LOUDON, N.H. - The last time Dale Earnhardt Jr. was at New Hampshire International Speedway, he could barely walk as he suffered from second-degree burns on his inner thighs and neck in a sports-car crash.

Two months after that race - where Martin Truex Jr. relieved Earnhardt - Earnhardt is back and ready to contend for the Nextel Cup in the first race in the title chase. Earnhardt has three top-five finishes in the last five races, including a victory at Bristol and a runner-up finish at Richmond last week.

"As I got better, our runs got better and the team got better our communication and more and everything got better," said Earnhardt, who was burned in a crash at Infineon Raceway on the Cup series' final off-weekend of the season. "When I was (injured) ... it really set a definite tone within the shop and the team that something was missing. It showed in the way the cars drove.

"When I got back in the cars, I didn't even want to drive them they were so bad. We got better. I still don't think we're as good as we were when the season started, but we've got enough time to put it together."

So, what needs to be done?

Earnhardt says a little bit of everything.

"That's what makes a champion, the guy who is never satisfied with what he's got and keeps trying to get that," he said. "We've just got to get better. Relatively, we're still a young team and making a lot of changes and having a lot of jelling and stuff to do. Hopefully, we'll perfect it one of these days."

Rained out

Rain canceled qualifying, so the lineup will be set by points with series leader Jeff Gordon on the pole and teammate Jimmie Johnson starting next. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart and defending series champ Matt Kenseth complete the top five.

Failing to qualify were Kevin Lepage, Martin Truex Jr., Johnny Sauter, Greg Sacks, Ryan McGlynn, Carl Long, Tony Raines and Stan Boyd.

Ivan spares Talladega

Talladega Superspeedway officials say the track escaped major damage from Hurricane Ivan. The Cup series races at Talladega in two weeks. Track officials stated the only damage was the loss of some signs and the roof of a greenhouse was destroyed.

Extra help

Roush Racing will have Dave Blaney on-call to drive for Carl Edwards in three Cup races because of conflicts Edwards has between the Cup and Craftsman Truck series.

Edwards, who is third in the points in the truck series, took over the Roush Racing Cup ride for Jeff Burton after Burton left for Richard Childress Racing last month.

Edwards' biggest conflict is when the trucks race at Texas Motor Speedway the same day as the Charlotte night Cup race next month. Edwards has a conflict next week when the trucks race at Las Vegas the night before the Cup race at Dover. Also, the trucks race at California Speedway the night before the Talladega Cup race on Oct.3.

Pit stops

Jack Sprague won the pole for today's Craftsman Truck race at New Hampshire. ... No driver in the last five years who won at New Hampshire went on to win the title.