Cody Darrah

A lack of sponsorship means Cody Darrah will be running a limited schedule with Kasey Kahne Racing in 2015. (Jeremy Elliott | jelliott@pennlive.com)

Things are changing slightly for Kasey Kahne Racing, and specifically Cody Darrah, in the 2015 Sprint Car season.

And it has nothing to do with performance.

Acquiring sponsorship is a tough racket. Companies shift money in different directions based on budgets and bottom lines. That is the case at KKR, and Darrah is the collateral damage, at least in the immediate future.

SurePoint, the title sponsor for Brad Sweet last season, has scaled back its efforts this year. To compensate, Ollie's Bargain Outlet moves from Darrah's machine back to Sweet -- the two were partners in 2013 -- for a full-time assault on the World of Outlaws trail.

As for Darrah, he will fly Sage Fruit colors, along with other associate sponsors, and run a limited schedule in 2015.

"As of now, we are taking Cody to Florida," Kasey Kahne Racing spokesman Justin Adams said. "As of now, we don't have a set schedule for him. We don't have a specific number of races planned.

"All of the sponsorship things happened at the end the year. By the time we found out we didn't have sponsorship, budgets were locked up."

Continued Adams, "It will not be a full World of Outlaws schedule, but it will be a sufficient number of races. We hope to acquire sponsorship and get him out on the World of Outlaws tour in 2016."

Darrah, of Red Lion, started his Sprint Car career in central Pennsylvania. He was hired to drive for KKR in 2011 and earned one feature victory on his way to being named Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year on the WoO circuit.

Since his initial season with the series, it's been a bit of a rollercoaster from a perception standpoint.

Darrah earned one victory and was seventh in the points in 2012. A year later, he notched two wins and, again, finished seventh in the standings.

The problem for Darrah is that he has been a victim of his teammates' success. Daryn Pittman joined KKR in 2013 and won the World of Outlaws title, and Sweet captured the prestigious Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway.

Darrah had a good season a year ago. He had two wins and set career highs in top five (17) and top 10 finishes (44). Still, some fans questioned his ability through social media outlets.

"If we weren't happy with Cody, he wouldn't be here," Adams said. "He's had ups and downs, but he is where he is because we like having him here. In my opinion, he has the talent and is just a young kid trying to figure it out.

"Donny Schatz, Kerry Madsen, Paul McMahan and Joey Saldana didn't just come out here and get it. It takes time, and they have been traveling out here a long time and are just now reaping the benefits.

"Cody just needs to harness his talent and figure things out. It takes time, but we think he is going get it."

Darrah is only 25 years old. He has plenty of time to slow down to go faster and gain the experience needed to be successful.

In the meantime, Kasey Kahne Racing is sticking by Darrah and seeing this thing through. And that means aggressively going after sponsorship to keep him on the WoO circuit and a part of this three-car team.

"There is an outside chance that we will find something this year," Adams said. "That is our goal, to get Cody Darrah on the World of Outlaws tour.

"We are working on a bunch of sponsorships, and there is a slight possibility that he can run the whole tour. If not, we want him out there full time in 2016."