RICHMOND, Va. -- Kasey Kahne, the top driver in the Richard Petty Motorsports stable, admitted he was as surprised as anyone at the news this week that RPM will be switching manufacturers at the end of this Cup season.

Officials from RPM announced Thursday that the organization will be making the switch from Dodge to Ford while merging with Yates Racing. Kahne currently drives the No. 9 Dodge that sits sixth in the points standings heading into Saturday's Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway -- the final race before the top 12 drivers are locked into the Chase for the final 10 races of the season.

Merger mania

Richard Petty Motorsports will merge operations with Yates Racing and switch to Ford in the 2010 season.

• Complete story
• Audio: King moving to Ford
• Audio: Petty, Yates merging

Thus Kahne finds himself in a bit of a strange place. He's poised to race for a championship in a Dodge, which he has driven his entire six-year Cup career.

But he knows his long-term future now appears to be in a Ford -- which he hasn't driven since being employed by Robert Yates Racing and Akins Motorsports in the Busch Series, now Nationwide, in 2002 and 2003, respectively. The irony there is that the association ended badly for him and for Ford, resulting in the manufacturer suing Kahne for breach of contract.

Kahne rose from the USAC open-wheel ranks to NASCAR with the support of Ford -- but left Ford and Akins, which was associated with Robert Yates Racing, because Kahne claimed he was not moved up to the Cup Series in a timely manner. When he began driving a Dodge part time for what was then Evernham Motorsports toward the end of the 2003 season in the Cup Series, he still had three years left on his contract with Ford.

"It wasn't really about me. It was about building Richard Petty Motorsports," Kahne said of Thursday's merger and manufacturer switch. "When I left Ford and we went through that suit, I wasn't a big fan -- and they weren't a big fan of me. But time heals, and I think some of those people are gone that caused all that. They have new people there. Ford is really excited, and I think we can work through things and figure out how to get by and use those guys and work with those guys to become a better race team."

There had been rumors that Petty was looking to move to another manufacturer when its contract with Dodge ends at the conclusion of this season. But most speculation had centered on a possible switch to Toyota.

Kahne admitted that Thursday's announcement caught him off-guard.

"I just heard a little bit here and there, but I didn't really know it had happened until Wednesday. ... I was surprised," Kahne said.

The switch leaves Dodge with only one organization running its cars in the Cup Series next season. That would be Penske Racing, which fields cars that will be driven in 2010 by Kurt Busch, Sam Hornish Jr. and Brad Keselowski, who will be replacing David Stremme.

Mike Accavitti, Dodge president and CEO, said in a statement Friday that he wishes Kahne and RPM luck in their new endeavor, while pledging support for the remainder of this season.

“

I just heard a little bit here and there, but I didn't really know it had happened until Wednesday. ... I was surprised.

”

-- KASEY KAHNE

"Dodge has enjoyed a successful partnership with Richard Petty and Richard Petty Motorsports," Accavitti said. "Richard has made a business decision to merge with Yates Racing. We wish Richard and RPM luck the rest of the season and in the future.

"Dodge's plan -- to be a championship contender in 2010 with Penske Racing and a solid lineup of drivers -- has not changed. We remain firmly focused on our objectives to be the leading manufacturer in the Cup Series, win races and compete for the Sprint Cup at the right level."

Kahne admitted he has some concern about the manufacturer switch adversely affecting his chances in this year's Chase, but he was quick to add that he doesn't think it will be a problem.

"It's not going to hurt us in terms of support," Kahne said. "The people that we have who have worked hard to put the No. 9 car where it's at right now are really good people. And I feel like they still want to win races. I've talked to them and I want to win races, and we all want to run as well as we can in the Chase. So hopefully it doesn't affect us -- but there is always that chance that, you know, it could. Hopefully it doesn't."

Kahne scoffed at one suggestion that he could essentially be reduced to the equivalent of a test team for the Roush Fenway organization, saying that it is his understanding that the new RPM will work with Roush Fenway more than for them.

"Our team has too many good people here," Kahne said. "We're not going to test for Roush. We're going to work with Roush and help Roush, and Roush is going to be a part of Richard Petty Motorsports, or however that all works out. I don't know exactly how it works out. But we're definitely not their test team."

The other RPM drivers in 2010 will be Elliott Sadler, who will be in the last year of his contract, along with A.J. Allmendinger and current Yates Racing driver Paul Menard.

As part of last Thursday's announcement, team co-owner Richard Petty also confirmed that Reed Sorenson, current driver of the No. 43 Dodge, would not return to drive for RPM next season.

Another odd driver apparently out in the new alignment is Jamie McMurray, currently driver of the No. 26 Ford for Roush Fenway. This is the last year Roush Fenway is permitted by NASCAR to run five teams -- and team owner Jack Roush already has committed to cars driven by Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth and David Ragan for next year.

Biffle said Friday at RIR that reaction to the news of RPM's addition to the Ford family was positive within the Roush Fenway camp.

"I think it's going to help our organization, having the Petty organization aligned with us. And certainly I think it's going to help Ford Racing in general," Biffle said. "I think it's a good thing for us. Obviously they needed to do something about a manufacturer, and I'm glad they chose Ford."