J.J. Yeley became NASCAR's newest Budweiser man for about 90 laps Saturday night after Kasey Kahne left the track following a lap 125 crash on the frontstretch. Yeley, who started the race in the start-and-park No. 36 for Tommy Baldwin Racing, hopped in the repaired No. 9 when Kahne decided to leave Charlotte Motor Speedway for the evening.
The driver change -- one that seemingly echoed a situation a few years ago when Kyle Busch departed Texas Motor Speedway after a crash only to see Dale Earnhardt Jr. finish the race in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports car -- initially was blamed by Richard Petty Motorsports staff on Kahne feeling ill.
However, listening to Kahne's radio told a different story -- one that involved Kahne being incensed over brake issues.
Fortunately, Kahne had a previously scheduled 5k running race for his charity foundation Sunday in Charlotte, and he didn't hesitate to speak up, explaining that both issues were involved.
"I want to thank J.J.," Kahne told The Associated Press. "I appreciate him doing that. I just didn't feel good enough to get back in the car." Kahne said he became sick to his stomach after the crash.
The nausea Kahne endured during the event wasn't aided by the brake problem -- he said his foot went to floor several times -- or by what Kahne says an RPM employee told him in the garage area.
"I'm not going to say names, but I was told that I need to start doing my part," Kahne told The AP. "I can't control the issues I've had this year. I don't know how many parts I've broke. If I really thought about it, I could come up with all kinds of stuff."
Kahne said he was as mad as he's ever been in a race car when his brakes failed.
"We were a little bit tight, but still actually passed cars and really felt good and then, boom, my brakes are gone. It's not like you have half-brakes, like you can pump them. Your foot goes to the floor. It bottoms out. It's a joke."
-- Kasey Kahne
"I came into the race thinking we had a shot to win, thinking we had a good car in practice, we had a good shot," he said. "It went green. We were a little bit tight, but still actually passed cars and really felt good and then, boom, my brakes are gone. It's not like you have half-brakes, like you can pump them. Your foot goes to the floor. It bottoms out. It's a joke."
He said it was his third brake failure of the season.
Kahne, of course, is leaving RPM at the end of the season for a ride at Red Bull Racing. After year's stopover in that seat, Kahne has a contract with Hendrick Motorsports.
Kahne's crew chief, Kenny Francis, is scheduled to follow the driver to Red Bull next season.
This season, Kahne is 21st in points after failing to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup -- a distinction he achieved last season.
Red Bull has been in an interesting situation this season thanks to a blood clot problem that sidelined driver Brian Vickers early in the year. Vickers is expected to return to start the 2011 season, but his No. 83 has been a rotating door of drivers.
Perhaps Kahne would look into leaving a seemingly unfixable situation at RPM to run a few races at Red Bull?
"I don't know," Kahne told SBNation.com. "I really don't know if that'll happen or not. I doubt it."
WHO'S HOT: Jimmie Johnson's third-place finish has him set up perfectly for a fifth straight title. What you're watching -- however you may feel about it -- is truly one of the greatest achievements this sport has ever seen. He looks untouchable, again.
WHO'S NOT: For a guy who looked like a potential force to reckon with coming into the Chase, Jeff Burton has been decidedly not. He's recorded three straight finishes of 18th or worse.
NOTABLE: Jamie McMurray proved again Saturday that his win in the season-opening Daytona 500 wasn't a fluke moment in reviving his career.
After being all but cast off from the sport in terms based on his performance in a lucrative deal with Roush-Fenway Racing that never showed results, McMurray's return to Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing seemed like a last-ditch chance before falling into obscurity.
Now, he's won Daytona, Indianapolis and Charlotte -- all in the same season. What's that say about McMurray, the driver, and about NASCAR's Chase format?
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