Kahne, Gordon, Johnson, Earnhardt all Contenders

DOVER, Del. -- Survive and advance.

It's the mantra during March's NCAA Tournament, and it has translated to this year's new Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup format as well.

All four Hendrick Motorsports drivers advanced from the 16-driver Challenger Round to the 12-driver Contender Round on Sunday at Dover International Speedway.

Jeff Gordon’s win automatically transferred the four-time Cup champion to the next round, while Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne moved on thanks to accumulating enough points from Chicagoland Speedway to New Hampshire Motor Speedway and finally Dover.

“We came in here with a little bit of extra pressure because we weren’t guaranteed to be in,” Gordon said from Victory Lane. “It was about making a statement. I don’t know how you make a bigger statement than what this team just did right there.”

Now, points will reset to 3,000, as all 12 Contenders will start the round tied. Bonus points for wins to do not carry over from round to round.

"It was a roller coaster of emotions, but winning a race is special," Hendrick Motorsports Owner Rick Hendrick said. "At least we now get to go to zero and take all four to Kansas."

The Contender Round once again consists of three races -- Sunday, Oct. 5, at Kansas Speedway, Saturday, Oct. 11, at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Sunday, Oct. 19 at Talladega Superspeedway.

“Kansas can be kind of freaky because there is not much wear on the tire. Strategy is going to be a big part of that," Johnson said. "Charlotte can kind of play that same role. I certainly want to be victorious in one of the two so I don’t have to worry about Talladega.”

A win in any of the three races means an automatic berth in the Eliminator Round, which will feature only eight drivers.

“This Chase format is unbelievable,” Hendrick said. “This is going to be a hectic few weeks to go.”