By Colby Colwell,Yardbarker

Copyright yardbarker

On Sunday, the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series head to the 1.058-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the running of the Mobil 1 301 (2 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

Here is what you need to know ahead of the opening race in the Round of 12 of the playoffs.

Favorite: Christopher Bell (+330, per DraftKings)

Until his win in a chaotic Bristol Night Race last week, it had been six months since Bell’s most recent points-paying win at Phoenix Raceway in March. Now, Bell is a serious threat to go back-to-back as he heads to arguably his best track on the schedule.

Bell has won two of the last three Cup Series races at New Hampshire and is a perfect 4-for-4 in Xfinity starts at the “Magic Mile.” Goodyear is bringing a new tire to the Northeast track this weekend, but Bell participated in the tire test back in July and seems to have a handle on the track regardless of what is thrown his way.

Underdog: Brad Keselowski (+2500, per DraftKings)

If you’re looking for a non-playoff driver to play spoiler this weekend, look no further than the Bristol Night Race runner-up Keselowski, who has excelled at similar layouts to New Hampshire this season, finishing third at Iowa and ninth at Richmond.

With an average finish of 10.5 — his second-best among active tracks behind Iowa — in 24 New Hampshire starts, Keselowski is usually toward the front. He has two wins there and three top fives in his last six trips, so expect him to be among the contenders on Sunday.

Can anyone stop Joe Gibbs Racing?

No organization has been more dominant in the playoffs so far than JGR, with all three of its playoff drivers, Chase Briscoe (Darlington), Denny Hamlin (World Wide Technology Raceway) and Bell (Bristol), sweeping the opening round.

According to NASCAR.com, the powerhouse organization has also led 661 of the 907 laps run (73%) in the three Next Gen races at New Hampshire, so that streak may continue. With at least one of its drivers placing inside the top two in the last 13 races, it would be a surprise if JGR does not keep the momentum rolling.

Where has Hendrick Motorsports been?

One of the biggest surprises of the opening round was the lack of pace and execution from the HMS group. Aside from Alex Bowman’s elimination, William Byron, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott are still in playoff contention despite only combining for one top 10 between the three of them in the first three races.

Larson has back-to-back top-fives at New Hampshire, but neither of the HMS drivers have won at the track. In fact, no driver from the organization has won there since Kasey Kahne in 2012, so another challenging weekend could be in store.

New Hampshire brings unknowns to Round of 12 opener

Not only is the playoff field still as tight as ever with 12 drivers remaining, but the first playoff race at New Hampshire since 2017 is sure to present a unique challenge on Sunday.

This will be the lone trip of the season to the “Granite State” and follows the 2024 race that was run in wet-weather conditions, something that will not be seen this time around with sunshine in the forecast. It should all make for an exciting Round of 12 opener as drivers look to improve their points position and lock themselves into the penultimate round.