Dale Jr. not sure crew chief change coming; Kahne having knee surgery & more

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said that although his season has not been as good in the second half, it doesn't mean that a crew chief change is coming to his team for next season.

Earnhardt talked about his season and the future after qualifying on Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

ON HIS SEASON:

Dale Jr: "We were kind of working our way back into the top 12 about midway part of the year and we just haven't been able to put anything together the last half of the season. Nothing has worked really for us at all. It's been disappointing because I really felt we were better at the start of the year and we were actually trying to prove that and seeing some good signs and the second half it just hasn't been good at all. We haven't done anything. We haven't been really competitive in the second half of the season.

"The first half of the year was better (than last year). The second half of the year has been just like we had last year. ... It's pretty obvious we aren't very good and we need to do some things to get better. I think it's obvious that that's where we are. I don't think it needs to be overanalyzed or anything like that.

LOT OF PEOPLE WOULD READ INTO THAT CREW CHIEF CHANGE

Dale Jr: "I've asked Rick to not put me in that situation before the season was over with so we could focus on what we're doing at the race track. It's still a race weekend. I think that out of respect for the fact that we've got one event left to run and we need to just go in with the attitdue that we're here to race and we're here to run well this weekend, it was best not to get into those discussions before the end of the season. I've gotten into those discussions before the end of the season and I've never liked  it. I've never liked being a part of them. I've never liked being trying to play both sides of the fence. You got to come to the track and finish the season out with a package that will be different the next year and you got to pretend that you're here bringing your best bullets to the fight. I just assume not get into the middle of that stuff until the last race is run so we can concentrate on what we're doing.

NO-BRAINER THAT YOU GOT TO MAKE A CREW CHIEF CHANGE NEXT YEAR?

Dale Jr: "It's not a no-brainer. I'm not certain that's what's going to happen.''

ON DEALING WITH THE FRUSTRATIONS:

Dale Jr: "The last couple of years have been hard to deal with. They've been bad. We ain't run good. I ain't run good. It's been real hard to deal with. I still feel some resolve in my abilities and still feel some confidence in what I can do. I guess I'm just glad that that is still there.''

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

Kasey Kahne will have arthroscopic surgery on both his knees on Tuesday morning in Charlotte, N.C. He's having the surgery to treat plica syndrome in both, That cause an inflammation in the knees. Kahne says he'll need about six weeks of recovery time. Thus, he should be able to drive in the January Daytona test.

"It hurts all the time,'' Kahne said of his knees. "When I get out of the car, I limp for a while after a race. Some days it's a lot worse than others. I just wanted to get it taken care of.''

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

Scott Speed's future remains a mystery at Red Bull after Sunday's race. Kasey Kahne joins the team and provided Brian Vickers has no issues after going off blood thinners, that puts him in the other Red Bull car and Red Bull has said that it will have only two cars next year.

So what about Speed?

"I haven't honestly been told very much,'' Speed said. "I'm under contract with Red Bull, so we'll see what happens with that. I'm not planning anything. There's nothing to plan. I plan to run in a Red Bull car in Daytona and if it's not that, then I have absolutely no idea what it even could be.''

Asked if he'd mind running in the Nationwide Series, Speed said: "There's no question that I think I'm ready for what we're doing in Cup.  I proved that at the beginning of this year. When good cars have been underneath us, we've been fast. It's certainlny took the first full year. The first full year I think we went in a little bit too early but as of this year I felt where I've developed as a driver and where I'm at at the moment is a really good level.''

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

Goodyear expects to have a tire test Dec. 15 and 16 at Daytona International Speedway in light of the repaving there. All teams will be invited.

COMMENTS ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here; comments do not reflect the views of The Virginian-Pilot or its websites. Users must follow agreed-upon rules: Be civil, be clean, be on topic; don't attack private individuals, other users or classes of people. Read the full rules here.
- Comments are automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules, click the report violation link below it.