Kenneth Francis (born December 1, 1969) is an American NASCAR crew chief. He began his racing career at the age of eight, racing go-karts. He continued to drive the race car until 1996 when he began working on engines for Butch Mock Motorsports. Six years later, Francis became a crew chief for the first time while he was employed at Robert Yates Racing. He is currently employed at Hendrick Motorsports as the Vehicle Technical Director organization-wide.
Born on December 1, 1969 in Jacksonville, Florida, Francis began racing go-karts at the age of eight. While racing the go-karts, he managed to win a state championship. Afterward, Francis moved to regional and national circuits. During the late 1980s, he began racing late model stock cars, while being educated about mechanical engineering at the University of Florida. At the time, he was also working at a local power company, as well as traveling to tracks further away in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and South Boston, Virginia.[1]
NASCAR careeredit
In 1996, Francis stopped driving the car, and began working on the engines for a local team racing in the NASCARBusch Series While working with the team, he learned about fabrication, and the set ups of the cars. Two years later, Francis moved to North Carolina. Also in 1998, he began working with Rick Mast at Butch Mock Motorsports. After one year working with the team, Francis was hired at Robert Yates Racing to work on Dale Jarret's team. During the season, his team won four races, as well as the 1999 Winston Cup Series championship. He remained with the team until the end of the 2000 season, when he was offered to become the team engineer at Evernham Motorsports for Bill Elliott. For the 2003 season, he was promoted and became the crew chief and team director for Jeremy Mayfield. By the 2004 season, Francis helped the team to make the Chase for the Nextel Cup in its first year and win a race. In 2005, his team made the Chase, as well as winning one more race.[1]
During the following season, he became the crew chief for Kasey Kahne, which led to two consecutive fourth-place finishes, and a win at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the spring. At the end of the season, his team was able to record six wins, 12 top fives, 19 top tens, six pole positions, led 744 laps, and finished eighth in the standings. In 2007, Francis and Kahne failed to win a race, as George Gillett became part owner. During 2008, Francis continued to work with Kahne, and won two races: the Sprint All-Star Race and Coca-Cola 600. Afterward, Richard Petty became partial owner of the team, renaming it to Richard Petty Motorsports. During the season, they recorded two wins, seven top fives and finished tenth in points. He also recorded 27 lead lap finishes, the most throughout the season. In the 2010, they won the second Gatorade Duel race. Also during the season, Kahne decided to leave Richard Petty Motorsports to race for Red Bull Racing Team. Francis decided to follow Kahne,[2] after recording ten wins, 30 top fives and 12 pole positions in six seasons.[1] For the 2012 season, Kahne moved to Hendrick Motorsports.[3] Still with Francis, Kahne won two races, four pole positions, 12 top-five finishes and 19 top-ten finishes, and recorded a career best fourth-place finish in the final points. Francis continued as crew chief for the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team for the 2014 season. In 2015, Francis was part-time crew chief for the No. 25 driven by Chase Elliott. In 2018, Francis was Elliott's interim crew chief on the No. 9 team while Alan Gustafson was serving a two-race suspension.[4]
Referencesedit
^ abc. Redbullracingusa.com. 2007-02-20. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2011-01-10.
^Smith, Marty. “Crew chief to join Kasey Kahne in ’11,” ESPN.com. October 10, 2010. (Retrieved 2011-01-13.)
^. www.nascar.com. Archived from the original on 2011-08-03.
^"Kenny Francis named No. 9 crew chief for Bristol and Richmond". Hendrick Motorsports. April 11, 2018. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
External linksedit
Kenny Francis crew chief statistics at Racing-Reference
October 27, 2023
kenny, francis, cricketer, from, kitts, cricketer, kenneth, francis, born, december, 1969, american, nascar, crew, chief, began, racing, career, eight, racing, karts, continued, drive, race, until, 1996, when, began, working, engines, butch, mock, motorsports,. For the cricketer from St Kitts see Kenny Francis cricketer Kenneth Francis born December 1 1969 is an American NASCAR crew chief He began his racing career at the age of eight racing go karts He continued to drive the race car until 1996 when he began working on engines for Butch Mock Motorsports Six years later Francis became a crew chief for the first time while he was employed at Robert Yates Racing He is currently employed at Hendrick Motorsports as the Vehicle Technical Director organization wide Kenny FrancisNationalityAmericaBorn 1969 12 01 December 1 1969 age 53 Jacksonville Florida U S Monster Energy NASCAR Cup SeriesYears active2003 2018TeamsEvernham Motorsports Hendrick MotorsportsStarts405Wins17Poles21Best finish4th Kasey Kahne in 2012Previous series1996 1998 2008NASCAR Nationwide SeriesChampionship titles1999NASCAR Winston Cup Series Contents 1 Early life 2 NASCAR career 3 References 4 External linksEarly life editBorn on December 1 1969 in Jacksonville Florida Francis began racing go karts at the age of eight While racing the go karts he managed to win a state championship Afterward Francis moved to regional and national circuits During the late 1980s he began racing late model stock cars while being educated about mechanical engineering at the University of Florida At the time he was also working at a local power company as well as traveling to tracks further away in Myrtle Beach South Carolina and South Boston Virginia 1 NASCAR career editIn 1996 Francis stopped driving the car and began working on the engines for a local team racing in the NASCAR Busch Series While working with the team he learned about fabrication and the set ups of the cars Two years later Francis moved to North Carolina Also in 1998 he began working with Rick Mast at Butch Mock Motorsports After one year working with the team Francis was hired at Robert Yates Racing to work on Dale Jarret s team During the season his team won four races as well as the 1999 Winston Cup Series championship He remained with the team until the end of the 2000 season when he was offered to become the team engineer at Evernham Motorsports for Bill Elliott For the 2003 season he was promoted and became the crew chief and team director for Jeremy Mayfield By the 2004 season Francis helped the team to make the Chase for the Nextel Cup in its first year and win a race In 2005 his team made the Chase as well as winning one more race 1 During the following season he became the crew chief for Kasey Kahne which led to two consecutive fourth place finishes and a win at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the spring At the end of the season his team was able to record six wins 12 top fives 19 top tens six pole positions led 744 laps and finished eighth in the standings In 2007 Francis and Kahne failed to win a race as George Gillett became part owner During 2008 Francis continued to work with Kahne and won two races the Sprint All Star Race and Coca Cola 600 Afterward Richard Petty became partial owner of the team renaming it to Richard Petty Motorsports During the season they recorded two wins seven top fives and finished tenth in points He also recorded 27 lead lap finishes the most throughout the season In the 2010 they won the second Gatorade Duel race Also during the season Kahne decided to leave Richard Petty Motorsports to race for Red Bull Racing Team Francis decided to follow Kahne 2 after recording ten wins 30 top fives and 12 pole positions in six seasons 1 For the 2012 season Kahne moved to Hendrick Motorsports 3 Still with Francis Kahne won two races four pole positions 12 top five finishes and 19 top ten finishes and recorded a career best fourth place finish in the final points Francis continued as crew chief for the No 5 Hendrick Motorsports team for the 2014 season In 2015 Francis was part time crew chief for the No 25 driven by Chase Elliott In 2018 Francis was Elliott s interim crew chief on the No 9 team while Alan Gustafson was serving a two race suspension 4 References edit a b c Red Bull Racing Team Crew Redbullracingusa com 2007 02 20 Archived from the original on 2016 03 04 Retrieved 2011 01 10 Smith Marty Crew chief to join Kasey Kahne in 11 ESPN com October 10 2010 Retrieved 2011 01 13 Francis to make move with Kahne to 5 Hendrick Jul 27 2011 NASCAR COM www nascar com Archived from the original on 2011 08 03 Kenny Francis named No 9 crew chief for Bristol and Richmond Hendrick Motorsports April 11 2018 Retrieved January 20 2020 External links editKenny Francis crew chief statistics at Racing Reference Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kenny Francis amp oldid 1177334412, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
