By the numbers: Making a move

After his victory at Talladega Superspeedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. moved up four spots and into fifth place in the NASCAR Winston Cup standings. But over the past six races, Earnhardt Jr. has been the hottest driver in the series:

Past-6
rank
Driver Overall
rank
Poles Wins Top-5
finishes
Points
1. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 5 0 1 5 897
2. Matt Kenseth 2 0 1 3 885
3. Sterling Marlin 1 0 1 2 862
4. Rusty Wallace 3 0 0 0 831
5. Ricky Rudd 10 0 0 2 827
6. Jimmie Johnson 6 1 0 1 820
7. Kurt Busch 4 0 1 2 792
8. Tony Stewart 8 0 1 3 779
9. Jeff Gordon 7 2 0 2 767
10. Mark Martin 9 0 0 1 722
Terry Labonte 14 0 0 0 722
12. Kyle Petty 24 0 0 0 708
13. Jimmy Spencer 20 0 0 1 666
14. Dale Jarrett 16 0 0 1 659
15. Jeff Burton 11 0 0 0 652