Kahne takes Richard Petty to Victory Lane with road course win at Sonoma

Kahne holds off Stewart for 1st road course win

SONOMA, Calif. — Kasey Kahne figured a spot in the Chase for the championship was an unrealistic goal just two months ago. He wasn’t running well, Richard Petty Motorsports was behind in its development, and the competition was steadily pulling away.

Then came a strong five-race stretch, punctuated by Sunday’s win at Infineon Raceway. It came at a road course, of all places, and snapped Kahne’s 37-race winless streak.

It also moved him up two spots in the standings to 13th, just three points away from a berth in the Chase.

“The Chase is what we work for every year. We need to have a car in that Chase,” he said. “We’ve run strong for the last six races … top-five, top-10 material. Haven’t finished there, but we’ve been there, and (Sunday) we did.

“I know we have a great opportunity if we keep showing up and working as hard as we have been to make the Chase.”

His win brought team co-owner Richard Petty to Victory Lane for the first time in over a decade. The last time a Petty-owned car won a race was John Andretti’s 1999 victory at Martinsville.

So his return trip was special, in large part because it gave a much-needed boost to struggling Richard Petty Motorsports. Caught in the financial crunch of Chrysler’s bankruptcy, the team had a recent round of layoffs and companywide salary reductions, and Kahne had been openly critical of the team’s slow development on an improved Dodge motor.

“I feel just as good as (Kahne) does,” The King, clad in his trademark cowboy hat and sunglasses, said before he sipped on a congratulatory glass of red wine. “It’s great, man. It’s great.”

Petty’s race team teetered on the verge of collapse at the end of last season and needed a January merger with Gillett-Evernham Motorsports to secure the storied NASCAR team. Rebranded as Richard Petty Motorsports, the four-car organization kicked off the season with a strong showing at the Daytona 500.

But it’s been a rough ride, since.

Team manufacturer Chrysler is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and funding to RPM has slowed to a crawl as Dodge restructures. The team laid off nine employees earlier this month while slashing salaries across the board, leading to quiet questions the last few weeks about a perceived financial instability.

Just Saturday, majority team owner George Gillett agreed to sell the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens in a deal that should help him fight any solvency issues.

It’s made for a frustrating season for Kahne, the star of the team, who at times this year has been vocal about RPM’s slow progress. His criticism prompted team officials to push out a new Dodge engine, and the improved motor had given Kahne hope that there’s reason for optimism.

Now he has his first victory on a road course — a remedy for any disgruntled driver.

“To me, we started the season a little bit behind,” Kahne said. “But it gave the guys that work at Richard Petty Motorsports a chance to build some better race cars, some better engines and work on the setups. It’s paid off. Today was a bonus, and it shows that we do have a lot of smart, really good people who work hard.”

Crew chief Kenny Francis said the business issues have been unsettling, even as the No. 9 team began to turn a corner and put together consistent runs. Kahne has collected three top-10s and his first win of the season in the past five races.

“It’s definitely tough times right now economically, everybody is feeling the pinch,” said winning crew chief Kenny Francis. “What we’ve tried to do is not let it distract us. It’s been difficult, really, to not let that distract you.”

Using humor, Petty tried to put his people at ease.

“From the financial end, we’ll definitely be there next week,” he joked. “We’ve got enough money to do that.”

Stewart, an accomplished road racer, finished second and was followed by Marcos Ambrose, who blew a motor in Saturday’s practice that forced him to start at the back of the field and forfeit his third-place qualifying position.

Jimmie Johnson was fourth and was followed by Denny Hamlin and Juan Pablo Montoya, who moved up two spots in the standings to take the 12th Chase position.

AJ Allmendinger, Kahne’s teammate at RPM, was seventh and Clint Bowyer, Jeff Gordon and RPM driver Elliott Sadler rounded out the top 10.

Kahne led the final 38 laps but had to stave off a final charge from Stewart on an overtime finish.

Scott Speed’s spin with two laps to go set up one final restart, and under a NASCAR rule started three races ago, Kahne and Stewart were side-by-side on the restart. Kahne zipped to the front from the outside, then pulled down in front of Stewart to firmly take control.

It was Kahne’s first win on a road course, a circuit the former sprint car star never expected to conquer.

“I learned how to drive on dirt,” Kahne said. “So to come out and win on a road course … it feels great. I can’t believe it.”