Dover boils down to Chase needs (Tony Stewart), or recent studs (Kasey Kahne)

Ray Slover

Dover boils down to Chase needs (Tony Stewart), or recent studs (Kasey Kahne) image

Kasey Kahne is hot; Tony Stewart is not. Come Sunday night, both could be on the outside looking in at the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

This week's race at Dover is the third and final leg of the Round of 16 in the championship series. Four drivers will be eliminated from the competition. Barring a victory, one that would be a shock given his recent performance, Stewart will be one of the four.

MORE: Dover Chase scenarios

Kahne, meanwhile, didn't make the Chase. He is in company with 24 other drivers in Sunday's race, from big-name teams to back-marker operations, who are turning laps and trying to stay out of the way most of the time as the Chase drivers make their runs.

Except, of course, for Kahne. In need of a surge to save his season, Kahne got it too late. Too bad, since he enters Dover off four consecutive top 10 finishes. So here is Kahne, doing better than Stewart and the other three drivers facing elimination.

MORE: Chase drivers in big trouble

Add this to Kahne's success at Loudon: He started at the back of the field after being flagged for unapproved adjustments, so finishing ninth was quite the showing. He was seventh at Chicagoland.

Stewart was running well at New Hampshire until midrace, when he told crew chief Mike Bugarewicz his car "all of a sudden changed." His car, Stewart said later, was "numb."

At least Stewart could watch his teammates succeed. Kevin Harvick won and Kurt Busch finished fifth. Busch will need another strong run at Dover; he is 15 points ahead of Jamie McMurray, who is 13th in the driver standings and in danger of elimination.

MORE: Loudon Winners & Losers | 16 drivers in Chase field

McMurray's best chance to advance comes in the form of a disappointing finish by Kyle Larson, who holds the 12th and final Chase transfer position. After three finishes in the top three, including a victory at Michigan, Larson has been good. A repeat at Dover of his 10th at Loudon might be good enough to push him into the Round of 12, but Larson is just five points ahead of McMurray.

By the way, Larson was second in May's race at Dover.

Kahne will do all he can to help teammates Jimmie Johnson and Chase Elliott. Meanwhile, Jeff Gordon again drives in place of Dale Earnhardt Jr., who will be at Dover above Gordon's pit.

Austin Dillon and Chris Buescher, like Stewart and McMurray, will need a victory to salvage their Chase dreams.

MORE: Dover schedule

Stewart is set to retire after the 2016 season, and he will have surgery in December. Doctors will remove screws inserted to help heal his back, in which he broke bones in late January.

According to Fox Sports, Stewart will race 40 or more times next year, mostly in dirt track competition.

He will be disappointed when his final Chase ends, Stewart said this week via The Associated Press, but he also knows technology has surpassed his ability to make his car better.

''That's part of why I'm ready to do something different — because I can't make a difference anymore,'' he said. ''I can't go out there and do different things with my feet and different things with my hands and run a different line and fix the problem. I used to be able to do that. I can't do that anymore, and you get so frustrated, you can't see straight.

''You try everything in the book that you know, and it doesn't help.''

The entries for Sunday's Citizen Soldier 400 at Dover, which will begin about 2:15 p.m. ET. Qualifying is Friday.

NOTE: Chase for the Sprint Cup drivers in bold.

No. Driver, hometown Brand        Sponsor, owner
1 Jamie McMurray
Joplin, Mo.
Chevy Credit One
Chip Ganassi Racing
2 Brad Keselowski
Rochester Hills, Mich.
Ford Miller Lite
Team Penske
3 Austin Dillon
Welcome, N.C.
Chevy AAA
Richard Childress Racing
4 Kevin Harvick
Bakersfield, Calif.
Chevy Jimmy John's Chevrolet SS
Stewart-Haas Racing
5 Kasey Kahne
Enumclaw, Wash.
Chevy Panasonic
Hendrick Motorsports
6 Trevor Bayne
Knoxville, Tenn.
Ford Advocare Ford Fusion
Roush Fenway Racing
7 Regan Smith
Cato, N.Y.
Chevy Citizen Soldier Chevrolet
Tommy Baldwin Racing
10 Danica Patrick
Roscoe, Ill.
Chevy Nature's Bakery Chevrolet SS
Stewart-Haas Racing
11 Denny Hamlin
Chesterfield, Va.
Toyota FedEx Ground
Joe Gibbs Racing
13 Casey Mears
Bakersfield, Calif.
Chevy GEICO
Germain Racing
14 Tony Stewart
Columbus, Ind.
Chevy Nature’s Bakery Brownie/Mobil Chevrolet SS
Stewart-Haas Racing
15 Clint Bowyer
Emporia, Kan..
Chevy 5-Hour Energy
HScott Motorsports
16 Greg Biffle
Vancouver, Wash.
Ford Ford EcoBoost Ford Fusion
Roush Fenway Racing
17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Olive Branch, Miss.
Ford Fastenal Ford Fusion
Roush Fenway Racing
18 Kyle Busch
Las Vegas, Nev.
Toyota M&M's Core
Joe Gibbs Racing
19 Carl Edwards
Columbia, Mo.

Toyota

ARRIS Surfboard
Joe Gibbs Racing
20 Matt Kenseth
Cambridge, Wis.

Toyota

DeWalt Flexvolt
Joe Gibbs Racing
21 Ryan Blaney
High Point, N.C.
Ford Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center
Wood Brothers Racing
22 Joey Logano
Middletown, Conn.
Ford Shell Pennzoil
Team Penske
23 David Ragan
Unadilla, Ga.
Toyota Life With Cancer
BK Racing
24 Chase Elliott
Dawsonville, Ga.
Chevy Mountain Dew
Hendrick Motorsports
27 Paul Menard
Eau Claire, Wis.
Chevy Duracell / Menards
Richard Childress Racing
30 Josh Wise
Riverside, Calif.
Chevy Curtis Key Plumbing
The Motorsports Group
31 Ryan Newman
South Bend, Ind.
Chevy WIX Filters
Richard Childress Racing
32 Jeffrey Earnhardt
Mooresville, N.C.
Ford Can-Am
GO FAS Racing
34 Chris Buescher
Prosper, Texas
Ford CSX–Play it Safe
Front Row Motorsports
38 Landon Cassill
Fairfax, Iowa
Ford MDS Transport
Front Row Motorsports
41 Kurt Busch
Las Vegas, Nev.
Chevy Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet SS
Stewart-Haas Racing
42 Kyle Larson
Elk Grove, Calif.
Chevy Target
Chip Ganassi Racing
43 Aric Almirola
Tampa, Fla.
Ford Smithfield
Richard Petty Motorsports
44 Brian Scott
Boise, Idaho
Ford ACME
Richard Petty Motorsports
46 Michael Annett
Des Moines, Iowa
Chevy Pilot Flying J
HScott Motorsports
47 AJ Allmendinger
Los Gatos, Calif.
Chevy Bush's Chili Beans
JTG Daugherty Racing
48 Jimmie Johnson
El Cajon, Calif.
Chevy Lowe's
Hendrick Motorsports
55 Reed Sorenson
Peachtree City, Ga.
Chevy TBD
Premium Motorsports
78 Martin Truex Jr.
Mayetta, N.J.
Toyota Furniture Row/Denver Mattress
Furniture Row Racing
83 Matt DiBenedetto
Grass Valley, Calif.
Toyota E.J. Wade Construction
BK Racing
88 Jeff Gordon
Vallejo, Calif.
Chevy Nationwide
Hendrick Motorsports
95 Ty Dillon
Welcome, N.C.
Chevy Death Wish Coffee Chevrolet SS
Circle Sport-Leavine Family
98 Timmy Hill
Port Tobacco, Md.
Chevy TBD
Premium Motorsports

Ray Slover