Team owner Rick Hendrick said:

Our people have a lot of respect for Kenny and what he’s accomplished. We know the chemistry is already there with Kasey, and there’s no doubt Kenny will communicate very well with our folks. He’s a character guy who brings an awful lot to the table as a crew chief. When we look at “fit factor,” it’s a great situation.

Francis added:

Joining Hendrick Motorsports and continuing to work with Kasey next year is an opportunity I’m excited about. He’s a championship-caliber driver and good friend, and I’m looking forward to building on our relationship. Mr. Hendrick has built an impressive team and culture, and it’s going to be fun to be a part of that when the time comes. I’m very optimistic about the rest of this season and focused on getting to Victory Lane with the No. 4 team. I want to thank Jay Frye and everyone with the organization for the chance to be part of such a great group of people. We still have goals to achieve there, and those are foremost on my mind right now.

In April of 2010, Kahne signed a multi-year deal with HMS to drive the No. 5 Sprint Cup Chevy. At the time, Mark Martin was slated to drive the car in 2011. With the NASCAR-mandated maximum of four drivers under contract, Kahne was left to sign with a team for one year.

After much speculation that Martin would leave the team and sign with Red Bull Racing, Kahne ended up going to RBR.

A couple of months later, it was reported that Francis would move to RBR with Kahne. At that time, I speculated that Francis would move to HMS with Kahne for 2012, which would result in Alan Gustafson ending up as crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr in 2012.

With last off-season’s reshuffling of crew chiefs at HMS, I don’t think that Gustafson or Steve Letarte will switch teams.

Lance McGrew, current crew chief of the team that Francis will take over when Kahne joins HMS, will return to HMS’s research and development department, including working on special projects and working with the development of the 2013 Sprint Cup car.

Earnhardt Jr just completed the third year in a five-year deal that runs through the 2012 Sprint Cup season. Hendrick was quoted as saying:

We’re looking at extending [the contract]. I really like him. I think the world of him. I know he can do it. We just have to get the right combination in, and I think we’re going to have it. I hope we get to race together until he retires … until I retire. I’ll retire first.

Earnhardt Jr said:

The only person that can truly help me get where I need to go starts with me, then it goes to Rick, Steve [Letarte] and those guys in your inner circle every week and in your corner every week. My biggest problem, I think, is my confidence.

The news of contract talks comes after HMS announced that Earnhardt Jr will be paired with crew chief Steve Letarte next season. In a three-crew-chief swap, Earnhardt Jr gets Letarte from Jeff Gordon; Gordon gets Alan Gustafson from Mark Martin; and Martin gets Lance McGrew from Earnhardt Jr.

As part of the restructuring, the No. 88 team will move to the shop with the five-time championship team of Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus. Gordon will move to the shop with Martin.

Lance McGrew, Earnhardt Jr’s crew chief this season, moves from the No. 88 to the No. 5 and driver Mark Martin, who will be entering his final year at HMS in 2011. Alan Gustafson, crew chief for Martin this season, moves from the No. 5 to the No. 24 with Gordon.

The only crew chief-driver combination left in tact was that of five-time Sprint Cup champion, Jimmie Johnson.

Team owner Rick Hendrick said:

This will improve us as an organization, across the board. We had a championship season (in 2010), but we weren’t where we wanted and needed to be with all four teams. We’ve made the right adjustments, and I’m excited to go racing with this lineup.

Earnhardt Jr is  coming off a 21st-place finish in the points, and his second consecutive season missing the Chase. While Letarte and Gordon have won only one race in the last three seasons, Letarte has helped guide the team to the Chase in each of those three seasons.

As a part of the re-alignment, the No. 88 shop will be housed with the championship team of Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus. The No. 24 and Gordon will move to the same facility as Martin and the No. 5.

Hendrick plans to discuss the shakeup on Wednesday discussed the move in more detail on Wednesday. In an Associated Press article, Hendrick said:

This was not a Dale Earnhardt – not a move that we made, this major of a move, because of Dale or his situation. I am excited about making all four teams better. We need to be better across the board. We are not going to leave any stone unturned. … A tremendous amount of thought went into it, and it was not a (decision) from the hip. It’s not one of those things that you can vote on; it’s one of those things you have to pull the trigger and go do it.

Despite public comments that McGrew and  Dale Jr would be together in 2011, it appears the rumor mill is buzzing that a move may be in the works. Ron Malec’s name has been thrown around a lot. But, Bowles doesn’t think that will happen because he’s a crucial piece of Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 team.

Alan Gustafson’s name has also been thrown around — and I predicted that might happen, just not this soon. But, as of this point, it’s just a rumor.

Kahne signed a contract with Hendrick Motorsports for the 2012 Sprint Cup season. But, because HMS had a full stable of drivers for 2011, Kahne signed on with RBR for the 2011 season. In 2012, he will move to HMS.

It seems that Francis will move to HMS with Kahne, though RBR sources would not confirm that. They indicated that he could stay with RBR beyond 2011, but that seems doubtful.

In September, I wrote that I thought that Francis would move to HMS with Kahne. They have been together since 2005, and have won 10 races and made the Chase twice in that timeframe.

If he does move to HMS in 2012, there’s a good chance Alan Gustafson will move from the team’s No. 5 Chevy to the No. 88 and driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Last season, when Earnhardt Jr and crew chief Tony Eury Jr we having problems, there were rumors that Rick Hendrick considered moving Gustafson to the No. 88 and Eury Jr to the No. 5. I wrote:

While those reports were denied, there is a good chance they were actually considered. And, if that’s the case, Hendrick had to think that the pairing of Gustafson and Jr would be productive, or he wouldn’t have considered it.    

And, I can’t imagine there’s a reason — if Hendrick considered pairing the two back then — that he wouldn’t try it in 2012, assuming the team’s performance continues on the track it is on.

Francis and Kahne have been together since 2005, when Francis took over crew chief duties from Tommy Baldwin Jr. in the middle of that season. Baldwin left the team to work with Elliott Sadler at Yates Racing.

Francis and Kahne have combined for 10 wins together, and have made the chase together twice.

If Francis moves to RBR to serve as crew chief for Kahne, it is likely — assuming he doesn’t sign a multi-year deal with RBR — to fuel speculation that Francis will also leave RBR following the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season to move with Kahne to Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 5 team.

If that happens, that would leave HMS with five crew chiefs and four teams in 2012, if no other moves are made between now and then. Of HMS’ current crew chief stable, it would appear that Alan Gustafson, crew chief of Mark Martin and the No. 5, would be the odd man out.

But, earlier this season, Gustafson signed a multi-year extension with HMS so he is likely to stay with the organization. There is a chance he will be moved to the research and development department.

But, I don’t think he will. I think that — assuming no other moves are made — he will become crew chief to Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Before Tony Eury Jr and Earnhardt Jr were separated, there were rumors that team owner Rick Hendrick was considering swapping Eury Jr and Gustafson. While those reports were denied, there is a good chance they were actually considered. And, if that’s the case, Hendrick had to think that the pairing of Gustafson and Jr would be productive, or he wouldn’t have considered it.

After the rumors surfaced, Gustafson and Mark Martin began to improve their performance, stopping any chance for a swap.

If Gustafson were moved to Jr’s No. 88 team, that would pave the way for Lance McGrew to return to his previous role in the R&D department. Back in April, I wrote:

I don’t think — of course I don’t have insider knowledge — that McGrew would mind stepping out of the crew chief role. He seemed to be willing to accept the role as Earnhardt Jr’s crew chief more because Hendrick asked rather than because of a genuine interest.

So, if Francis does indeed sign on with HMS, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Gustafson and Jr together in 2012.

This announcement ensures that Knaus will remain paired with four-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson for the next several years. Johnson signed a five-year extension with  HMS at the end of last year, and it is likely that Knaus’ deal would keep him at HMS for the same amount of time. This, of course, is purely speculation.

Gustafson’s role, however, is much less certain. He is currently crew chief for the No. 5 team and driver Mark Martin. With the addition of Kasey Kahne to HMS in 2012, Martin will step out of the No. 5.

The issue is that Kahne’s contract with Richard Petty Motorsports expires this year, and all indications are that he would move to Stewart Haas Racing, an HMS affiliated team, for one season before moving to HMS in 2012.

Many believe that Gustafson will become Kahne’s crew chief when he joins the organization. And all indications point to that. But, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s not the case.

Before Tony Eury Jr was removed from his position as Dale Earnhardt Jr’s crew chief last season, there were reports that Rick Hendrick considered swapping crew chiefs Eury Jr and Gustafson. Those reports were later denied. But, if true, that indicates that Hendrick thought that Gustafson would be a good fit for Earnhardt Jr — at least good enough to consider the move.

Gustafson and Martin turned their season around and won some races, and contended for a championship. That made it harder for Hendrick to justify the switch. Why break up a winning team that is performing?

Perhaps, with the addition of Kahne, Hendrick will be given the opportunity to consider moving Gustafson to the No. 88 team and Earnhardt Jr. In order for that to happen, I think Hendrick would make a play for Kenny Francis, Kahne’s crew chief during his entire Sprint Cup career.

I haven’t been given any reason to believe that Francis and Kahne have no desire to work together anymore. And, it may be more appealing for Hendrick to bring Francis on board so he doesn’t affect the chemistry. He’s also done it before with Earnhardt Jr and Eury Jr.

That would also mean that Lance McGrew would return to his previous role in the research and development department. I don’t think — of course I don’t have insider knowledge — that McGrew would mind stepping out of the crew chief role. He seemed to be willing to accept the role as Earnhardt Jr’s crew chief more because Hendrick asked rather than because of a genuine interest.

So I can’t imagine that McGrew would have a problem with stepping down. Then again, I don’t really know that for sure.

Another, less likely scenario is Tony Eury Jr becoming Kahne’s crew chief. I highly doubt this is likely, but about a month ago we never would have believed Kahne would be driving a HMS Chevy. So, you just never know.

For quite a while now, Jr Nation has been calling for Eury Jr’s head — or job as it were. Eury Jr took a lot of the flack for Dale Jr’s lackluster, on-track performance. After all, Jr was in arguably the best equipment, but the wins weren’t coming. There was a lot of speculation that a change was coming. So, Rick Hendrick was forced to make a change, despite seeming reluctant to earlier.

The question that remains to be seen is whether or not this will make a difference.

Whitesell has been part of seven NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship teams in a managerial role. He also won two out of seven races with Jeff Gordon, when he served as interim crew chief for Gordon in 1999 after Ray Evernham’s departure.

Whitesell’s experience and expertise should help turn around the performance of Dale Jr. But, Whitesell last served as crew cheif in 1999, when the COT didn’t exist. Does Whitesell know enough about the COT to help set up Dale Jr’s car? That remains to be seen. But, he should still be able to help improve the team’s performance.

McGrew won the 2003 Busch (now Nationwide) Series championship with Brian Vickers, and was Vickers’ crew chief for his 2006 Talladega victory — Jr Nation surely remembers that victory. He also led Tony Stewart to victory earlier this season at Daytona in the Nationwide car.

Similar to Whitesell, McGrew has winning and championship experience, which should help Dale Jr’s performance.

Add in Rex Stump and Tom Stewart, and the four of them should be able to set up a car suitable for Dale Jr to drive to better-than 40th place finishes.

Don’t expect a night and day switch. Jr isn’t likely to win Dover or Pocono. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him struggle up until the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona in July.

That’s not to say that these moves are not good. I just think that he’ll need time to adjust to his new crew chief, and vice versa.

Dale Jr, over the radio, is not a driver like Mark Martin. Dale Jr doesn’t tell his crew chief to take wedge out or to go up or down on a track bar adjustment. Instead, Jr tells his crew chief that car is pushing in the center of the corner, etc.

This, I don’t think, suits Eury Jr’s style. Eury probably needs more information about the adjustments, not what the car is doing. I think this is why I they couldn’t turn it around.

All in all, I think this is a good move for Dale Jr. But I would also like to see Eury Jr become a crew chief for someone again. I think he could do very well with a different style of driver, maybe Brad Keselowski or Mark Martin.

One last thing, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Alan Gustafson as Dale Jr’s crew cheif next year.

Regardless of what actually happens, I stick by my opinion that a move might be good for all involved, at least on Jr’s team. This is assuming he continues struggling.

I don’t question Jr’s focus or Eury Jr’s ability. I think Jr is focused and committed to turning around his team’s performance, as is Eury Jr. But, if everyone is working hard, and is focused, and the results still don’t come, something has to be done.

I believe Hendrick is committed to Eury Jr for the time being. But, if track performance doesn’t improve, he would be forced to do something, and maybe a crew chief change is the answer. Maybe it isn’t.

That’s not for me to decide. Ultimately, that’s a decision Hendrick may have to make.