It's no secret that Dale Earnhardt Jr. has struggled on NASCAR's road courses in the past. The No. 8 Chevy team is well aware of how wrong things have gone when they've had to turn right.

That's why they tested at Watkins Glen, dedicating one of only a handful of tests NASCAR allows teams at scheduled racetracks. The test was a success and the team believed it had found a setup that could win the race. But when primary sponsor Budweiser asked and installed an in-car camera system early in the race weekend, the car was unresponsive.

Rather than work on the setup to adjust for the camera and appease the high-paying sponsor, Junior's team made a decision which prioritized the singular focus he and his crew have recited every race weekend: "It upset the balance of the car, so after practice we asked Bud if we could take it out, and they said, 'OK,'" Junior said. "We're racing for a championship here, and every little bit helps."

This is the difference between this team this year and this team during any other in its four years of Cup racing. It has matured -- on the track and off -- and reached a point where every decision comes back to one thing: Will this help us win the championship?

So far, the answers have been affirmatives, as evidenced by Junior's perch at second in the Cup standings. Though he is a considerable distance behind leader Matt Kenseth -- should Kenseth fail to win the title he will have blown the largest lead at this point in the year in modern-era history -- Junior and Co. believe they can still win the championship.

Even if they don't, everyone should take note: This team will be a presence for years to come -- and not just a presence in popularity points. A presence in the points that count toward titles, too.

"I'm proud of my guys for the way they've given me great cars each week," Junior said. "It was exciting to go to Watkins Glen and have a car that was able to run at the front. That's a statement about the work we've done to eliminate the weak spots we've shown in the past. You can't say, 'Oh those guys are only good on the restrictor plate tracks,' and write us off everywhere else.

"Yeah, we want to win races; we want to win every week, but we need to keep doing what we've been doing: getting top-10s and top-fives every week."

	Earnhardt Jr. is currently second in Winston Cup points.

The team has notched three top-six finishes in its last four races, and it heads to Michigan International Speedway this Sunday knowing it has notched top-10s in three of its last four races there. Earlier this season the team finished seventh at MIS.

But these numbers are fun for fanatic and reporter types. For Junior, they mean little. In fact, he's having more fun going to tracks where the numbers aren't as favorable. Watkins Glen, in his mind, represents a coming out party. Sure, he's been toward the top of the standings all year long, but showing he could finish third -- as he did last Sunday -- and gain points at a place where he's truly struggled proves that the team has grown.

"I'm proud of my guys," he said. "We knew we needed to do better here to be considered a more complete team, a championship contender, and we had a great weekend."

While Junior only chipped away at Kenseth's points lead -- Kenseth also posted a top-10 -- he put some serious distance between him and four-time champ Jeff Gordon. Earnhardt Jr. and Gordon made contact on the final lap of the race last weekend shortly before Kevin Harvick also hit and spun Gordon, sending the No. 24 car from a top-five position to a 33rd-place finish.

Junior's response to the contact -- which occurred after Gordon ran out of gas -- has been cheered by Gordon haters and jeered by others. But one thing is for sure, he showed confidence in his decision to call out the winningest active racer in the sport, and showed that he won't back down to anybody. Not this year.

	“	Yeah, we want to win races; we want to win every week, but we need to keep doing what we've been doing: getting top-10s and top-fives every week. ”
		— Dale Earnhardt Jr.

"Not very smart on his part," said Junior, who added that he believed Gordon was going to try to block him all the way around the final lap and preserve a better finish than Junior. "I would've just taken the spots I lost because I ran out of gas. You're not going to block me all the way around the last two corners of the racetrack. I don't care who you are, you don't need to block anybody the last two laps. He ended up in the wall and lost a bunch of spots, so you tell me who made the bad decision."

Junior's comments are full of the brashness and bluntness of youth. But his actions and his priorities as they relate to chasing the title have shown tremendous maturity.

"I tried to enjoy it today, but it's a lot of pressure," Junior said after last Sunday's race. "We have to think of the big picture, and we have to score as many points as we can, so the challenge is to not make any mistakes. You try to run hard, but you try to be as smooth and as careful as you can. We gave up a little speed to be smooth, but we had a good car all day."

And all year, really. But whether it ends up a championship car this year or not, the team has made a championship-caliber statement. And it's been heard throughout the garage.

"I don't think they're going anywhere, either," Gordon said back in Indianapolis. "They've shown a lot of consistency this year, and they're showing improvement at places that they've really had a hard time with. So, yeah, we're watching (Junior) really closely to see what's going on. ... They've got as good a chance as anybody."

Rupen Fofaria is a freelance writer and a regular contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached at rfofaria@espnspecial.com.