The Contender 12 face off in the Hollywood Casino 400

The Contender 12 carry special stickers. Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Fate and skill will decide who moves forward....
It's time to prepare for glory or defeat - the Contender Round is upon us. (NASCAR promo)

The championship points have been reset and 12 drivers now sit tied at 3000 points. An equal playing field for all.

Brad Keselowski, Jeff Gordon,  Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Kevin Harvick , Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne and Denny Hamlin survived the Challenger Round and advanced to the Contender Round. Will one of these Chase drivers win today and automatically advance to the Eliminator Round?

Kevin Harvick broke his own track record in claiming his eighth pole of the 2014 season (197.773 mph in Round 2 of 3.) If you're keeping score at home, that's his sixth track record this year and the 20th time this season a new track record has been set in qualifying.

Jeff Gordon's Challenger sticker in Victory Lane at Dover
credit: Beth Bence Reinke/Skirts and Scuffs

Will Harvick finally show why he's called The Closer? Or will he again suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune as he has so many times in 2014?  Six-Time spun out in qualifying and starts way back in 32nd. Will the real Jimmie Johnson finally stand up and find Victory Lane?

For Jeff Gordon, back-to-back wins used to be commonplace, but he's not managed that feat since 2007. That was also the last season he scored more than three wins. Can he ring the Hendrick victory bell again this week?

Then there's the four drivers who were just eliminated from championship contention. Greg Biffle, Aric Almirola, AJ Allmendinger, and Kurt Busch can still finish as high as fifth in points. Almirola qualified an impressive third, Biffle begins in 11th and both showed speed in the first practice.

The Roush Fenway drivers tested at Texas last week and must have found something on that mile-and-a-half that translates to Kansas because they're looking racier than they have all season.

Dinger starts from 20th, but was fast in the second and the final practices, while Busch starts 24th and seems to be searching for speed.

Perhaps a non-Chase contender will break out a win. Jamie McMurray and Kyle Larson have been factors in the last few races and both showed wicked speed in practices. McMurray starts 14th and Larson 18th, but both will probably get to the front quickly. If Larson can keep his No. 42 Chevy off the wall, he might earn his first career Cup win.

The green flag flies in the Hollywood Casino 400 at 2:19 pm ET on ESPN. Tune in to see who draws first blood in the second round of eliminations.

Here's your complete starting lineup. The drivers in bold are the Contender 12.

Rank	Driver	Time	Speed
1	Kevin Harvick	27.325	197.621
2	Brian Vickers	27.508	196.307
3	Aric Almirola	27.530	196.150
4	Joey Logano	27.544	196.050
5	Jeff Gordon	27.544	196.050
6	Brad Keselowski	27.548	196.021
7	Kyle Busch	27.555	195.972
8	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	27.593	195.702
9	Tony Stewart	27.619	195.518
10	Kasey Kahne	27.641	195.362
11	Greg Biffle	27.696	194.974
12	Carl Edwards	27.732	194.721
13	Paul Menard	27.654	195.270
14	Jamie McMurray	27.669	195.164
15	Martin Truex, Jr.	27.681	195.080
16	Austin Dillon	27.684	195.059
17	Ryan Newman	27.690	195.016
18	Kyle Larson	27.704	194.918
19	Clint Bowyer	27.711	194.868
20	A.J. Allmendinger	27.716	194.833
21	Justin Allgaier	27.738	194.679
22	Marcos Ambrose	27.748	194.609
23	Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.	27.798	194.259
24	Kurt Busch	27.832	194.021
25	Denny Hamlin	27.873	193.736
26	Casey Mears	27.885	193.653
27	Matt Kenseth	27.891	193.611
28	Michael McDowell	28.026	192.678
29	Danica Patrick	28.111	192.096
30	Reed Sorenson	28.126	191.993
31	David Gilliland	28.243	191.198
32	Jimmie Johnson	28.254	191.123
33	Alex Bowman	28.274	190.988
34	Josh Wise	28.296	190.840
35	Landon Cassill	28.302	190.799
36	Michael Annett	28.313	190.725
37	David Ragan	28.325	190.644
38	J.J. Yeley	28.436	189.900
39	Cole Whitt	28.584	188.917
40	Timmy Hill	28.640	188.547
41	Mike Bliss	28.660	188.416
42	Joey Gase	28.913	186.767
43	Mike Wallace	29.499	183.057