Friendly Reminder: Johnson Is, After All, The Champ
Jimmie Johnson’s win at Dover served notice that amid all the other developments ongoing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, people should not forget who, in recent years, has ruled.

Johnson is, after all, the three-time defending series champion. And with two victories and eight top 10s in the first 13 races, he’s third in the points, positioned perfectly to eventually make the Chase and then make a run at an unprecedented fourth straight championship.

Baby Steps: Earnhardt Shows Signs of Rebound
A 12th-place finish isn’t normally a cause célèbre, but for Dale Earnhardt Jr., that result at Dover was just that and more. His first race without Tony Eury Jr. as his crew chief – Lance McGrew is the replacement – was encouraging for Earnhardt and his struggling team.

But it was only a start to approaching Chase contention. Coming into Pocono, Earnhardt is 18th in points, 215 behind 12th-place Mark Martin.

Earnhardt has never won at Pocono.