CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Kasey Kahne is a former sprint-car star trying to make it on the next level. Young, articulate and good looking, Kahne has qualities that far outweigh his modest NASCAR credentials.

Ford Racing recognizes his potential and has made it clear that any rival car owners looking for the next superstar will have a hard time getting Kahne out of its camp or his contract.

Kahne, a 23-year-old Busch Series regular, has been hotly rumored to be headed to Evernham Motorsports to drive a Dodge in NASCAR's top series.

	Ford plans to keep Kahne around for a while.

The talk has infuriated Ford, which has invested heavily in Kahne's future and made a point last weekend to announce it to the NASCAR community.

"It's said in this sport that rumors are just unconfirmed facts," said Greg Specht, manager of Ford Racing. "There's no question other teams have talked to Kasey, but the fact of the matter is Ford has a multiyear contract with him that we intend to honor."

The potential fight over Kahne has opened a debate in NASCAR over exactly how iron clad contracts are.

Although contracts are not openly discussed, there are few secrets in the NASCAR garage. Owners know when drivers are becoming available and what kind of buyout options they have. In the race to sign the biggest names -- NASCAR does not have any sort of tampering rules -- its become common practice for owners to approach drivers still under contract.

"A contract is not what it used to be," car owner Richard Childress said. "It used to be that a handshake got the deal done. But the pressure in this series is so great, I'm not sure what a contract means anymore."

Despite being a year away from free agency, Tony Stewart was heavily courted earlier this season by Chip Ganassi Racing. He ultimately re-signed with car owner Joe Gibbs, a full 16 months before his current deal even expired.

Just last week, Dale Earnhardt Jr. signed the first contract of his career after lengthy negotiations with his late father's race team. Any team could have tried to sign him away during the process.

The manufacturers are taking contracts quite seriously, proven earlier this year when Dodge terminated its deal with Bill Davis Racing because it claimed the car owner was working with Toyota.

And earlier this month, Ford parted ways with Jasper Motorsports because the team showed up at Talladega with a Dodge Intrepid for driver Dave Blaney to compete in.

By tearing up the paperwork, both manufacturers showed how cutthroat the business has become.

"We expect anyone we enter into business with to live up to their end of the deal, just as we promise to live up to our end of the deal," said Bob Wildberger, senior manager of Dodge Motorsports.

That's all Ford is asking of Kahne, who so far is winless in two seasons in the Busch Series. But he's been part of Ford's driver development program since 2000 for an automaker that has taken great pains to lock in its talent; Mark Martin's 11-year-old son, Matt, has a Ford deal.

Keeping its talent is a serious issue with Ford, which still shudders over losing Jeff Gordon to Chevrolet early in his career.

After a two-year developmental deal with Ford in the Busch Series, Gordon fled to Hendrick Motorsports and its fleet of Chevrolets. He's since won four Winston Cup titles in a Chevy.

Ford lost Ryan Newman when car owner Roger Penske switched to Dodge, and Newman has won eight races this year in an Intrepid.

And Kyle Busch, the 18-year-old brother of Ford driver Kurt Busch, had a deal to drive a Taurus for Roush Racing, only to find an out that now has him with Hendrick.

Ford wants to make sure the same thing doesn't happen with Kahne, who is on his second contract with the manufacturer; it runs through 2005.

Ford tested him in both open-wheel and stock cars so Kahne could decide which racing route he wanted to take. He's received financial support to help him get to and from sprint-car races when they fell on the same weekend as a Busch race.

And when Ford helped him get his current Busch ride with Akins Motorsports, the manufacturer beefed up its technical and financial support for the No. 38 Ford to ensure it was competitive.

"Kasey has told us in the past that Ford has delivered on every promise it has made to him," Specht said. "We intend on continuing with that by ensuring he remains in competitive equipment with an eye toward becoming a future champion."

So Ford wants Kahne to race for the Busch championship next season and is adamant there is no clause in his deal that would allow him out if another team offered a Nextel Cup ride.

Kahne, reserved and quiet by nature, seems somewhat overwhelmed by all the sudden attention.

"It makes you feel good that Ford has come out and said all this," he said. "I'm still just racing the Busch deal, and all that stuff will come together in the next few weeks."

When pressed if Ford's protective stance made him feel good, he said yes.

"I feel a lot more wanted now than I did last week," he said before closing the subject.

To Ford, the subject is far from over. Where it ends could ultimately set a precedent in a sport ungoverned by a sanctioning body when it comes to driver and team contracts.

NASCAR views all of its teams as independents, the drivers as contracted workers hired by each team. Any disputes are worked out among each other, with NASCAR having no influence in the results.

So if Kahne or another team tries to press the issue with Ford, there's a real possibility it could be resolved in a courtroom.

"We have built a certain amount of equity in Kasey and taken pains to make him recognizable with the blue oval," Specht said. "We take that very seriously."