JOLIET, Ill. -- A jubilant Dale Earnhardt Jr. broke through for his first Nextel Cup victory of the season Sunday, using a two-tire strategy and holding off Matt Kenseth to win at Chicagoland Speedway.

"I was worried I was going to go winless this year," the relieved Earnhardt said after smoking the tires on his No. 8 Chevrolet and celebrating with his crew in the infield grass. "Now, let's go out and do it again, win some more."

Kenseth led 176 of the 267 laps but wound up second after choosing to change four tires and falling behind on his final pit stop in the USG Sheetrock 400.

Earnhardt, NASCAR's most popular driver, has had a mostly miserable season and had little to smile about until he turned in a third-place finish last week at Daytona. He started 25th on Sunday and spent most of the day hovering near the end of the top 10. More