New Hampshire can be a tricky track to manage. No one is more aware of that this weekend than the Chase for the Sprint Cup contenders.
For some, this could be a make-or-break race. For others, gliding safely through New Hampshire could be the key to advancing to the Round of 12.
After the season's third race, at Dover, the field will slim by four drivers. No one wants to be in one of those bottom spots heading into that Oct. 2 race. However, some are already deeper in the standings than they would like.
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A win, of course, would alleviate that and put a driver into the next round. So far, though, only Martin Truex Jr. and his Furniture Row Racing team are able to relax at the 1.058-mile track in Sunday's Bad Boy Off Road 300 (green flag 2:15 p.m. ET, NBCSN). That's because of his win in the Chase opener at Chicagoland.
After the opening race, 11 drivers are within 20 points of leader Truex. But the points are tight from ninth on back. Those spots are held by Carl Edwards, who is 18 points behind Truex, Kurt Busch (-19), Jamie McMurray (-20), Tony Stewart (-22), Austin Dillon (-23), Kevin Harvick (-23), Kyle Larson (24) and Chris Buescher (-34).
Certainly, it is the rookie Buescher who is in the most danger entering Sunday's race at New Hampshire. He finished 28th in the opening Chase race, sits last in the standings and will start 28th in Sunday's Bad Boy Off Road 300. His best position at the end of the three practices this weekend is 28th of the 40.
So how does he approach Sunday?
"We're playing our own game right now," he said after qualifying. "We know that if we come out of here and do the best we can, put in our maximum effort, that's all we can do. At the end of the day, that's the plan. We'll come out here and do all we can do."
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Larson is also deep in the points, but he was fast in practices this weekend. He'll start sixth on Sunday after leading each of the three sessions.
Larson, who made the Chase after winning at Michigan, said that his car falls off "a little bit too much compared to other people," but that he's confident he can help that in the race. Leading the final practice should serve as a confidence boost for Larson and his Chip Ganassi Racing team.
"This last practice was really good, I thought," he said of the session run in cooler weather. "Even though the sun has been out a little bit more today than yesterday, and (Sunday) is going to be cooler yet. So that will probably help everybody's race cars a little bit.
"Hopefully, it will help ours more than others and we can have a good race."
Harvick is also among those hoping for a stellar race. After winning the Cup in 2014, and being runner-up last season, he's off to a rough start in the Chase. He has been here before — finishing 42nd in the opening Chase race last season, then running out of gas while leading at New Hampshire to force him into a must-win situation at Dover. Last year, he did just that.
But while Harvick has what it takes to rally, one can assume he's doing all he can to avoid repeating that position. He finished 20th in the Chase opener after a stunning opening run that was stymied by losing a lap when he was caught on pit road when a caution came out.
Last week, Harvick offered his thoughts on having to rally back into contention.
"It's something we pride ourselves in," he said in a team release. "I think the pressure situations have been very good for us. As you look at the past two years — winning the championship and finishing second and getting to Homestead twice — it kind of shows the grit and backbone of our team and how well they've dealt with those situations. That experience definitely pays dividends every year when you go in.
"I think we were a little too ramped up, or at least I was, to start the Chase last year. There's definitely a strategy to how you approach situations and how you approach the end. I think, having dealt with that in the past, that it's a good thing for us."
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He has the experience needed to overcome. Others have also gained experience in championship battles, though not at the Cup level. Dillon is among that crowd, though he has been playing catch-up pretty much all weekend.
Dillon, a Richard Childress Racing driver, crashed in the opening practice and went to a backup car for the first time in his Cup career. He qualified 29th in that car, then was 23rd and 22nd fastest in Saturday's two practice sessions.
After qualifying he said he knew he had some work to do to close the gap on the other Chasers. On Sunday he'll be intent on not giving up any more ground, as he already sits 13th in the standings after finishing 14th at Chicagoland.
He could take heart from the words of pole-sitter Carl Edwards, who explained that qualifying doesn't translate to the race — except in one key area. Perhaps that can be enough.
"Not a lot actually translates from qualifying to the race except that confidence," he said. "To know that what everybody came here for — 40 guys — and we all went as fast as we could and our car was really fast and that's nice. It's nice to know … we've got enough horsepower and we've got enough downforce, and we've figured out some setup that can run that fast lap, so that confidence is the biggest thing."