johnson does; I like how Kurt Busch has been a lot better at times this year; I like what Kyle Busch does; Tony Stewart has been really consistent," Kahne said.

"As far as being in those top-five situations, and top-10 spots and being able to make your car better throughout a race, and not necessarily making it worse every time you try to touch it. I think what those guys do is what I would like to do. Now whether I can or not, that's the question. But that is what I would like to do. When our cars have been good, we've been one of those teams that can adjust and can make it better throughout the race, and we've won races. So I feel like we can do that if we're in the right position."

He wanted to make it clear that he has not given up on RPM or the Dodge brand he currently drives. But he was just as clear about the fact that he wants both team and manufacturer to give him better tools to help him improve his on-track performance.

"I work hard to make sure I do the best I can each week. And you know, what gets to me is when you start getting happy with running 12th or 14th. That's not where I want to be," Kahne said. "And at times right now, I leave the track and finish 13th -- and yeah, I'm a little upset, but that's better than it could have been. I don't really like that kind of attitude, but that's kind of what I've been the last couple of years.

"I think you get that way by where your results are and where you're racing. And it's a good thing, too, because at least you're being consistent and you're not falling out of races and finishing 40th. But I want that drive and that adrenaline that comes with being a top-five guy. I'm just going to keep working hard and hope that we get there this year. We're doing some really good things engine-wise and power-wise to hopefully be ready to go by the All-Star Race [in May]. And then we should be pretty good."