Three of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams fielded by Richard Petty Motorsports finished in the top-10 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday with Kasey Kahne, Paul Menard and A.J. Allmendinger placing fourth, fifth and sixth in the Kobalt Tools 500.

Kahne had the fastest Ford in qualifying, starting the No. 9 from the sixth position and working his way to the top spot on lap 14. Kahne led the Kobalt Tools 500 eight times for a total of 144 laps, more than any other driver, on his way to a fourth place finish which moved him up to 17th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings. Kahne is now 58 points out of the top-10 in the championship battle.

"We had a really fast car and it was great most of the day," said Kahne. "The track changed quite a bit the last 50 laps and we just didn't keep up quite like we needed to win the race. I thought we had a third or fourth-place car at that time and that is where we finished, so it all worked out fine. It is great for the Ford family, the RPM Fords and the Roush Fords. It is nice to see the success and it is definitely something that we can build on."

Paul Menard started the No. 98 from 23rd and steadily moved through the field to finish fifth in the Kobalt Tools 500 Sunday afternoon, the second best finish of his Sprint Cup career. Menard moved up eight spots in the points and is currently ninth in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point race.

"It felt really good," said Menard. "The car was fast and a top five is a great way to start the year. The Richard Petty Motorsports guys did their homework in the offseason and improved these cars so much. Slugger made a helluva call there taking two tires at the end to get some clean track and we knew we probably weren't going to hold off four tires, but it at least got us in front of the excitement and I guess there was some at the end. We dodged a bullet there at the end with all the action out there. These guys worked their tails off all during the offseason, and it was a lot of fun out there."

A. J. Allmendinger took the green Sunday from the 25th position and experience handling problems from the start. Crew chief Mike Shiplett ordered changes to the No. 43 throughout the day, allowing Allmendinger the grip he needed to bring home a sixth place finish.

"I am not very good at qualifying here, but I love racing here," said Allmendinger. "We got a solid baseline to start the race with today and I think that really helped us. That was a big difference. It was a good run out there. The Insignia/Best Buy Ford was good all day. I am really proud because we were a top-10 car all day and we kept fine-tuning it and got it right. I am really proud of these Richard Petty Motorsports guys. I feel like we could have probably had a fourth or fifth out of it, but I am still really proud of the team. We are learning. There are still some things we have to get better at but all in all, for the pit crew and myself, it was a really good day. Hopefully this is something we can build on the rest of the way."

Elliott Sadler had a good run going in the Kobalt Tools 500 until sufffering damage to the No. 19 during a late race restart, regulating him to a 19th place finish.

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