Denny Hamlin — He earned the No. 1 seed in the upcoming In-Season Challenge with a runner-up finish at Pocono. He’s on a roll. He finished third at Nashville, won Michigan before skipping Mexico for the birth of his son, and finished second at Pocono.

Briscoe's former team, Stewart-Haas Racing, shut down after last season. The four drivers went in various directions, but it was Briscoe who landed in a prime seat — the cockpit formerly occupied by Martin Truex Jr., who hit the exit ramp after last year.