DEI mates put distractions behind them at Michigan (cont'd)

A quick pit stop confirmed what he had hoped, the car wasn't damaged very much and would still run fast.

"The left-rear quarter panel was bent up, tore up a little bit. But I don't think it had any effect on the way the car ran," Truex said.

Meanwhile, Earnhardt was fighting his own battles. Just after the accident involving Truex and his 360-degree spin brought out the yellow flag, Earnhardt made three quick stops in the pits to repair his car after it apparently ran over something. At one point, his crewmates were banging on the front end of the car.

Shortly thereafter he began a march toward the front that took him all the way to his sixth top-10 and second top-five finish of the season, moving him into 12th place in the points standings. Now he and Truex are both in the top 12 -- which would qualify them for the Chase for the Championship if they can maintain those positions through 11 more regular-season races.

"I'm real proud of my team," Earnhardt said. "I got loose in the middle part of the race and they adjusted on the car and made it good at the end. We were as good as anybody; we just got too far behind. But I want to congratulate Martin. He had a great run.

"This was a good weekend for DEI. It was a great points day for both teams and the rest of the season looks pretty good for both of us."

It remains to be seen if Earnhardt will continue to run in the No. 8 car after he switches to Hendrick's team. The number is owned by DEI, but Earnhardt and his new boss, team owner Rick Hendrick, have expressed an interest in talking with DEI officials about acquiring it for the future.

After Sunday's race, Earnhardt said that was a discussion for another day. He also said it felt great to be focusing solely on racing again after the months and weeks of dealing with off-the-track issues.

"I'm in such a better mood," he said. "No offense to nobody, but I'm really enjoying being in a better mood. I got a lot of stuff off my back and off my shoulders, and, man, you know this was just a great day. To run like we ran, that's all I can ask for. I really enjoyed it and that's what I love to do and that's what I'm looking forward to with Mr. Hendrick and all those guys over at Hendrick Motorsports.

"But first we got the rest of this season [at DEI] and we've got to give it 110 percent. We have a lot of fun. We race hard. I want to finish great and I want to win races because these guys deserve it. DEI deserves it. Martin is doing a great job. We're just having a great time right now."

This is only the second full-time Cup season for Truex. After finishing in the top 10 just three times in the first 12 races and five finishes of 28th or worse, Truex won the first Nextel Cup race of his career at Dover and followed that up with a third-place finish at Pocono one week later. Sunday's finish gave him three top three finishes in a row.

"We've evolved as a race team," Truex said. "We're running up front each week now and once that happens, you can't settle for anything less than what you're capable of. I know we're capable of running up front each and every week. We're just having a lot of fun right now."

At least it appears that the divorce, when it comes, will be amicable as far as Truex and Earnhardt are concerned.