Truex returns to track he cemented Chase berth at

Before you look ahead at Sunday's Dodge Dealers 400 at Dover (1 p.m. ET, ABC), you have to look back to the Dover race in June because so much happened in that rain-delayed weekend that shaped the season as we see it today.

First, the man responsible for today's NASCAR, Bill France Jr. passed away that Monday, the day the Autism Speaks 400 was being run. It was a passing that touched every driver, every crew member and every fan who loves this sport. His impact on NASCAR can't be measured, but it will always be appreciated.

By the Numbers

Bobby Labonte will join Jeff Gordon as the only two active drivers who have 500 consecutive Nextel Cup starts.

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As for on the track, Dover was the race where Kurt Busch decided to drive up on Tony Stewart while he was pitting and let him know exactly how he felt about his driving (watch video). Unfortunately for Busch, one of Stewart's crew members was on the right side of the car and had to dive on the hood to avoid the No. 2 Dodge.

The incident found Busch in the garage parked, relegated to a 42nd-place finish, but more importantly a 100-point penalty that would drop Busch almost out of Chase contention -- almost.

Since that race, Busch turned his season around by not posting another DNF, winning two races and finishing in the top 10 in seven of the next 13 races to ensure a berth in the Chase.

And in June, Dale Earnhardt Inc. was a mess. The face of the organization, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was leaving -- although at the time had no idea where he was going, that announcement would come a couple weeks later -- and the company his father built was left searching for someone, anyone, who would be "the man" for the 2008 season.

Enter Martin Truex Jr.

For a year and a half, Truex had been an OK driver for DEI. He had no wins, but did have five top-10s his rookie season and halfway through the '07 season, was sitting 16th in points with two more top-10s on his resume.

Then the Cup Series visited Dover.

Truex, from nearby Mayetta N.J., dominated from green-to-checkered, leading 216 of the 400 laps and winning by an amazing 7.355 seconds. The win was Truex's first in his Cup career and it catapulted him to 12th in the standings -- he wouldn't drop out of the top 12 again.

The win gave Truex confidence as he would post three top-three finishes in the next four races and though he hasn't visited Victory Lane since his monster win at the Monster Mile in June, Truex is hoping his "home track" can provide some more magical memories.

"Dover's a special place to me for many reasons," Truex said. "I grew up close to the track and I raced there a bunch when I was coming up through the ranks. To have won there in Busch and Cup means a lot to me. The memories come flooding back every time we go to Dover."

And for good reason.

He has three combined wins in Cup and Busch at the 1-mile track about 132 miles from his hometown. In the Cup Series, Truex has an average finish of 9.7 despite starting all three races outside the top 20.

Yet with all the success this past June, that car isn't even making the trip. Last week, Truex started on the outside of Row 1 and finished his first Chase race in fifth. So as the old adage goes, 'if it's not broke, don't fix it.'

"For the Cup race we're bringing our Loudon car back," Truex said. "We actually think it's better than the car we won with here in June. That shows you how strong our cars are -- Bono [crew chief Kevin Manion] and the guys have been getting it done in the shop.

"We'll definitely be trying to "sweep" the Monster!"

That won't be an easy task for the No. 1 team.

For a track used to seeing drivers sweep both races, the reality is it hasn't happened in a few years. In 2003, Ryan Newman pulled it off but since then, there have been seven different winners at the track, the longest streak in Dover's history.

But the stats won't get Truex down, not this weekend.

Truex considers Dover his "home track," so it was fitting that he earned his first Cup victory there. It was fitting that he took the reigns of his team, DEI, at the track he used to race at many times as he earned his racing stripes. And it's fitting that Truex, at Dover, will get the opportunity to race for the man who made him what he is today.

"I always have a lot of friends and family come to this race, but this weekend's gonna be extra special," Truex said. "I'm running in the Busch race with my dad's company, Sea Watch, on the car. He sponsored my cars back in the day and he got out of his car and basically retired so I could take over his seat. It'd be great to pay him back with a victory."