By Jared Turner For four Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers, Sunday’s elimination race at Dover International Speedway is little more than a tune-up for the next round of the playoffs. That’s because Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson and Brad Keselowski are moving on to the Round of 12 no matter what happens. However, for the 12 drivers battling it out for the remaining eight positions in the Round 12, it’s game on. That’s particularly true for Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne, who are saddled 15th and 16th, respectively, among the 16 championship-eligible drivers. To reach the Round of 12,…

By Jared Turner One quick look at the Monster Energy Series standings reveals a hard-to-miss fact: Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne are in big trouble. With this weekend’s playoff elimination race at Dover looming, Busch and Kahne are 15th and 16th among the 16 championship-eligible drivers, respectively, and face such a steep points climb that they probably need to win on Sunday at the Monster Mile to advance to the next round. Busch is 17 points behind bubble driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in 12th, while Kahne is 21 points in arrears of the bubble spot. It’s going to be an extremely tall…

By Jared Turner While most of the attention in the first two races of the Monster Energy Series playoff has understandably been focused on the 16 championship-eligible drivers, it’s important not to forget that more than half of the field consists of drivers not in title contention. On Sunday at New Hampshire, drivers already eliminated from championship contention made their presence felt by taking four of the top 10 finishing positions. While championship-eligible drivers made it a clean sweep of the top five, the four non-playoff drivers in the back half of the top 10 certainly deserve some props — and that’s…