After the dust settled at Indianapolis, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. emerged with the point lead for the first time since 2004. That’s right; the driver once labeled “fourth-best” at Hendrick used a fourth-place finish to climb to the top of NASCAR’s championship Chase for the first time since Joey Logano was practically in diapers. Although NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver won’t be the point leader when the postseason starts, unless he goes on a phenomenal winning streak, there is no doubt that he is a legitimate threat to win the championship in 2012. While the wins have not come in large numbers, the speed and consistency are there to position Earnhardt near the top of any pre-Chase favorite lists. With the current state of the sport somewhere between its niche status of the 1980s and its boom years in the 2000s, nothing could give it a bigger shot in the arm than having the No. 88 team in the mix for the championship once the green flag flies in Homestead.