This past weekend, Kasey Kahne gave Richard Petty another trophy to hoist on his mantle, but the driver of the No. 9 Budweiser Dodge was not the only team member to put a smile on the King’s face. For the first time since the season-opening Daytona 500, three of the four Richard Petty Motorsports cars finished in the top-10 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

“Naturally it's good for morale, if nothing else,” Petty said of his team’s impressive run on Sunday. “But under the circumstances, as tough as it is for sponsorships and all this kind of stuff, it's a big plus, from the Richard Petty Motorsports situation.”

After struggling for months and searching for answers, Kahne, AJ Allmendinger and Elliott Sadler responded on the twists and turns of Sonoma to show RPM is back headed in the right direction.

“The cars were good,” Petty went on to say. “They come off the trailer pretty good, all four of them, and they practiced good. A couple of them didn't qualify too good, but it was one of the better – probably the best race that we've been to as far as all four cars working together. You know, I don't know what kind of setups they had. They probably had it a little bit different. But the basic cars were all the same cars. 
 

“A couple of them, they got a lap down and was able to make the lap up and then was able to drive up through the crowd,” the seven-time champ continued. “Of all year long, probably this was the best our cars have been as far as being equal to each other.”

“You know, I think that was really cool to see Richard in victory lane with us, and it's a big deal,” Kahne said following his first win of the 2009 season. “Richard Petty Motorsports is a great company, and we keep building and trying to make it better and stronger, and Kenny Francis (crew chief) is a huge part of that.  So I'm happy driving cars that Kenny works on, that's for sure.”

As the team’s newest member, Allmendinger surprised many when he started the year off in Daytona with a third-place finish. After that, however, the former open-wheel star struggled to find the consistent finishes needed to run up front. The California-native scored a ninth at Martinsville in March, but had to wait nearly three months before breaking into the top-10 again.

"Obviously, whenever you run well you feel better and I think all of us at Richard Petty Motorsports are pretty happy this week,” Allmendinger pointed out. “Not only did we win the race with Kasey, but Elliott and I got top 10 finishes after being a lap down during the race. That's incredible, especially on a road course. Our people in this organization are warriors. They fight like heck whenever challenged and we have had our share of challenges this season. I hope we can get some more good runs like we had Sunday."

Sadler echoed his teammates’ comments after only his second top-10 of the year. Controversy surrounded the Virginia driver before the season started and despite a strong showing in the Daytona 500 (where he finished 5th), Sadler has continued to struggle throughout the year. The bottom of the speed charts has been a familiar place for the No. 19 Dodge, but with a strong run for the organization in Sonoma, Sadler has more confidence heading to New Hampshire this weekend.

"I was very happy how we ran and how our team ran last weekend,” Sadler explained. “That gives you a ton of momentum for this weekend. Our people at this team and working a lot of hours and sacrificing a lot to make this organization succeed and those efforts are showing on the track. I'm pumped up about where we are going. Kasey winning was great and the way AJ and I were able to come back from problems was really cool as well. Never giving up pays off. I hope we give The King a few more trips to victory lane this season."

The team’s fourth car, driven by Reed Sorenson, was unable to match the results of the other three cars. Sorenson broke a track bar early in the event and the team was forced to push the No. 43 Dodge behind the wall for repairs. The Georgia-native was able to return to the track, but finished the day in the 40th-spot.

The struggles facing RPM are far from over, but Sunday’s performance was a glimmer of hope for everyone involved. Uncertainties remain about Dodge’s future commitment to the organization following the bankruptcy of Chrysler, the new Dodge engine has been a slow work in progress – but is starting to show positive signs, and the continued search for sponsors is an arduous task these days – especially for a team that has not really produced great results.

Yet, Sunday’s performance showed the entire RPM organization is determined to weather this current storm and hopes to come out on top. Following his victory, Kahne is only three points out of the Chase and has been showing as of late he will be a threat for this year’s 12-man show at the end of the year. If the other three cars in the RPM stable can continue their march back towards the front, the smile on Petty’s face will only grow larger.

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