Truex is not so junior anymore

DEI returned to Victory Lane with a junior -- Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s unheralded and previously winless teammate, Martin Truex Jr.

After another weekend of nonstop Earnhardt speculation, Truex gave the Dale Earnhardt Inc. team a much-needed victory in the 400-mile race at Dover International Speedway on Monday.

“It feels good to hush up all that and solidify the fact that we are here for real,” Truex said. “We are going to win races and contend for championships in the future.”

Truex won for the first time in 58 career points races on what the New Jersey native has long considered his hometown track. He ended a dominant five-race winning streak for Hendrick Motorsports, leading 216 of the 400 laps on the Monster Mile in NASCAR’s Car of Tomorrow.

Rumors have swirled for weeks about what team Earnhardt will drive for next season.

“Junior is a great asset. Junior has been a great teammate for me. A mentor for me,” Truex said. “But we can go on. We can win races.”

Certainly the day’s wait for the Autism Speaks 400 was worth it for Truex, now closing in on being one of the top 12 drivers for the Chase for the Nextel Cup. He’s eight points behind Mark Martin, who’s 12th and running a part-time schedule this season.

Pole-sitter Ryan Newman, who led most of the first half of the race and 135 laps overall, was denied his first win since 2005 and finished second. Carl Edwards, who won the Busch Series race Saturday, was third.

Earnhardt was plagued by tire problems, dropped four laps back at one point and finished 22nd.

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Standings

NASCAR Nextel Cup points standings through Monday:

*--* Pos. Driver Pts. Behind 1. Jeff Gordon 2,059 2. Jimmie Johnson 1,907 -152 3. Matt Kenseth 1,869 -190 4. Denny Hamlin 1,842 -217 5. Jeff Burton 1,704 -355 6. Carl Edwards 1,584 -475 7. Tony Stewart 1,573 -486 8. Clint Bowyer 1,525 -534 9. Kevin Harvick 1,518 -541 10. Kyle Busch 1,471 -588

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