Kenseth comes into the Chase the hottest driver in the series, and lest we forget when the Joe Gibbs Racing driver opened the 2013 postseason by reeling off two straight wins at Chicago and New Hampshire. Could happen again.
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The defending champ looks like a lock to at least make the Championship 4 field at Homestead — a safe bet to win championship No. 2.
Joe Gibbs Racing
Busch is always a threat to win any race he enters — except at Kansas and Talladega, the final two races in the Contender Round. In a combined 35 starts at the two tracks, he has just eight top-10 finishes.
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Team Penske as a whole is looking strong as the sport enters its playoffs. It wouldn’t come as a surprise to see the 25-year-old racing for a title again this season at Homestead.
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Team Penske
It’s hard to believe Keselowski has just one win this season — he’s nearly matched the amount of top 10s he had during his six-win season last year (20) with 18 so far. He also has a great chance to top the career-high 23 he notched in his 2012 title season.
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Joe Gibbs Racing
Healthy ACL? Who needs it? Hamlin appears to show no ill-effects from his freshly torn-up knee — inside the car, anyway — and is among those you expect to see racing for a title in 10 weeks.
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Hendrick Motorsports
Not that it was ever much in doubt, but it’ll be interesting to see how Johnson’s performance changes, if at all, now that his future is locked up at Hendrick through 2017.
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Hendrick Motorsports
2015 presents one of Earnhardt Jr.’s best shots at winning his first championship to date. At 40-years-old, he’s running out of time.
Edwards’ early-season struggles seem a thing of the past, as he’s settled in quite nicely at JGR. This is around the expected floor for his Chase hopes, but his ceiling is certainly much higher.
It’s funny how much things change in a year’s time. Last year, Busch wasn’t considered much of a threat in title talks — and confirmed that early in the Chase — but his 2015 strength shows us how deep the contenders actually run this season.
Truex’s tailspin continued at Richmond and it does not bode well for one of the year’s best comeback stories to continue on for much longer.
MORE: Truex to test Kansas
Here we are — Gordon’s final Chase. He’s never won a title since the format was introduced in 2004 and things aren’t shaping up too well for him to break that trend.
Looking for a dark horse pick to advance a round or two? Here it is. McMurray could certainly make it to the Contender Round — and then win at Charlotte, which is arguably his best track.
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Despite being on-pace or better with his numbers from last year — when he finished runner-up to Kevin Harvick — Newman isn’t making much noise heading into the Chase. That could change.
Menard has officially made the Chase for the first time in his career, but for him to advance beyond the opening round would be somewhat of a stretch.
Stewart-Haas Racing
It’s certainly a nice story that Bowyer made the Chase under all the trials and tribulations his lame duck team has endured, but the end of the run is likely near.