“We’ve just got to get back on track,” said Hamlin, who has three finishes outside the top 20 in the past four races. “We’ve got to get at least two weeks in a row to get good finishes to solidify our place. It’s not like we’re getting caught up in wrecks. It’s just dumb stuff that we get caught up in. We’re inconsistent right now. We run top 10 and then run in the 40s.

“Right now I feel like, there’s five races left, we can have no more than two bad races,” said Hamlin, runner-up last year at Watkins Glen to Stewart, his teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing. “If we finish 25th or worse, we’re going to have to have some help.”

Of the drivers currently inside the top 12, four have not won yet and four others have only one victory. Dale Earnhardt Jr., second in points to Busch, starts on the front row for Sunday’s 90-lap race, with Edwards and Johnson right behind. Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart and Hamlin round out the top 10.

Last year’s race at Watkins Glen featured eight cautions and a 28-minute red flag with less than 20 laps left caused by a wreck featuring Juan Pablo Montoya and Harvick while both were running in the top 10. They ended up in a shoving match on the track while the race was stopped, and Harvick finished 36th, three spots ahead of Montoya.

Advertising for Sunday’s race by Watkins Glen International included headshots of Harvick and Montoya with fists cocked, smirks on their faces, and ready for a brawl. Road racing tends to bring out the animosity, especially on the high-speed, 11-turn Watkins Glen International layout.

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“The first 30 laps everybody is pretty reasonable with blocks and being considerate on track,” said Johnson, seeking the first road course victory of his career. “It’s a little more intense after that last pit stop on. Then you’ll have Bill Elliott run you into the grass. Everybody just fights for that space. It gets really intense. You have to run so hard.”

Which suits Earnhardt just fine.

“I like running here. You can make things happen,” said Earnhardt, who has two top-5s in eight starts at Watkins Glen. “If we can maintain the track position all day, that is really going to be the key.”

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