Dale Earnhardt has a plan to catch Bobby Labonte, and it involves more time in Victory Lane.

"Anything can happen," Earnhardt said after he turned up the heat in his bid for a record eighth driving title with a stunning late-race charge that propelled him to victory Sunday.

The second victory of Earnhardt's season and the 76th of his career moved him into second place in the 2000 driver standings behind Bobby Labonte, who came to Talladega Superspeedway with his largest points lead of the year. But Earnhardt's triumph, coupled with Labonte's 12th-place finish, cut the lead from 258 points to 210.

And that figure, as Earnhardt is well aware, is a manageable number with four races left on the schedule, starting with the Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 on Sunday at North Carolina Speedway.

"You've got to gain every race like that, and if we can gain 50 or so every race down to the last race it'd make it a heck of a race at Atlanta," Earnhardt said, looking ahead to the final event on the schedule next month. "Hopefully Bobby finishes further back than us. If it gets down to two or three races to go and he's still got 100 or 150 points on us, it's going to be tough to beat him. If we can get it down to 150 or less with a couple of races to go, I think we've got a shot at putting the pressure on."

The mere fact that Earnhardt was able to talk about moving closer to the points lead was a testament to what he described as the most rewarding of his 10 restrictor-plate victories. What made it so satisfying was that in the span of about three minutes, Earnhardt went from sitting in 18th place with five laps remaining to taking the white flag and finding himself worrying about trying to protect his lead.

How did he do it?

"I was very lucky," Earnhardt said.

He also benefited from the presence of Kenny Wallace and Joe Nemechek, both of whom helped Earnhardt draft his way to the point. Once Earnhardt got up, front, however, the best Wallace and Nemechek could do was second and third, respectively.

"He pulls down and he's got a guy behind him that pushes him to the win," Wallace said. "Me and Joe knew what we had to do, but when us three broke away there on the last lap, it was over because we didn't have any help."

Earnhardt was grateful for the assist, which made him a winner of the No Bull 5, a $1 million bonus offered by series sponsor R.J. Reynolds to any driver who can win a designated race after finishing in the top-5 at the previous designated No Bull 5 event. It was the seventh time Earnhardt was eligible for the No Bull 5, but the first time he cashed in on the prize.

"We just were fortunate to get hooked up with Kenny and Joe Nemechek there and work our way to the front," Earnhardt said. "Basically that's how I won the race -- because Kenny Wallace and Joe Nemechek got in there and all three Chevrolets got together and worked their way to the front."