NASCAR new Hampshire

Entering Sunday's Sprint Cup event at Nascar New Hampshire Motor Speedway, eight races remain before the Chase. For the first time, the 11th and 12th spot in the playoff are decided based on wins for drivers ranked in the top 20. Drivers will tell you they always try to win in every race.

"If I could win a race, I'd win a race,"Dale Earnhardt Jr. said Friday. Earnhardt could use a victory. The difficulty and the pressure will mount as the Chase approaches if a team needs a win to get in. If a driver is inside the top 10, points racing might be the best option -- playing it safe and having a good finish to earn as many points as possible.

If a driver is outside the top 10, taking a few risks to try to win becomes the best option as the races wind down before the Chase.

"The single-race winners this year will change the dynamic of the points.

"Last year we were that one-race win team that would have made it with this year's type of points system. So yeah, we want to win."

David Ragan, who won at Daytona two weeks ago, is the only driver outside the top 10 that would make the Chase right now based on wins. Stewart is 11th and winless, but he's only two points behind Denny Hamlin in 10th.

Burton’s No. 31 Chevrolet was seventh or better in both practice sessions on Saturday and Burton holds the most track records at NHMS – most wins (four), most laps led by a race winner (300, September 2000), least laps led by a race winner (two, July 1999) and race record (2:42:35 and 117.134 mph, July 1997).

In 32 Cup races at the track, Burton has four wins, eight top-five and 13 top-10 finishes.

Clint Bowyer put the trophy from last year’s victory at Nascar New Hampshire in his house.Bowyer is stuck in 12th place again, a spot that, thanks to NASCAR’s revamped points system, puts him outside the Chase field.Eight races remain until the Chase field is set.Bowyer and his Richard Childress Racing team have huddled at the shop for solutions.