Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship favorite Martin Truex Jr. locked his spot in the Round of 12 with a win Sunday in the Tales of the Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Truex padded his playoffs lead over Kyle Larson (-27 points) and Kevin Harvick (-35) but the real race early in the playoffs is for the Round of 12 cutoff line. Currently Austin Dillon owns the final spot in the Round of 12 as four drivers are eliminated from contention following the Oct. 1 race at Dover. Kurt Busch, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman have plenty of work ahead of them in Sunday's ISM Connect 300 at New Hampshire to help their playoff cause.

A win in the playoffs automatically advances a driver to the next round and adds five points to his playoff points total. A stage win earns one playoff point to be added in the following round.

Here's how the Cup Series standings shake out entering the second playoff race at New Hampshire.

1. Truex, 2,102 points, 2. Larson, 2,075, 3. Harvick, 2,067, 4. Brad Keselowski, 2,061, 5. Kyle Busch, 2,061, 6. Denny Hamlin, 2,058, 7. Jimmie Johnson, 2,046, 8. Chase Elliott, 2,044, 9. Matt Kenseth, 2,039, 10. Ryan Blaney, 2,034, 11. Jamie McMurray, 2031 12. Austin Dillon, 2,026, 13. Kurt Busch, 2,026, 14. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 2,022, 15. Kasey Kahne, 2,021, 16. Ryan Newman, 2,019.

The opening race of the Round of 8 in the Truck Series playoffs will also take place at New Hampshire while the Xfinity Series playoffs will kick off at Kentucky Speedway with the first race in the Round of 12.

NASCAR at New Hampshire, Kentucky schedule, TV channel info

(All times ET)

Friday, Sept. 22

New Hampshire
11:30 a.m.-12:55 p.m.: NASCAR Cup Series practice, NBCSN
1:30-2:25 p.m.: Truck Series practice, FS1
3:30-4:25 p.m.: Truck Series final practice, FS1
5:15 p.m.: Cup Series qualifying, NBCSN

Saturday, Sept. 23

New Hampshire
9-9:55 a.m.: Cup Series practice, CNBC
10:05 a.m.: Truck Series qualifying, FS1
11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m.: Cup Series final practice, NBC Sports App
1 p.m.: Truck Series UNOH 175 (175 laps, 185.15 miles), FS1

Kentucky
5:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series qualifying, NBCSN
8 p.m.: Xfinity Series VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 (200 laps, 300 miles), NBCSN

What TV channel is the NASCAR playoff race at New Hampshire on?

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series ISM Connect 300 begins at 2 p.m. ET Sunday, Sept. 24, and can be seen on NBC Sports Network and the NBC Sports app.

What are the stage lengths for NASCAR's ISM Connect 300 at New Hampshire?

The ISM Connect 300, which is 300 laps and 317.4 miles, will be broken into three segments: Stage 1 ends on Lap 75, Stage 2 ends on Lap 150 and the final stage ends on Lap 300.

Which NASCAR Cup Series drivers are racing in the playoffs at New Hampshire?

There are 39 Cup drivers entered in Sunday's race, meaning all drivers will make the race with Friday's qualifying setting their starting positions. Here is the list of participating Cup drivers in alphabetical order by first name:

AJ Allmendinger
Aric Almirola
Austin Dillon
Brad Keselowski
Brett Moffitt

Chase Elliott

Chris Buescher

Clint Bowyer

Cole Whitt
Corey LaJoie

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Danica Patrick

Daniel Suarez

David Ragan

Denny Hamlin

Erik Jones

Gray Gaulding

Jamie McMurray
Jeffrey Earnhardt

Jimmie Johnson

Joey Logano
Kasey Kahne

Kevin Harvick
Kurt Busch

Kyle Busch

Kyle Larson

Landon Cassill

Martin Truex Jr.

Matt DiBenedetto

Matt Kenseth

Michael McDowell

Paul Menard

Reed Sorenson

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Ryan Blaney
Ryan Newman
TBA
Trevor Bayne

Ty Dillon