Busch. Truex won his fifth and sixth races of the season in the second half of the year, the Stacker 2 Hundred at Dover and the Sam's Town 250 at Memphis, and clinched the series points championship with one race to spare. In addition to six wins and the championship, he ended the 2004 season with eight poles, 17 top fives, and 26 top tens in 34 races. Truex's 2005 season saw him claim a victory at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the first NASCAR race held in Mexico. He won at Talladega for the second consecutive year and also won at Dover in the spring. Truex's summer got off to a strong start as he won three times in six races, notching victories at Daytona, New Hampshire, and IRP. This duplicated his 2004 season total of six victories, and Truex won his second consecutive points championship by 68 points over Clint Bowyer. After Chance 2 folded, Truex joined DEI full-time as the driver of the No. 1 car in the NEXTEL Cup Series for 2006, replacing Michael Waltrip in the second fulltime seat at Dale Earnhardt Inc. Car No. 81 history The No. 81 car was a part-time operation for Chance 2 and was driven most often by Earnhardt Jr., primarily with sponsorship from longtime DEI partner Nabisco but also Menards and Yum! Brands on occasion. The car first appeared in 2003 renumbered from No. 8 to No. 81 for three races at Richmond, Dover, and Bristol, all three driven by Martin Truex Jr. Although Truex finished sixth at Bristol, he failed to qualify for his next attempt at the fall Dover race. Truex competed in three more races late in the season, however they were all in the No. 8 car. At Daytona in 2004, Truex drove the No. 81 as the No. 8 car was driven by Earnhardt Jr. under the DEI banner. Following that race, Truex switched to the No. 8 under the Chance 2 banner and the No. 81 was operated on a part-time basis. Earnhardt led the most laps at Talladega but finished second. He also competed in the July Daytona race, finishing 17th. Tony Stewart attempted the Cabela's 250 at Michigan but failed to qualify for the event. A week later, Earnhardt won the Food City 250 at Bristol piloting the No. 81 machine. Stewart later made one start for the team in the Mr.