Martin Truex Jr. and DEI teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. talk during practice at the 2006 Dodge Charger 500. Earnhardt Jr. will leave DEI after this season.

Martin Truex Jr.'s win in the Autism Speaks 400 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway moved him to 13th in the Nextel Cup points standings.

In many ways Martin Truex Jr. couldn’t have picked a better time to shine.

The 27-year-old native of Mayetta, N.J., earned his first Nextel Cup Series victory last weekend at Dover (Del.) International Speedway and Dale Earnhardt Inc.’s first Cup win since May 2006, when teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. won at Richmond, Va.

While much of the attention of late at DEI has been on Earnhardt Jr. and his recent decision to leave the organization at the end of the season, Truex’s win helped show that he and DEI plan to remain serious contenders in the series.

“It feels good to hush up all that (Earnhardt Jr. talk) and solidify the fact that we’re here for real and we’re going to win races and contend for championships in the future,” Truex said. “This is a first-win man. This is awesome.

“It doesn’t get any better than this, you know. This has been probably one of the biggest accomplishments for everybody on my whole team – the biggest accomplishment of their racing careers. Championships in the Busch Series were great, but if you win at this level, you have beat the best of the best.”

Truex made his NASCAR debut with a team owned by his father, Martin Truex Sr. In 2003, he got an opportunity to drive selected races for Chance 2 Motorsports, a Busch Series team co-owned by Earnhardt Jr. and Teresa Earnhardt.

He moved full-time to the series with DEI in 2004 and won consecutive Busch championships in 2004 and 2005. He was rewarded with a jump to the Cup series with DEI in 2006 and most of the members of his Busch team, including crew chief Kevin Manion, made the move as well.

Truex seemed to struggle in his rookie season last year, both on the track and in escaping the large shadow Earnhardt Jr. cast on the DEI organization. Truex’s No. 1 Chevrolet team finished 19th in points, and he had just five top-10 finishes in 36 races.

Before his win Sunday, Truex already had three top-10s in the first 12 races, including a strong performance in the season opener at Daytona Beach, Fla., before getting caught up in a last-lap wreck.

He got a taste of victory with a win in The Nextel Open at Lowe’s Motor Speedway last month, which allowed him entry into the NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge, a non-points event.

“Most of us with the team have been here since the beginning, since the inception of Chance 2. Mostly all the same guys, I have only lost a few,” Manion said.

“We have added on some great talent over the winter to make our team stronger. I think we are at the point now where we feel we can run in the top 10 every week. We feel like we can go to the track every week and make adjustments to the car that will make it a race-winning car.”

That certainly proved true at Dover. Truex’s first win also brought him within range of qualifying for the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Halfway through the 26 races which determine who competes for the championship, Truex is now 13th in points, just eight points out of 12th. The top 12 compete in the final 10 races for the title.

“The Chase is definitely not out of the question for us, especially with the momentum we have. We have had some great runs as of late,” Truex said.

“I think we have got what it takes to make the Chase. We still have a ways to go to have a shot at a championship obviously. We aren’t a top-five car every week like (Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart) and guys like that.

“We are working our way there, we are getting closer each week and looking good.”