Cup Preview: New Hampshire

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series tour now heads to the other end of the country in New Hampshire. Not only is this race significant to the drivers and teams because it is within 10 races of the Chase, but it is also the first track in the Chase when they return in September. There are a lot of things to watch as the summer stretch rolls on, testing the teams and drivers to the max. Here are just a few of many to watch for:

*Will Jimmie Johnson keep up the winning ways? After winning at a road course(even if he may have lucked into it) he was able to get the monkey off his back and hush the critics saying there was something wrong with the 48 team. Every time people believe something's up with them, they prove everybody wrong.

*Can Denny Hamlin recover to get back to dominating again? Can he regain the top spot from the 48 team? It will be interesting to see because the series is back now to "normal" tracks where Hamlin has showed his strength.

*How well will Bobby Labonte do in Robby Gordon's car? He says he wants to win races, so the big question now is can he?

* Dale Jr. came out of Sonoma very relieved. He was able to baby his car to an 11th place finish, which at that track should feel like a win to him. Now it will be interesting to see if he can get into the Chase, and if he can, by how much?

*Will Martin Truex Jr. pay back Jeff Gordon for ruining his day last week, or will another driver do it first? Gordon ticked a lot of guys off, so it should be interesting to see how it all plays out. It's not a matter of if, it is a matter of when. It's all a waiting game now for Gordon.

*Will Carl Edwards pick it up in time? He is only 57 points to the good to Dale Jr. who is just outside of the Chase cutoff. These next few weeks are going to be critical for Carl Edwards.

*Will Matt Kenseth perform better this weekend with his new crew chief? Once again, Jack Roush has decided to mix it up, adding Jimmy Fenning as the temporary crew chief. Will Jack finally get the results he has been looking for?

You can watch all this unfold at 1:00 EST on TNT, NASCAR.com's Racebuddy, or purchasing a ticket to the event. Enjoy it, because it's gonna be a wild ride.