For all of that success, 2006 was a dream
season for Kahne and it also marked the beginning of one of the top driver/crew chief pairings in NASCAR — one that continues to thrive. T at year, Evernham matched his ambi-
tious driver with his rising star crew chief: Kenny Francis. “I actually fi rst met Kasey when he
was driving sprint cars,” Francis says. “He
didn’t really know me, but I had a friend who was helping him, so I went and helped him one night. “Even back then, I thought, ‘Man, that
guy is pretty good.’ “I always kept my eye on him and always
thought, ‘Man, he’s got a lot of potential.’” Kahne and Francis had what stands
as their best season — winning a series- leading six races and fi nishing eighth in the
point standings — in 2006. “T at year, our cars were the best cars at
times and our engines were the best engines at times,” Kahne says. “We had things going for us and we took advantage of it.” T e instability began not long after that
memorable season, however, and it’s hin- dered Kahne and Francis ever since. T e fi rst hit came when profi ts fell at
Dodge. As a result, a substantial portion of Evernham’s funding dried up. T en, in 2007, Evernham sold the majority stake of his team to George Gillett — a move that would later disrupt the entire organization. “About the time we started to get
going, Dodge was in big fi nancial trouble,” Evernham says. “I brought the Gilletts in to fi ll that deal and it was the kiss of death. “I made a huge mistake bringing in
George Gillett.” T e already rocky road grew rockier
in 2009 when Gillett merged with Petty. T e situation only worsened in 2010 when Richard Petty Motorsports, despite being aligned with Roush Fenway Racing, was on life support. “T ere was no money for the team to
operate on, and you cannot run in this busi- ness without money,” Evernham says. But the team survived. Kahne and
Francis even had some promising runs, but there was no way for them to contend week in and week out. Looking back, both Kahne and Francis
always believed in themselves and their partnership, but the years of instability took a toll. “We were just out to lunch in 2007, so
that made it diffi cult,” Kahne says. “Early in the 2010 season, we started off strong. It was one of our better seasons. T en everything fell apart. T e Gilletts were a mess; the whole RPM situation, that was a mess. “It made it diffi cult for everybody
involved. It had been going in that direc- tion for a while, and then it all kind of hit last year. It wasn’t any fun at all to be part of that.” Kahne, not one for hyperbole, says 2010
was by far his worst season. “If you average out my whole career, it’s
probably been a six or a seven [out of 10],” he says. “T at was about a three.”
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