From Jacob Agajanian: Kasey Kahne Racing today named current World of Outlaws champion crew chief Ricky Warner to be the crew chief for the KKR Mopar – powered JEI # 9 sprint car driven by Joey Saldana, effective immediately.
“We had a great season in 2006,” Kasey noted, “Finishing third in the championship while winning seven features, including the Kings Royal. Ricky is a trusted friend and great addition to our team. As crew chief for the World of Outlaws car, Ricky will allow Willy [Kahne] to become our managing director, overseeing our expanding racing operations.”
For his part, Warner was pleased with what is essentially a homecoming. Although he departs from the Parker Stores Racing / Schatz Motorsports with some sadness, he is excited to reunite with Kasey and the Kahne family operation. “I want to thank the Schatz organization for everything they did for me and my family”, Ricky said. “Donny is a great driver and we accomplished more than I thought was possible. Eighteen feature wins, including the Knoxville Nationals, and the World of Outlaws Championship – it almost sounds like a career record, and we did it in one year.”
“On the other hand,” Ricky continued, “I’ve known the Kahne family a long time. We met when we were all sprint car racing, and I was a car chief for Evernham Motorsports in the Busch series before returning to sprint cars in the summer of 2005. Kasey has a solid organization in place, and I look forward to helping him, Willy, Joey, and the rest of the team take the next step.”
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Great move by Kasey! Ricky Warner is one of the top crew chiefs in sprint car racing today. It doesn't seem to matter who he is wrenching for, they end up being "bad" fast. Because I am a Joey & Kasey fan I think this is a great move, but it does hurt a little bit for Donny. I am sure Donny will find a suitable replacement, but Ricky will be very hard to duplicate. This one single move changes the race for the title significantly. I would say the Joey instantly becomes a front runner for the 2007 title, along with Schatz & Dolansky. IF Lasoski jumps ship, he would be included in that discussion as well.
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