For the first time in a long time, things are looking up for Richard Petty Motorsports.

First, the King got a car to Victory Lane for the first time in 10 years Sunday when Kasey Kahne won the Toyota/SaveMart 350 in California. And next week, Petty celebrates the 25th anniversary of his 200th and final win at Daytona International Speedway.

While Petty doesn't mind talking about the past, he's looking forward to the future – with Kahne in 13th place and just three points out of a Sprint Cup Chase position.

"Naturally it's good for morale, if nothing else," Petty said in NASCAR's weekly teleconference. "But under the circumstances, as tough as it is for sponsorships and all this kind of stuff, it's a big plus, from the Richard Petty Motorsports situation.

"I think if we are looking at things that kind of propel our sport or getting new attention, with Kasey winning the race, Dodge winning the race, and being on a road course, then it's different than the winners we have had before, and the rest of this season, because the people we have had winning races are the people that win every week or run up front every week."

The victory wasn't that much of a surprise because Kahne has won before. It was significant because it was the first victory for the team since the merger between Petty Enterprises and Gillett Evernham Motorsports in the off-season. Petty was last in Victory Lane in 1999, with John Andretti behind the wheel at Martinsville.

Kahne's victory also shifted Petty back into the spotlight. But it's a position he was certain to be in at next week's Coke Zero 400 in Daytona, where he won his 200th race on July 4, 1984, at the Firecracker 400.

While that race is remembered for Petty's historic win, it's also remembered for who was in the announcer's booth: President Ronald Reagan.

The moment helped propel NASCAR into the mainstream.

"I always figure that we went upstairs and we're still going upstairs," Petty said of NASCAR. "Sometimes you took two steps at a time and stayed one step. I think this was a two-stepper from the standpoint that it was July 4, the president is running for the president of the United States, and so naturally you've got worldwide press, and then he comes to the race. That's a big deal.

"... I told him, some of the guys, you know, we got the president of the United States on the sports page, and the president of the United States got us on front page. So it was a pretty good tradeoff."

Juan Pablo Montoya: Proving you don't have to win races to make the Chase, Montoya has moved into the top 12 in points despite not having a top-five finish. Montoya has moved from 15th to 12th over the last three weeks after finishes of eighth, sixth and sixth.

Ron Capps: The NHRA Funny Car driver had the points lead two weeks ago but dropped to third with his first-round loss at Englishtown, N.J. Event winner Tony Pedregon is the new point leader, with Ashley Force in second place, six points ahead of Capps.

"Yeah, I guess they proved that I'm not. My question was something like this: 'If 6 squared equals 36, then what is negative 6 squared?' It was just one of those situations where you don't stop to think about it and just go with the flow. Without putting my mind in gear, I just blurted out, 'It's negative 36.' Of course the correct answer is just 36. So, the big lesson here, kids, is to engage your brain before your mouth."

Sprint Cup driver Kurt Busch, who taped an episode of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader.

F1 split prevented: In Paris, the cash-strapped Formula One series prevented a breakup Wednesday when FIA president Max Mosley agreed to scrap a planned budget cap and step down at the end of his term. Mosley will immediately take a back-seat role until his 16-year tenure ends in October, a move aimed at easing some of the acrimony that has blighted F1 in recent months.

Smoke Show returns: Tony Stewart will return to Texas Motor Speedway on Aug. 4-5 for the "Smoke Show," which raises funds for the Speedway Children's Charities-Texas chapter. More than half of the maximum 60 spots have been sold at prices ranging from $6,000 to $8,250 for one day to $16,500 for both days. For more information, go to www.scctexas.org or call 817-215-8564.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.