Truex finished seventh at Loudon, but had the dominant car most of the day. He nearly opened the Chase with a pair of home runs.
With a win in hand and the pressure off, look for Harvick to come out stomping at Dover, where he led 355 of 400 to win this race last year, albeit in do-or-die fashion.
Busch may not get the notoriety at Dover, but he’s one of a small handful of drivers to have double-digit top-five finishes, with 10.
Everyone knows Johnson is nearly (see: fall 2015) unstoppable at Dover, but how’s this for a stat? “Six-Time’s” all-time laps led at the track (3,003) are nearly as many as the next three active full-time drivers on the list combined (3,067).
Keselowski scraped together a great finish, but there are overall speed issues potentially plaguing the 2 team right now.
MORE: Kes grinds out top five
Kenseth nearly earned a wave of momentum by virtue of his third straight NH win ahead of going back to the track he won at earlier this year, but, alas — he finished second.
Elliott should be in decent shape to move on, especially if he has another race at Dover like he did earlier this year (third).
Logano couldn’t get it going at his home track, and, while he should be fine to advance to the next round, he needs to find some speed to continue on.
Hamlin’s run of consistent strong finishes ended at New Hampshire by virtue of his crew’s late, costly pit road penalty. He was not pleased.
Unlike his teammate, Edwards recovered from a penalty on the same stop as Hamlin for a good finish. He still needs to bring it at Dover, however.
Busch really needed that top-five finish at Loudon. His No. 41 team hadn’t been running extraordinarily well of late.
Based on his first five races at Dover, he looks like the next Jimmie Johnson-type monster tamer, with an average finish of 6.2. He nearly won the spring race, but fell to second.
MORE: Larson back on track
Dillon still has some work to do at Dover, as he’s still on the outside looking in with one race left before the cutoff.
MORE: Dillon on the bubble
McMurray finds himself on the bubble, right behind his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate. He is one of six Chevrolet drivers ninth or worse in the Chase standings.
Stewart will need a small miracle or a win to advance. He has some recent success at Dover (2013 win) and three victories overall.
Buescher, however, needs a miracle of the grandest variety. He may have used up his one for the season with his Pocono win that put him into the Chase in the first place.
MORE: Crunch time for Buescher