Even Petty unsure of how to celebrate team's victory

SONOMA, Calif. -- It was like old times Sunday at Infineon Raceway. Or was it?

The truth is that there was a time when a return to Victory Lane for any organization with Richard Petty's name attached to it would have been cause for a great celebration throughout NASCAR. No one would have had to think about how to react to it; they simply would have rejoiced.

The truth of Sunday's victory for Kasey Kahne and the No. 9 Dodge team for Richard Petty Motorsports was that most folks, including Petty himself, didn't quite know how to react to it. It wouldn't be wrong to say that some even treated it almost with an air of indifference.

Video Highlights

• SPEED's Victory Lane
• Press Pass: Kahne
• Final Laps: No. 9 wins
• Victory Lane: Infineon
• Race Rewind: Infineon

Kahne was ecstatic, and rightly so. It was his first win of the 2009 season and the first victory of his career at a road course. Crew chief Kenny Francis and the rest of the team members rightly celebrated with great joy and fervor.

But it was far more their hour of triumph than it was Richard Petty's.

Was this really the first victory for the King since 1999, when John Andretti won at Martinsville for the since-deceased Petty Enterprises? In a way, sure. In another way, um, not so much.

Petty will be the first to tell anyone who asks that he isn't all that involved with the newly named RPM these days -- which really is the old Gillett Evernham Motorsports operation, which really was the old Evernham Motorsports. When Petty Enterprises ceased to exist after 60 years of operation earlier this year, essentially closing its doors and selling off Richard's name and the services of a few other close friends such as Robbie Loomis and Dale Inman to the family of George Gillett, everything changed.

That's why even Richard Petty seemed unsure how to answer the question when he was asked if Kahne's win Sunday gave him the same feeling of accomplishment as 10 years ago, or if this was more like win No. 1 in a new life.

"I guess this is win No. 1. ... The basic deal is just a continuation of what they've been doing," Petty said.

Starting over

It was only recently that Richard Petty Motorsports had to lay off nine people to ease the financial strain brought on at least in part by dwindling manufacturer's support from Dodge. Loomis admitted Sunday that Kahne's victory will go a long way toward helping put some smiles back on the faces of RPM employees back at the shop -- although it's unlikely the nine recently laid off will have much to grin about unless they get hired back.

"This is huge for us, and this is huge for Dodge," Loomis said.

Kahne and Francis admitted that the recent financial difficulties had been wearing on the minds of everyone, including themselves.

"What we've tried to do is not let that distract us," Francis said. "It's been difficult, really, to be honest with you."

Kahne added: "I would say that the times are tough, and there's a lot that goes on to make these cars show up at the race track. To see the fans out there [Sunday] and to be able to win a race is pretty awesome for myself and for our whole company." (Continued)