Dale Earnhardt Jr. will likely fall short in his bid for this year's championship, and Michael Waltrip may end up falling short for his first career top-10 points finish.

But the Dale Earnhardt Inc. duo took major steps forward this year and put the NASCAR community on notice: DEI is a well-rounded, title-contending team. This was no more evident this year than on Sunday, when Junior took the checkered flag and Waltrip finished fifth at Phoenix International Raceway.

"The results don't always show it, but sometimes they do," Waltrip said. "Everybody at DEI is committed to winning and competing and I think we've shown everybody how much progress we've made as a team."

Junior and Waltrip remain dominant at the superspeedways, but the team has branched out and gotten victories and top-fives elsewhere.

Junior's team, long plagued by inconsistency, in-fighting and lack of chemistry, improved in each area and is now a group which Junior believes can win the title next season if nobody decides to leave.

"I'm just so proud of my team," Junior said. "They are all the same guys. We have a few new additions and they are so much fun to work with. If they stick around next year, every single one of them is going to win the championship, I can guarantee you.

"The team is really getting better and better. We seem to be growing more comfortable. We stumble a little bit under pressure, not only just driving in races but being in the front and trying to make good pit stops. But we've got a high profile team and a high profile sponsor. If we overcome the pressure from that, we're doing a good job. I feel like the team is getting better and that we can compete next year for the championship."

Junior is worried about the vultures, though. The strides his crew have made are noticeable. And in the NASCAR community, when one team sees another doing well, they aren't slow to pull out some cash and try to entice crew members away.

"The only thing I don't like about Winston Cup racing right now that could hamper my ability to be as competitive next year is loyalty," Junior said. "I feel like I have a pretty good group of guys and if they maintain their strong bond and loyalty for what we're trying to accomplish, then we can step it up again and again each year. I hope everybody understands the opportunities we have and that they stick around to make it happen."

	“	I'm just so proud of my team. They are all the same guys. We have a few new additions and they are so much fun to work with. If they stick around next year, every single one of them is going to win the championship, I can guarantee you. ”
		— Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Junior called Sunday's victory one of his best. But it had nothing to do with the fact that it was some place other than a restrictor-plate track. Junior isn't really concerned with where he gets his victories, as long as he gets them.

"It doesn't really mean a lot to me one way or the other," he said. "A win is a win. Being in Victory Lane is fun. A trophy is a trophy and adding one more to the pile is all the better.

"We've been pretty good all year. We've improved in a lot of spots. And we've got one next week that we've got to work real hard (to improve) on and that's Rockingham."

The improvement among Waltrip's team is just as evident. With the fifth-place run, Waltrip jumped up two spots to 12th in the standings -- 124 points out of 10th. But whether Waltrip finishes in the top 10 or not, he's proven he's a good fit with the No. 15 Chevy team and capable of competing with the best.

"I think we've surprised a lot of folks," he said. "If we could finish the year like we started, we'd be a lot happier, but we're working hard and working for next year, too."

The hard work showed on Sunday.

"The boys did a great job for me," Waltrip said of his crew. "We're real confident after the last practice that the NAPA Chevrolet would be good today. It handled well. I had to run up high and got really tight at the end of the race. What we didn't do well was stay on top of the track. It got cooler and tighter and we just pushed a little bit too much at the end. It was a good day for us considering what the last few races have been for this team."

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