Editor's note: NBC broadcasters will offer opinions on upcoming races the remainder of the season. This week, analyst and former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Steve Letarte discusses Sunday's New England 300 from New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which will start shortly after 2 p.m. ET.
The pressure is already mounting for a host of NASCAR championship contenders.
The Chase for the Sprint Cup is two races away from its first eliminations. Four drivers will be cut after three races, trimming the field from 16 to 12. Martin Truex Jr. is the only driver assured of a berth in the next round, courtesy of his win in the opening race at Chicagoland Speedway.
The last four in the standings are Austin Dillon and Kevin Harvick, both 23 points behind Truex; Kyle Larson (minus-24); and Chris Buescher (minus-34).
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Other drivers aren’t that far ahead of them.
All are feeling the pressure as they head to New Hampshire, a 1.058-mile track on which the drivers just raced July 17. This time, much more is at stake.
“The thing that I think New Hampshire has going for them is it’s a beautiful combination of difficult racetrack, short event and a lot of pressure with the Chase,” Letarte said.
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So what does he expect in this weekend’s New England 300? Changes in the lead, variation in pit strategies — and daunting restarts.
“Restarts are going to be insane, which, I think you can say that basically every week, you can take that same quote and take it to every race, but at New Hampshire it seems to be even more difficult just because the proximity of the cars is so close and it’s easy for one to lean on another and we see how heated that can get,” he said.
He also expects to see someone’s Chase change dramatically. After all, if happened last year.
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“It always seems to have a pivotal moment in the race that affects the Chase,” he said. “I think last year, Kevin Harvick running out of gas, Dale Earnhardt Jr. running out of gas, those two are still prevalent right in the front of my mind thinking how big of an issue that is to try to advance when you have an issue at New Hampshire, and I think that’s what we have to look forward to.”
As Letarte points out, it’s a quick turnaround for drivers from the first New Hampshire race to the second one.
It’s also a quick turnaround from the Chase opener for drivers who suffered setbacks. Buescher lost multiple laps at Chicagoland. Harvick had a fast car that passed much of the field in the opening segment after he had to drop to the rear at the start. Then he lost a lap because he was on pit road when a caution came out — and things got worse from there.
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Chase Elliott, meanwhile, made a run at the trophy, leading late before settling for third. It was a stellar start for the rookie. Of the four drivers in the Chase for the first time, the other three — Dillon, Larson and Buescher — are faring much worse.
This weekend, everyone must try to calm down for this second test of the championship run.
“I think there were some nerves in Chicago and what happens is half of the drivers have good runs and their nerves settle in and half of the drivers had subpar runs and their nerves get amped up,” Letarte said.
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That could change how the drivers react to and prepare for New Hampshire.
For 15 of the Chasers, the main goal is to stay in position to make the field after the race at Dover. No matter where one is in the standings now, that’s when it’s going to matter.
And that is something everyone needs to keep in mind Sunday.
“I think when we go to New Hampshire, this is only Year 3, but the truth is this elimination format is pressure-packed and there are drivers that don’t want to make a mistake because they had a good Chicago,” Letarte said. “Then there are drivers like Chris Buescher that need to go have something go right and they have to start trying to recover from Chicago to make sure they have a chance to move forward when we leave Dover next week.”