DOVER, Del. — Martin Truex Jr. used to called Dover simply his hometown track. He likes the new title much better: Dover International Speedway, site of his first Nextel Cup victory.

Truex was back at the track of his greatest Cup achievement on Friday, no longer perceived as a Nextel Cup driver who can't win a race or even as the other junior at Dale Earnhardt Inc.

Truex returned firmly in place as the future of DEI.

Not only that, Truex is back as a legitimate contender to win the Chase for the Nextel Cup championship.

"Yeah, it's definitely a different feeling," Truex said on Friday. "This is the only time I've been in this position in the Cup Series so it feels good and it's cool.

"We're just doing our normal deal."

The normal deal has worked out just fine so far for the Mayetta, N.J., native who was largely overshadowed for most of his first Cup season and the early half of this one by his more famous teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

While fans and the racing community focused mostly on Earnhardt's free-agency and where NASCAR's most popular driver would end up next season, Truex was quietly racing his way up the points standings. He hovered in the 20s early in the season and worked his way into the high teens heading into Dover in June.

Then Truex put Nextel Cup on notice that he was contender.

Driving on the track where he won twice before in the Busch Series, Truex led 216 of the 400 laps on the Monster Mile and won his first career race in 58 starts. He made the trip to Victory Lane that Earnhardt, with all his talent and popularity, hasn't reached in 16 months.

"We knew that was one thing we could cross off our list of accomplishments and goals, and one of our goals was to be in the Chase, so that didn't change," Truex said. "Winning or not winning didn't change our strategy."

After the victory, Truex said qualifying for the Chase was "definitely not out of the question." Now winning the whole thing in only his second season is a real possibility.