Five to Watch: Monster drama on tap, should Busch be worrying and more

Oh, you thought the drama would end at the Roval? Guess again -- things are about to get ramped up at a monster pace. Strap yourselves in for what's sure to be an intense Round of 12 in the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, starting with Sunday's Drydene 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.) Here are five big story lines to watch and key info to get you caught up for 400 circuits at the "Monster Mile."

Where'd you go, two-in-a-row?: Coming off a strong Round of 16 and thrilling afternoon at Charlotte Motor Speedway's Roval, Hendrick Motorsports appears to have the most momentum it's enjoyed in some time -- but is it enough to propel the organization to a second straight win? Hendrick hasn't accomplished the feat since Jimmie Johnson -- not in this year's playoffs -- won back to back at Texas and Bristol in April 2017. Johnson is obviously great at Dover, Elliott marks it as one of his best tracks and Alex Bowman was runner-up in the spring. Crazier things have happened.

When does the worry set in? It's easy to forget that Kyle Busch finished runner-up at Richmond with 202 laps led -- because the three other races around it (Indy, Las Vegas and Charlotte) have netted an average finish of 31.0. Not exactly how you'd think the championship favorite heading into the playoffs would come roaring out of the gates. The 2015 title winner is still in a good points position, but the No. 18 group needs to turn things around, quickly. It doesn't appear this weekend is where it starts, as Busch qualified 18th and described his car's race trim as "terrible."

The Big 2? Conversely, everything is coming up roses for the other two members of NASCAR's "Big 3" in Kevin Harvick and Busch's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. The pair are among the favorites -- if not the outright favorites -- to win Sunday, with Truex coming off a two-win Round of 16. Harvick's No. 4 group, however, might be the one picking up the most steam. The 2014 champ's season might as well be divided in two, with the team struggling to figure itself out prior to Loudon (12.3 average finish, no wins over 19 races) and from the "Magic Mile"-on (7.1 average finish, three wins over 10 races). Take out a 39th-place finish due to a clutch failure at Bristol-2 and that number shrinks to 3.55.

Is the Kyle Larson breakout finally upon us? The Chip Ganassi Racing driver has quietly had a consistently solid second half of the season, but I suspect a lot more people will be talking about him on Monday -- perhaps even as a championship hopeful. We hear year after year about how if Larson can just make it to Homestead and be in the Championship 4, he's the driver to beat. Well, it just so happens he's also one of the guys to beat at Dover (five top fives and eight top 10s in 11 starts) and he's starting on the front row. A win Sunday would propel the No. 42 team to the Round of 8 with a few extra weeks of prep (and the added sleep that comes along with not having to stress about Talladega). The embers appear to be burning for that full Kyle Larson breakout we've been waiting years to see and it's coming at the most opportune time.

Summer drought extends into hurricane season: Don't look now, but Team Penske -- which appeared to be one of the more dominant teams in the early months of the season -- hasn't taken a trip to Victory Lane since early June at Michigan. Not only that, but the team hasn't won at Dover since Brad Keselowski did so in 2012, driving a Dodge. Needless to say, despite some early life on the speed charts, this might not be the weekend Penske turns it around. Things line up much better for the trio at Talladega and Kansas, however, and perhaps that's when things start to click.

At A Glance:
Where: Dover International Speedway, 1-mile concrete oval in Dover, Delaware.
Green flag: 2:45 p.m. ET.
TV/Radio: NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Forecast: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 75. A slight chance of showers. South wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%, according to the National Weather Service.
National anthem: USO Show Troupe
Grand marshal: Owner of Drydene Performance Products, John Arnold
Race distance: 400 laps (400 miles)
Stages: 120-120-160
Pit road speed: 35 mph
Caution car speed: 45 mph