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NASCAR.com Power Rankings: Kentucky/New Hampshire

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Team Penske

Back-to-back wins for Keselowski have the Team Penske driver trending in a very positive direction as NASCAR's summer stretch hits its full stride.

 

MORE: Kes finds fuel's gold, wins Kentucky

While things went south late for Harvick, he's still the points leader and led 128 laps at Kentucky. No need to panic for the No. 4 squad.

 

MORE: Late miscue costs Harvick

Busch's three victories at Loudon are second only to his five at Bristol, tied with Atlanta, Michigan and Pocono.

Getting outfoxed by Keselowski's fuel-saving maneuvers stung, but the No. 19 is still in good shape with good speed and two wins on the season.

MORE: Edwards narrowly misses win

Logano won for the second time at his home track in 2014 when Team Penske swept the season. Expect a bounce-back showing at Loudon.

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Joe Gibbs Racing

Busch failed to back up his 2015 win at Kentucky, but he gets another shot this weekend as the defending Loudon race-winner.

 

MORE: Busch up for ESPY Award

Truex's No. 78 team was once again snake-bitten by a late penalty, but the team itself looks near-elite overall.

 

MORE: NASCAR explains Truex penalty

Kenseth has had a knack for performing extremely well at New Hampshire lately, and comes into the race as the track's most recent winner.

-1
Hendrick Motorsports

Johnson has wrecked out of exactly one of his 28 starts at New Hampshire. Hard to see it happening two weeks in a row.

 

MORE: Johnson spins, wrecks early

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Hendrick Motorsports

Tough break at Kentucky for rookies Elliott and Ryan Blaney, who took each other out. Elliott may struggle at Loudon, where he has no Sprint Cup starts yet.

MORE: Elliott, Blaney wreck

-1
Joe Gibbs Racing

Hamlin has a pair of wins at Loudon, finished runner-up in the fall and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates swept the season last year. Expect a solid weekend for the No. 11 team, despite a mediocre Kentucky showing.

Newman has just one top-five since his 2011 Loudon win, but the "Magic Mile" still ranks among his best tracks, with a 13.5 average finish.

1
Hendrick Motorsports

At this point last year, Junior had 11 top-10 finishes, and finished with a career-high 22. He'd have to finish there in 16 of the remaining 18 races to match it.

 

MORE: '13' lucky or unlucky for Junior?

Larson's 19th-place finish at Kentucky wasn't much to write home about, but a pair of top-three performances in 2014 at Loudon give hopes of a good run to the No. 42 team at the "Magic Mile."

-2
Richard Childress Racing

Dillon's history at New Hampshire is above average (13.8 average finish), with his only top 10 coming in last year's running of this race.

Two of McMurray's four top-10 finishes have come in the past four races, and two of his six career NHMS top 10s in 26 starts have come in his past five races there.

Bayne's four top 10s in 2016 have nearly matched his career total (five) from the previous five seasons combined. He could top it at Indianapolis, where he is set to test.

 

MORE: Drivers set for Indy test

Kahne won this race as recently as 2012 and has bettered his finishing position at NHMS in each of the past three races.

Stewart is rolling right now and with an exceptional track record at Loudon (three wins, 18 top 10s), 'Smoke' should continue to rise.

 

MORE: Tony Stewart Chase Watch

After wrecking with Chase Elliott, Blaney falls to his lowest ranking since before the season. His Loudon history is slim (two starts across all three national series), so the slide could continue.