Kahne wins at Sonoma, Petty back in Victory Lane (cont'd)

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 and made company-wide salary cuts, and it's been plagued by whispers of financial instability the past several weeks.

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 four-driver team, who at times this year has been vocal about RPM's 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.

"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. [Sunday] was a bonus, and it shows that we do have a lot of smart, really good people who work hard."

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," Francis said. "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."

The victory moved Kahne to 13th in the standings, one spot shy of qualifying for the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. He's just three points outside the top 12 in what's shaping up to be an intense 10-week push to qualify for the title hunt.

After Kahne took the lead on a restart on Lap 80, he stayed out front the rest of the way.

"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."

Stewart's attempts to pressure Kahne into a mistake failed to produce the desired result.

"The second-to-last run there [when Stewart was leading Kahne], we were looking in our mirror and we were fast, but Kasey was matching us lap for lap," Stewart said. "Then when he came out in front of us after that last set of pit stops, I was like, 'Oh, we might be in trouble here.'

"We could run about the same pace. I just couldn't get [to him]. I was a little too loose in the right-handers.

Stewart has mentored Kahne at times in his career.

"Kasey just never made a mistake at the end," Stewart said.. "He did an awesome job those last 20 laps and just never slipped a wheel, never missed a corner and never made a mistake."

• Notes: Stewart expanded his lead in the Cup standings to 84 points over second-place Gordon. ... Montoya moved up two spots into 12th, the last position eligible for the Chase. ... Jeff Burton finished 34th and dropped from 12th to 15th. ... Stewart finished second for a season-high fourth time. ... A late-race accident dropped Dale Earnhardt Jr. to 26th at the finish.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.