Kasey Kahne, who was released Wednesday night as the driver of the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 9 Budweiser Ford, came on the scene in 2003, when RPM was still Evernham Motorsports. In the seven years since, he's racked up 11 victories, including an impressive six victories in 2006.
But Kahne was a lame duck at RPM, and he and longtime crew chief Kenny Francis had previously announced their intentions to race for Red Bull Racing in 2011 as a stopover point before Kahne's move to Hendrick Motorsports' No. 5 car in 2012.
Here's a look back at Kahne's seven-year ride through the ranks of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series:
Date: Feb. 14, 2004
Race: Daytona 500
Importance: Kahne's first Cup Series experience under the tutelage of owner Ray Evernham -- and with expectations that the former crew chief could turn the 24-year-old driver into the next Jeff Gordon -- was abrupt and short. After qualifiying 27th for the season-opening 500, Kahne blew an engine 42 laps in and finished 41st.
Date: Feb. 22, 2004
Race: Subway 400 at 'The Rock'
Importance: It didn't take long for Kahne's name to become the next big thing of NASCAR. A week after a dismal finish in the Daytona 500, Kahne recorded his first runner-up finish, losing to by Matt Kenseth at the old North Carolina Motor Speedway at Rockingham by .010 of a second.
Kahne finished second a total of six times in 2004, including the next week at Las Vegas. In that event, Kahne won his first pole.
Date: May 14, 2004
Race: Chevy American Revolution 400 at Richmond
Importance: In a battle between the established former open-wheel racer in Tony Stewart and the newcomer Kahne -- both with extensive sprint car backgrounds -- the pair combined to lead 385 total laps over the 400-lap night race. At the end, though, Kahne led the most laps -- 242 -- and held off Stewart by 1.674 seconds to record his first career Sprint Cup victory.
Date: 2006 season
Importance: The term "coming-out party" certainly fits the mold of all-too-often-used sports cliché, but it's tough to find a better summation of Kahne's 2006 season. Kahne won early and won often in his third full season, taking the fourth race of the season with a win at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Four of Kahne's five other triumphs came at 1.5-mile tracks -- including a win at Texas and a sweep of the Charlotte points races. Kahne also won at the two-mile track in Fontana, Calif., in route his first Chase for the Sprint Cup appearance.
Date: August 6, 2007
Importance: In a move that seemed to establish a brief trend of NASCAR teams partnering with outside investment firms, Evernham sold a majority share of his team -- one that he began from scratch when Dodge re-entered NASCAR racing in 2001 -- to sports and business mogul George Gillett.
The move came during precipitous time for the team (Kahne didn't win in 2007 after his six-win burst just a year before) and left questions about Evernham's future involvement with the team. Those questions were answered for good after Evernham sold his remaining share in the team in 2009.
Date: January 9, 2009
Importance: Following a second straight season where he failed to qualify for the Chase to the Sprint Cup, Kahne again had to roll with the punches of another team ownwership change when Gillett partnered his racing venture with the long-struggling Petty Enterprises to create Richard Petty Motorsports.
The team transitioned to Ford race cars for the 2009 season and Kahne -- now accompanied by new teammates -- had his most successful season since the 2006 campaign. Two wins, seven top-fives and the most lead-lap finishes he's ever had in a Cup season vaulted Kahne and Francis into the Chase. A blown engine in the first Chase race at New Hampshire, though, quickly derailed Kahne's championship aspirations.
Date: Oct. 16, 2010
Race: 2010 Bank of America 500 at Charlotte
Importance: A track where Kahne has a long record of success -- his three career wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway and an average finish of 13.5 make the 1.5-mile oval his best track -- proved to be the place where Kahne's relationship with RPM unraveled. Brake issues, an all-too-frequent problem with his cars, Kahne said, finally contributed to a frontstretch crash that sent his No. 9 to the garage.
Kahne left the track without comment, but in interviews early the next morning at his previously scheduled 5k charity race in Charlotte he told of the animosity of the evening. Kahne said he was sick during the race and that, combined with a wrecked race car, prompted him to leave the speedway. The team, though, repaired the car and driver J.J. Yeley finished the race in Kahne's seat -- one Kahne would never return to.
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