Race two of the Chase is here this week with a second trip to New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire and the race for the lobster. New Hampshire is one of three one-mile tracks on the Sprint Cup schedule but it is different from the others as there is practically no banking on the track with four degrees in the turns in the lower section and seven degrees in the upper sections of the track. Completing a pass in the turn is very hard as the speed is taken out of the racecar. Martin Truex Jr. is already into the next round with a win at Chicagoland so the other 15 drivers in the Chase will be looking to punch their ticket.
Track Data Breakdown
| Avg. | Avg. | Laps | High | Low | Avg. | Diff | Laps Led | Laps Led | ||||||||
| Driver | Start | Finish | Races | Wins | Top 5's | Top 10's | Top 20's | Led | Poles | Finish | Finish | DNF | Rating | Pts. | Pts. | Pts./race |
| Matt Kenseth | 14 | 6.6 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 77 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 112.9 | 7.4 | 19.25 | 3.85 |
| Joey Logano | 5.8 | 10.2 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 88 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 1 | 107.1 | -4.4 | 22 | 4.40 |
| Kyle Busch | 5.8 | 11.2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 291 | 1 | 1 | 37 | 0 | 112.3 | -5.4 | 72.75 | 14.55 |
| Brad Keselowski | 6.2 | 7.4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 321 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 121 | -1.2 | 80.25 | 16.05 |
| Kevin Harvick | 7.4 | 12.2 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 379 | 0 | 3 | 30 | 0 | 117 | -4.8 | 94.75 | 18.95 |
| Kyle Larson | 12.6 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 31 | 0 | 82 | -1.4 | 3.5 | 0.70 |
| Greg Biffle | 24 | 13.4 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 27 | 0 | 70.2 | 10.6 | 3 | 0.60 |
| Ryan Newman | 18.6 | 10.2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 18 | 0 | 83.1 | 8.4 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Denny Hamlin | 4.8 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 78 | 0 | 2 | 37 | 0 | 104.7 | -9.2 | 19.5 | 3.90 |
| Carl Edwards | 7.4 | 12.4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 38 | 2 | 5 | 20 | 0 | 91.1 | -5 | 9.5 | 1.90 |
| Jamie McMurray | 12 | 13.2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 26 | 0 | 91.5 | -1.2 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Tony Stewart | 19.2 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 30 | 0 | 75.7 | 5.2 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 4.2 | 17.4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 42 | 1 | 83 | -13.2 | 0.25 | 0.05 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 21.8 | 17.6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 39 | 1 | 74.3 | 4.2 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 16 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 123 | 0 | 8 | 16 | 0 | 91.5 | 4 | 30.75 | 6.15 |
| Austin Dillon | 20 | 13.6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 22 | 0 | 73.9 | 6.4 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kurt Busch | 9.2 | 20.8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 36 | 0 | 86.7 | -11.6 | 0.25 | 0.05 |
| Kasey Kahne | 11.8 | 17.4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 25 | 0 | 83.3 | -5.6 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Aric Almirola | 22 | 21.2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 43 | 1 | 67 | 0.8 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Clint Bowyer | 19.6 | 20.8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 36 | 0 | 6 | 34 | 0 | 71.2 | -1.2 | 9 | 1.80 |
| Paul Menard | 22.2 | 18.4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 25 | 0 | 69.6 | 3.8 | 0 | 0.00 |
| A.J. Allmendinger | 21.8 | 17.6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 13 | 23 | 0 | 69.2 | 4.2 | 3.25 | 0.65 |
| Danica Patrick | 23.6 | 23.8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 40 | 1 | 65.2 | -0.2 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Casey Mears | 23.4 | 24.2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 38 | 0 | 56.8 | -0.8 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Ryan Blaney | 15 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 23 | 0 | 79.6 | -2 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Trevor Bayne | 31.7 | 23.67 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 32 | 0 | 53.9 | 8.03 | 0 | 0.00 |
| David Ragan | 19.8 | 31.2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 42 | 2 | 52.7 | -11.4 | 0 | 0.00 |
| David Gilliland | 34.5 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 28 | 0 | 48.9 | 9.5 | 0.25 | 0.06 |
| Cole Whitt | 31.8 | 29.5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 38 | 0 | 46.4 | 2.3 | 0.25 | 0.06 |
| Chase Elliott | 7 | 34 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 79.4 | -27 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Landon Cassill | 27.8 | 31 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 38 | 0 | 45.9 | -3.2 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Chris Buescher | 35 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 45 | 6 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Alex Bowman | 33.4 | 33.8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 42 | 1 | 44.9 | -0.4 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Matt DiBenedetto | 28.7 | 32 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 35 | 0 | 41.5 | -3.3 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Reed Sorenson | 36.7 | 33 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 35 | 0 | 38.8 | 3.7 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Michael Annett | 38 | 31.8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 36 | 0 | 38.5 | 6.2 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Regan Smith | 34 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 36.5 | 2 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Josh Wise | 37.5 | 33.25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 40 | 1 | 35.8 | 4.25 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Michael McDowell | 27 | 39 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 39 | 1 | 35.5 | -12 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Brian Scott | 33 | 38 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 32.5 | -5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Jeffrey Earnhardt | 42 | 35 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 29.8 | 7 | 0 | 0.00 |
Key Drivers on 1-Mile Tracks
| Avg. | Avg. | Laps | High | Low | Diff | Laps Led | Laps Led | |||||||||
| Driver | Start | Finish | Races | Wins | Top 5's | Top 10's | Top 20's | Led | Poles | Finish | Finish | DNF | Rating | Pts. | Pts. | Pts./race |
| Kevin Harvick | 7.4 | 7.67 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 2,183 | 2 | 1 | 30 | 0 | 129.2 | -0.27 | 545.75 | 36.38 |
| Matt Kenseth | 11 | 9 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 170 | 0 | 1 | 39 | 1 | 107.6 | 2 | 42.5 | 3.04 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 7.9 | 15.33 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 344 | 2 | 1 | 42 | 2 | 95.2 | -7.43 | 86 | 5.73 |
| Joey Logano | 7.3 | 9.67 | 15 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 213 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 1 | 104.9 | -2.37 | 53.25 | 3.55 |
| Brad Keselowski | 8.2 | 8.4 | 15 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 536 | 3 | 1 | 29 | 0 | 108.4 | -0.2 | 134 | 8.93 |
| Kyle Busch | 5.9 | 16.21 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 474 | 2 | 1 | 42 | 3 | 104.8 | -10.31 | 118.5 | 8.46 |
| Denny Hamlin | 6.5 | 12.73 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 235 | 2 | 2 | 37 | 0 | 95.4 | -6.23 | 58.75 | 3.92 |
| Kyle Larson | 10.7 | 11.8 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 13 | 99 | 0 | 2 | 31 | 0 | 89.3 | -1.1 | 24.75 | 1.65 |
| Jamie McMurray | 11.9 | 12.67 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 26 | 0 | 87 | -0.77 | 0.5 | 0.03 |
| Kasey Kahne | 14.4 | 14.93 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 26 | 0 | 84.5 | -0.53 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Ryan Newman | 16 | 14.27 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 39 | 1 | 80.6 | 1.73 | 1.5 | 0.10 |
| Kurt Busch | 10.3 | 17.13 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 39 | 1 | 92.4 | -6.83 | 0.25 | 0.02 |
| Carl Edwards | 9.9 | 13.27 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 135 | 2 | 2 | 28 | 1 | 94.9 | -3.37 | 33.75 | 2.25 |
| Aric Almirola | 20.5 | 17.47 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 43 | 2 | 73.8 | 3.03 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Greg Biffle | 19.2 | 18.93 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 38 | 1 | 70 | 0.27 | 4.5 | 0.30 |
Drivers to watch this week
Matt Kenseth: Kenseth has been a monster at the one-mile tracks in the last few years. He has two wins at Loudon including the race earlier this year and has three wins at this distance in the last five races run at this distance. Kenseth is only the fourth-most expensive driver this week but should be used as a top of the heap choice given his history at the track and still needing a win to lock his spot in the next round.
Kevin Harvick: Harvick has three top-five finishes in the last five races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in addition to the most laps led. He also owns the best average finish at this distance over the last 15 races run at one-mile tracks including more than 1,500 more laps led than the next closest driver. Harvick has been a big-ticket driver all season, but with good reason as he has produced week in and week out. This Sunday shouldn’t be any different and he lives up to $10,700 price tag.
Joey Logano: Logano comes in at just $9,600 this week but is worth more than that given his history at this particular track. He owns the second-best average finish over the last five races along with a win and placing in the top-five four times. Logano finished third in the race at July and will be strongly in contention again this week trying to punch his ticket to the second round of the Chase, though a win is not needed for that to happen.
Ryan Newman: Newman has a top-five and three top-10 finishes at Loudon in the last five races run there, all the way back to July of 2014. Those high placing races give him a tie for second in terms of best average finish at 10.2. In addition to all that, Newman also owns the second best positional differential in the field at +8.4 making him a solid play at $8,000 this Sunday. Newman isn’t in the Chase, finishing just outside the top-16 post-Richmond, but he still counts just the same on the track and is sure to be trying to show he belonged.
Greg Biffle: Biffle may just be a sleeper pick this week with his price tag being $7,200 and him being a top-10 driver at NHMS. He has started, on average, at P24 in the last five races but finishes near the top-10 at 13th and has two top-fives to his credit. Biffle may not lead very many laps, 18 in total in the last 15 one-mile races, but his field-best positional differential surely makes him a smart play in lineups for Sunday.