DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Richard Petty didn't even look like Richard Petty. The King walked through the garage area Sunday night wearing a ball cap instead of his trademark cowboy hat, his sunglasses long stashed, a broad umbrella protecting him from the rain. Something else was different, too -- cars bearing the Petty name finishing near the front in a Sprint Cup event.

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I can play that pass back in my head a million times between now and when I leave to go to California, but it's not really going to change the outcome.

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ELLIOTT SADLER

But that's what happened Sunday night in the Daytona 500, when the rechristened Richard Petty Motorsports -- an amalgamation of Gillett Evernham Motorsports and the old Petty Enterprises -- placed three cars in the top nine at Daytona International Speedway. A.J. Allmendinger finished third, Elliott Sadler fifth and Reed Sorenson ninth in what proved a strong debut for the new organization. Sadler even had a chance to win, leading the pack when drizzle began to spit from the sky, but shuffled behind eventual champion Matt Kenseth by the time rain started to fall in earnest.

Still, Petty wasn't complaining. "It was awesome anyway," the seven-time series champ said. "To miss everybody and still get three in the top nine? That's pretty good."

After 10 championships, 268 race victories and six decades in business, Petty Enterprises shut down after last season because it was unable to secure primary sponsorship. The remains of the once-great organization were sold to GEM, a team started by championship crew chief Ray Evernham and now controlled by sports mogul George Gillett. Petty brought over two cars, a handful of people and the unparalleled Petty name, which Gillett thought so much of he used it to rebrand the entire organization.

It was far from a perfect marriage. Dozens of crewmen were laid off in the merger, Petty as a solely owned entity was relegated to history, and as recently as Saturday former Petty driver and chairman Kyle Petty voiced his displeasure as to how the transaction occurred. After all that upheaval, Sunday's performance proved a welcome relief. The only downer was the 29th-place finish recorded by RPM driver Kasey Kahne. (Continued)