Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s victory at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday not only snapped his four-year winless streak, but it helped him close to within a mere four points of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series lead.
Earnhardt Jr. now sits just four points behind leader Matt Kenseth, and both are more than 100 points inside the Chase's top 10 with just 11 races to go before the cutoff.
There was only one change of position inside the top 10 (Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson swapped fourth and fifth place), and neither of the Wild Card positions changed hands.
But Kyle Busch's third straight engine failure dropped him farther from the top 10, and both Joey Logano and Kasey Kahne slipped away from a Wild Card spot.
Here are the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings with 11 races to go until the Chase (NOTE: These are strictly in relation to Chase spots):
- Matt Kenseth +109 inside Chase
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. +105
- Greg Biffle +92
- Jimmie Johnson +76
- Denny Hamlin +58
- Kevin Harvick +48
- Martin Truex Jr. +41
- Tony Stewart +35
- Clint Bowyer +25
- Brad Keselowski +2
- Carl Edwards -2 from top 10
- Kyle Busch -26 (Holds No. 1 Wild Card spot, 1 win)
- Ryan Newman -31 (Holds No. 2 Wild Card spot, 1 win)
- Paul Menard -37
- Joey Logano -51 (-20 from No. 2 Wild Card spot)
- Kasey Kahne -67 (-36 from No. 2 Wild Card spot)
- Marcos Ambrose -70
- Jamie McMurray -81
- Juan Pablo Montoya -81
- Jeff Gordon -83
- Jeff Burton -83
- Aric Almirola -86