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For all intents and purposes Kasey Kahne is (or was) Richard Petty Motorsports. He’s, young, he’s attractive, and he’s attached, in one way or another, to just about every sponsorship deal the organization has. Kahne’s marketability and talent on the track made him an outstanding asset for an organization struggling to survive. Now that Kahne is soon to leave the organization, we’ll have a chance to see just how able RPM is to continue in a post-Kahne world.

Kahne’s exit from the team hardly came as a surprise to anyone. While I don’t think too many people thought Hendrick would be the place he’d go in 2011, it was widely believed Kahne wouldn’t return to RPM for another season.  Though things appeared to be improving as of late, his discontent with the team became apparent last September when he very publicly questioned the team’s leadership.

Unfortunately for Richard Petty Motorsports, their relationship with Kasey Kahne couldn’t be repaired.

What’s left of RPM is AJ Allmendinger, Elliott Sadler, and Paul Menard. Each of these drivers have contracts that will end at the conclusion of 2010. While prospects may not be too great for Allmendinger and Sadler (as there aren’t many open, funded spots), with improved performance and a billion dollar fortune behind him, Paul Menard could likely go any number of places. The team also faces the prospect of losing major sponsor Budweiser. So the question is, where do they go from here?

Every move the team makes from this point until the end of the season will determine their viability in 2011 and beyond. On top of losing Kahne, Sports Business Journal reported last Monday that the team was in default on a $90 million loan. George Gillett later said the debt was actually closer to $70 million and was in the process of being restructured. Unfortunately for RPM, George Gillett has a bad track record with sports teams and debt. See Liverpool FC; See Montreal Canadiens.

Foster Gillett told the media this weekend though his family was working to improve their liquidity position.

In a sport where your team is only as valuable as the sponsorships and drivers you bring to the table, RPM has lost it’s biggest asset. Without Kahne it’s likely sponsorships will be harder to come by and maintaining their profile as a competitive four car team will be harder to do. It will be interesting to see how the team advances down the rough road ahead.

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Bass Pro Shops and Kasey Kahne don’t seemingly have a lot in common, but with the season now in full swing the two are about to have a very similar decision to make: do they stay where they’re at or look for greener pastures elsewhere.

It’s well known Kahne and Bass Pro are in contract years, and given the tension they’ve had with their respective organizations in the past their futures might seem clear; but with recent success and transition both could make surprise moves.

For Bass Pro the transition from DEI to EGR was less than a happy one. It was quite apparent last year that they weren’t putting much into their long standing deal. Even worse, when Martin Truex Jr. left, EGR had to do a lot of convincing to get the company to sign off on Jamie McMurray.

In just a matter of a couple of months though Bass Pro went from skepticism of their new driver, to celebrating with him in victory lane at the Daytona 500. As a sponsor do you stick with the current iteration of a team you’ve been with for years or go elsewhere? Arguably McMurray isn’t the best representative of the company, but if he continues to perform is there any reason for them to move on?

For Kasey Kahne the decision to leave Richard Petty Motorsports is equally murky. He joined Evernham Motorsports in 2004 and in that time racked up 11 wins, including two last year. Since 2004 though, the organization has gone through two mergers and all but lost Ray Evernham’s guidance.

In September, Kahne was among those publicly and privately questioning who was in charge at RPM.

“There are not a lot of answers out there right now. I don’t know if it’s because we’re in the middle of a lot of things, we just don’t have a person in that position. I think Robbie Loomis is supposedly going to be that guy, but I don’t think that he is yet. Is it Foster? You can’t get anything out of Foster. So it’s hard to say who that is, and I think that’s because we’re in a lot of different things right now. But when you’re in things, you still need to keep your team and your guys, your company behind you knowing what’s going on, and we don’t have that. Hopefully, we’ll get it soon. The sooner we get that, the better everybody will be.”

Since that time though Kahne seems like a guy much happier with and much more sure of his situation. That said as one of the sport’s most popular and talented drivers, does he stick with a team that needs him more than he needs them? If Kahne enters free agency he’s sure to be the hottest driver on the market. He’ll likely be able to write his own ticket.

Certainly continued success is going to be important for all parties involved to consider staying where they’re at, but if that does happen is there a reason to move on? And how much success do Kahne and McMurray need to have?

No matter what happens from here on out, I think both have to consider the options available to them. Either one may choose to stay where they’re at, but with plenty of teams looking for sponsors and the likelihood of any number of available seats, Kahne and Bass Pro would be crazy to not see who’s interested.

So what do you think? Will Kahne and Bass Pro stay put? What will it take for their respective teams to keep them? If they do move on where do you think they’ll they go?