by Rea White, NASCAR Scene, Special to FOXSports.com

Updated: July 2, 2008, 11:41 AM EST 31 comments

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In a season when things were supposed to be coming together, the organization's three teams entered the month of May with Kasey Kahne 14th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings and leading the group. While he was just outside of the group that will later lock into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, he had not been a factor in races. Teammate Elliott Sadler was 27th in the standings, and new full-time driver Patrick Carpentier was outside the top 35 in both driver and owner points, meaning he needed to make races based on qualifying speed week to week.

Kasey Kahne is 10th in the points standings, putting him in position to qualify for the Chase. (Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images)

George Gillett Jr. had purchased majority interest in the team late last season. After that, high-profile sponsor Budweiser was courted and signed to back Kahne, Sadler ushered in a series of new sponsorships, and changes were made in the internal structure of the organization. Mark McArdle was moved to a new role as vice president and managing director of competition. Co-owner Ray Evernham was free to create his own role in the group, focusing on competition and getting the team back into the form it showed in making the Chase the first three seasons the format was used. In 2007, the team fell off that pace with a top finish of 19th in the NASCAR Cup standings.

This season, things were supposed to be different.

The transition may have taken a little longer than some hoped, but suddenly, things are looking better.

Kahne won three times, including the non-points Sprint All-Star Race, in a four-week span ending in early June. Sadler has top-five finishes in two of the last three races (it would be three if not for a flat tire at Infineon Raceway), and Carpentier snagged the pole for the most recent Cup race last weekend.

As the drivers look back over their season, they see a lot of progress in a short time.

Kahne is 10th in the standings and in position to make the Chase. Sadler is 25th in the standings, but is making a steady charge in recent weeks. And Carpentier is a consistent qualifier despite his points status, the first step in rebuilding the long-suffering No. 10 team.

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The drivers, especially Kahne, are clearly more confident heading to the track each week.

Where is the difference?

The drivers say it's in the cars.

"We're still building new cars and feel very confident about the next few races that we are going to with our Dodges," Sadler says. "I've got a good feeling about this Gillett Evernham race team. We just need to put it all together."

Everything about the cars, Sadler says, is making it easier to compete in races.

"We've made them a little bit lighter, a little faster," Sadler says. "They're real comfortable to drive. Any time that you can get your car more comfortable, the drivers are going to drive them faster and look better on the race track. We've come a long way in this car of tomorrow from last year. I think all the hard work is paying off. Kasey and I are very happy with our cars and setups each and every week, not only on Friday, but Sunday too. I think that we are more competitive and better in traffic. It doesn't matter if it's a big track or small track, we're starting to figure out what this car wants, and it definitely has shown each and every week. Now we just have to put together a whole uneventful race and try to get some luck on our side."

Kahne and team director Kenny Francis have led that turnaround.

They communicate and work well together. They've dabbled in fuel strategy recently, and they have full confidence in one another. Kahne says Francis "is the guy that you want making all the calls."

Kahne says that he felt the team was "decent" the whole season. Then came the breakthrough win in the all-star race.

"We've been good ever since," he says. "We just hit on a few setup things that have helped a lot. And our team morale and my communication to the team have been really good. There are just a lot of little things that I think really got going once we started winning. We haven't been bad, and we've been close all year. So it's been good. We've had good race cars."

Now, Carpentier is stepping up as well.

After he won his initial career pole position last weekend, the Canadian-born former open-wheel competitor talked about all the work the team had done to step up its performance — and how pleased he is to be a part of that group.

"We tested all winter, tested really hard, and Kasey and Elliott did a lot of things to the car, and it's teamwork," he said. "Ray has organized the team and put some people in place, and with Mr. Gillett buying the team and focusing on the sponsorship side of it and having some guys on the technical side of it, everybody kind of does his job more. ... For Ray to do everything with sponsors and this and that, the sport has grown too much to do that, and now Ray comes in and helps and gives me some tips and different things.

"And Kasey and Elliott really work together well. These guys, as soon as I find something on the car that's good I give it to them. But I'll be honest with you, more often it's them that's giving it to me for now. But in the future we hope to give them some more. ... This year it's really truly starting to be a three-car team, and they're really working for the guys, and we'll get meetings together and everything. The team is just coming together. It's been fun to watch. I mean, I came in at the right time last year. Everybody struggled, and they picked me up, and the team is coming back up. I'm really fortunate."

Sadler agrees.

In his second full Cup season with the organization, he says the cars that he and Kahne drive are identical and that the group is working closely to move all the teams into the top ranks of the Cup series.

"The 9 (of Kahne) and 19 are pretty much identical each and every week," he says, comparing the two teams. "We almost have the attitude of one team, two drivers. Even though we're separated by a lot of (driver) points, if the 19 can hit on one little thing to help the 9 car, it's going to help those guys with their Chase run. As good as they've been, if they can hit on one little thing to help us, it's going to help us improve on our position as well. We're working very well together. Kasey and I are communicating really good together.

"(Sadler team director) Rodney and Kenny (Francis) are communicating good together. It's just been real fun here the last few months."

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Rea White is a writer for NASCAR Scene, which is published weekly, 50 weeks per year. Visit www.scenedaily.com for more information. © 2007 Street & Smith Sports Group.