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NASCAR Playoffs: 4 drivers locked into Round of 12 after New Hampshire

By Nick Tylwalk

LOUDON, NH - SEPTEMBER 24: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Caramel Toyota, and Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 Target Chevrolet, lead the field under pace laps prior to the start of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series ISM Connect 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 24, 2017 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
LOUDON, NH - SEPTEMBER 24: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Caramel Toyota, and Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 Target Chevrolet, lead the field under pace laps prior to the start of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series ISM Connect 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 24, 2017 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /
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It wasn’t just the New Hampshire winner who punched a ticket to the Round of 12.

Sunday was a good day for Kyle Busch. He won the ISM Connect 300 from the pole, ensuring he’ll be around for the Round of 12 in the 2017 NASCAR Playoffs. Chicagoland winner Martin Truex Jr. is also in.

But so are two other drivers. Kyle Larson, who finished second at New Hampshire, and Brad Keselowski, who finished fourth, have both locked themselves into the next round of the NASCAR Playoffs as well. Even if disaster strikes and one of them finishes dead last at Dover, it’s impossible for enough other playoff competitors to pass them in points to make them 13th or below.

That’s good news for the best hopes of Chevy (Larson) and Ford (Keselowski) to make a run at the championship. In fact, Larson is the only non-Toyota driver to win in the last eight races, when he claimed a pair of victories.

The other winners over that span have been Busch (three times), Truex (twice) and Denny Hamlin. Not coincidentally, Hamlin is also in excellent shape for the next round, sitting as the top driver who isn’t locked in. It would take a meltdown of epic proportions for him not to stay alive at Dover.

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In contrast, everyone from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in 12th on down to Kasey Kahne in 16th is in for a nervous few hours at Dover. Stenhouse is actually tied with Austin Dillon in points after New Hampshire but would be in on tiebreakers. Only 21 points separate the last five drivers, and Jamie McMurray is only nine more points clear of that group in 11th, so there’s plenty of possible drama remaining as the NASCAR Playoffs get ready to end the Round of 16.

Here’s how the standings look leaving New Hampshire:

(a) = driver has already advanced to the Round of 12

  1. Martin Truex Jr. – 2149 points (a)
  2. Kyle Larson – 2125 (a)
  3. Kyle Busch – 2119 (a)
  4. Brad Keselowski – 2106 (a)
  5. Denny Hamlin – 2088
  6. Matt Kenseth – 2087
  7. Jimmie Johnson – 2076
  8. Ryan Blaney – 2070
  9. Chase Elliott – 2070
  10. Kevin Harvick – 2069
  11. Jamie McMurray – 2053
  12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – 2044
  13. Austin Dillon – 2044
  14. Ryan Newman – 2043
  15. Kurt Busch – 2027
  16. Kasey Kahne – 2023
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