Kahne leading way for new-look Richard Petty Motorsports

Richard Petty Motorsports started 2009 in a state of transition, and is ending the year the same way.

Before the start of the season, what was known as Petty Enterprises merged with Gillett Evernham Motorsports to form what turned out to be a four-car Dodge operation. Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler, Reed Sorenson and A.J. Allmendinger were the quartet standing when the smoke cleared, and although the deal came together only weeks before the Daytona 500, RPM hit the ground running.

Kasey Kahne gave Petty a breakthrough victory at Sonoma. (Getty Images)

In fact, the team placed three drivers in the top 10 at Daytona. Oddly enough, Kahne, considered the organization's marquee name, wasn't one of them.

However, as the year went on Kahne fulfilled the role as team leader with a solid season that included a pair of victories and a spot in the Chase.

Kahne's road-course win in Sonoma brought the iconic Petty name back to victory lane in the Sprint Cup Series for the first time since John Andretti's win for "The King" in 1999.

"I feel just as good as he does," said Petty, his arm around Kahne that Sunday in Napa Valley. "It's great, man. It's great."

Kahne wound up 10th in the points standings, but considering the state of upheaval the team found itself in at the beginning of the year and the ongoing merger talks with Yates Racing that took place most of the season, he considered the year a success.

"We ran good a lot of the time and even though I feel like we were a little behind at the beginning of the year, I'm proud of what the No. 9 team did this season," Kahne said. "I think as an organization there were a lot of distractions and some unknowns, so for us to be able to kind of put that out of our minds and focus on getting wins and into the Chase to challenge for a championship I believe was a solid accomplishment."

Allmendinger showed the most promise out of Kahne's three teammates in 2009 and finished 24th in the final standings on the strength of six top 10 finishes.

The former open-wheel star improved greatly as the season wore on and Allmendinger was pleased with the effort.

"I'm just proud of everybody on the 44 team to get two top-10s and three top-15s in three races," Allmendinger said of his late-season surge. "That's good and something to build on."

Sadler is hoping to build on the five top 10s he posted, about the only bright spots in a disappointing season for the popular driver.

But at least Sadler can take solace in the fact he'll be back at RPM in 2010, something Sorenson can't say.

The young driver was told about midway through the year he wasn't in the team's plans but he continued to pilot the No. 43 ride without taking a salary and simply receiving a portion of race earnings.

Sorenson finished 29th and appears headed back to the Nationwide Series in 2010.

Season preview

The next era in Richard Petty Motorsports actually began at the tail end of 2009 with the transition from Dodge to Ford. As part of the deal the team struck with Yates Racing, Petty began making the move to the new manufacturer by fielding Fusions for Allmendinger and Sadler in a few races down the stretch.

With the completion of the merger now finalized, the 2010 campaign will see Kahne, Sadler, Allmendinger and Paul Menard -- who comes over from Yates -- comprise the RPM stable for the new year.

Kahne now returns to the manufacturer that originally signed him to a contract in 1993 after spending several seasons in Chrysler colors.

"There are a lot of people that I've made friendships with and it's tough to leave that," Kahne said. "At the same time, we have to go where the company feels that it's a better spot. That's what (RPM) is doing and I'm behind RPM because that's who I need to be behind and I want to race well for them wherever we go."

The No. 9 team will again be the lead operation for the team and is already busy preparing for 2010. That includes Kahne's participation in a tire test this week in Fontana, which will be his first time behind the wheel of an RPM Ford.

"I think it shows that we're used to changes and used to them always throwing something new at us and just kind of taking care of our business and taking care of the things that we can control," Kahne said. "As a driver, I try to do the best job I can with things I can control, and I know (crew chief) Kenny Francis and all the guys on our team do the same thing. So it's nice to have that type of a team that realizes, 'Let's do the best we can at what we can control,' and, other than that, we'll get what we get."

Sadler and Allmendinger will have their 2009 teams intact as they make the switch to Ford while Menard gets teamed with veteran crew chief "Slugger" Labbe, who spent 2009 with TRG Motorsports.

An alliance with Roush Fenway Racing will help the RPM organization immensely next season, but the Ford camp needs to rebound from what was overall a letdown year in 2009.

If more horsepower can be found, the reliable Roush-Yates power plants will be a boost to RPM, which will again put its faith in Kahne to carry the team into the Chase and try to wrestle a championship away from Hendrick Motorsports.

Allmendinger can come into the new season with confidence after his strong run to end 2009, while Sadler needs a rebound in a big way at this stage of his career. Menard has his well-funded family sponsorship budget in tow and it will be interesting if Labbe can up his performance level.

Overall having a complete season without any more significant company changes will be beneficial to RPM.