Bruce: Analyzing Kahne's Hendrick extension

Hendrick officials announced the re-signing of Kahne Thursday, less than a week after the completion of the 2014 season and barely 24 hours after announcing a crew chief change for the No. 5 team.

Kahne, 34, joined the four-team organization in 2012 and five of his 17 career wins have come with Hendrick.

Of the 19 drivers that have made an appearance in the Chase since ’12, Kahne is one of only seven to qualify all three years.

Thus far, his best year with the group came in ’12, when he won twice and finished fourth in the standings. Although he won twice in 2013, he ended up 12th in the final rundown. This time around, he won just once and slipped to 15th.

Elliott, who turns 19 later this month, just wrapped up a three-win season that saw him capture both the NASCAR Nationwide Series title and the Sunoco Rookie of the Year award while competing for JR Motorsports.

The son of 1988 premier series champion Bill Elliott, he is slated to defend his series title in ’15 with JRM while also running a limited Sprint Cup Series schedule for HMS.

He is expected to begin competing in Sprint Cup full time in 2016.

Where that open seat will surface, however, has yet to be determined.

The speculation was that Elliott could slide into the No. 5 ride after next year, but with the announcement of Kahne’s contract extension, that appears to no longer be an option.

And the remainder of the HMS driver lineup seems to be locked in as well.

Six-time series champion Jimmie Johnson, whose current agreement ends after next season, is said to be working toward a contract extension. Johnson hasn’t competed at the Cup level for anyone other than Hendrick, and when you win six championships and 70 races during a 13-year span, why would you?

While retirement has been mentioned a bit more often around Jeff Gordon, the four-time champion is coming off of a revitalizing four-win season and sixth-place points finish. His contract with Hendrick was termed “lifetime” back near the end of ’99 while recent sponsorship agreements with companies such as 3M are likely tied to his continued participation and run through 2017.

The contract for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who joined the organization in 2008, runs through 2017 as well, and similar to Gordon, he is coming off a solid season. Although he finished eighth in points, Earnhardt’s wins (four) and top-five finishes (12) were his most since ’04.

Had Hendrick elected to not re-sign Kahne, it would not be the first time the organization had jettisoned a driver to make room for someone else. Kyle Busch was released after three full seasons at the end of ’07 to make room for Earnhardt Jr. A year later, Casey Mears was replaced with veteran Mark Martin.

It’s obvious that officials still feel Kahne can get the job done and that they were willing to shake up the team to provide the opportunity.

Longtime crew chief Kenny Francis will move into the new role of vehicle technical director for HMS while Keith Rodden, the lead engineer for the No. 5 team in 2012-13 before departing to become crew chief for Jamie McMurray at Chip Ganassi Racing this past season, will return to the fold to serve as crew chief for Kahne.

Francis worked exclusively with Kahne from ’06 through ’14, earning 16 of his 17 wins as crew chief for the Enumclaw, Wash., native. The two were paired at Evernham Motorsports (which later became Gillett Evernham Motorsports), Richard Petty Motorsports and Red Bull Racing before winding up at Hendrick.

At 34, Kahne is the youngest of the four Hendrick drivers – Gordon is 43, Earnhardt Jr. 40 and Johnson 39. Earnhardt Jr. has also win five times since ‘12 and Kahne’s arrival, while Gordon has won seven times and Johnson 15.

Based on the current situation, it appears likely that Elliott could begin his full-time Sprint Cup career elsewhere while waiting for a seat to open up at Hendrick. The organization used a similar system in 2011 when it placed Kahne, whom it had signed midway through the previous season, with Red Bull. He joined Hendrick a year later, following Martin’s departure.

Today, HMS has ties to several other organizations, most notably Stewart-Haas Racing.

While Elliott is expected to be a contender once he works his way into Sprint Cup, Kahne has already proven that he has what it takes to contend for wins in the series.

Signing him to an extension, along with the personnel moves, wasn’t the only option, but it was the right one.

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