Thursday, August 30, 2018

Playoffs Approach: Only Three Races Remain In The #NASCAR Xfinity Series Regular Season

Playoffs Approach: Only Three Races Remain In The #NASCAR Xfinity Series Regular Season

The NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs are approaching quickly, leaving little time for drivers to lock themselves into the postseason. Just three races remain before the series crowns the regular season champion and awards the winning driver an additional 15 Playoff points.



Justin Allgaier’s win at Road America last weekend vaulted him into the series championship standings lead by five points over second-place Christopher Bell and 12-points over third-place Elliott Sadler. Below is a look at each Playoff-eligible driver and their current Playoff status as the NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Darlington Raceway for the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 on Saturday, September 1 at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Sitting Pretty In ‘Clinch-ville’:

So far this season, six drivers have clinched a spot in the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs:
  1. Justin Allgaier (four wins)
  2. Christopher Bell (four wins)
  3. Tyler Reddick (one win)
  4. Elliott Sadler (third in points)
  5. Cole Custer (fourth in points)
  6. Daniel Hemric (fifth in points)

These next three races are great opportunities for these drivers who have clinched already to pad their Playoff point totals. All six currently have Playoff points, led by Christopher Bell with 24; followed by Allgaier (19), Reddick (six), Sadler (four), Hemric (three) and Custer (one).

Can Clinch On Points:

Heading into Darlington this weekend only one driver has the opportunity to clinch on points, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones. The youngster from Atlanta, Georgia, can clinch with 52 points and a new winner. If there is a repeat winner, he can also clinch if he scores 39 points. Jones could also clinch a Playoff spot with a win.

Jones and the No. 19 JGR team sit sixth in the series standings after making 23 starts this season, posting two top fives, 10 top 10s and an average finish of 14.2. He also has one Playoff point from a stage win.

Keep an eye out for Jones this weekend as he looks to get his first series win. If he accomplishes the feat, he will become the fourth driver in series history to get their first career win at Darlington, joining Geoff Bodine (1982), Neil Bonnett (1983) and Ron Bouchard (1984). Jones has made two series starts at Darlington, recording one top 10 and an average finish of 16.0.

Needs A Win To Clinch:

The next five drivers in the championship standings are currently in position to make the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs, but due to the points being so tight they can’t clinch their Playoff spot on points alone this weekend at Darlington. They could lock themselves into the postseason with a win.

Kaulig Racing’s Ryan Truex sits eighth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series standings following Road America, 176 points ahead of 13th-place Michael Annett (the first standings position outside the Playoffs). Truex has made 23 starts this season, putting together one top five, nine top 10s and an average finish of 13.4. This weekend at Darlington will be Truex’s second career start at the historic facility. His first series start at Darlington was back in 2011 with Pastrana Waltrip Racing; when he started 14th and finished 25th.

Richard Childress Racing’s Matt Tifft is coming off his best performance of the season at Road America, where he started on the pole and finished second. Now the Ohio native is ninth in the series standings with a cushion of 172-points over 13th place Michael Annett. In 23 starts this season, Tifft has posted four top fives, 11 top 10s and an average finish of 13.7. Tifft made his series track debut at Darlington last season, but it didn’t go as planned. At the time driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, Tifft started 14th and finished 40th due to an incident on Lap 1. Look for Tifft to want to rebound from last season’s performance and build on his momentum from last week as the Playoffs approach.

Driving the No. 60 for Roush Fenway Racing this weekend, Austin Cindric is currently 10th in the Xfinity Series championship standings, 86-points Ahead of 13th. Cindric has mad 23 starts this season posting three top fives, seven top 10s and an average finish of 17.5. This weekend will be Cindric’s series track debut at Darlington Raceway.

Cindric’s Roush Fenway Racing teammate Ryan Reed is looking to make the Playoffs for the third consecutive season and heads to Darlington this weekend 11th in the series championship standings, 73 points ahead of 13th-place Michael Annett. Reed has made four starts at Darlington in his Xfinity Series career with an average finish of 16.0.

On The Hot Seat:

The 12th and final position in the Xfinity Playoffs is currently occupied by driver Ross Chastain, and with three races left in the regular season his position is officially the proverbial ‘Hot Seat.’ While the chances of Chastain’s 49-point cushion in the championship standings disappearing between he and 13th place Michael Annett are slim, it can still happen. But what should have Chastain most filled with worry is the chance for a new winner, which could potentially bounce Chastain out of the postseason. He is just 24 points behind Cindric, and a jump up in the standings would give him a little more security in the event that a new winner were to join the postseason picture. In 23 starts this season, Reed has two top fives, eight top 10s and an average finish of 16.1.

In 2018, the NASCAR Xfinity Series has seen 12 different winners through the first 23 races, three of which were championship contenders (Bell, Allgaier and Reddick).

Chastain has made 23 starts this season, posting one top five, six top 10s and an average finish of 16.2. The ‘Lady in Black’ has been relatively good to Chastain, he has three series starts at Darlington, posting one top 10 and an average finish of 17.7.

Outside Looking In:

The next three drivers, while not mathematically disqualified from getting in on points, it will most likely take a lot for them to close in on 12th-place Ross Chastain with just three races remaining in the regular season. The best course of action for the drivers outside the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs cutoff is to win.

Of any of the drivers outside the Playoffs looking in, JR Motorsport’s Michael Annett has the best shot of getting in on points with 49-points separating him from 12th place. Annett has made 23 starts this season, recording one top 10 and an average finish of 17.7. In five series starts at Darlington, he has an average finish of 20.4.

Jeremy Clements is currently 14th in the series championship standings, 107 points behind 12th-place Chastain. The South Carolina native has made 23 starts this season, putting together one top 10 and an average finish of 20.3. Clements has made seven series starts at his home track, Darlington, positing one top-10 finish (eighth in 2016) and an average finish of 22.7.

Ryan Sieg is 16th in the driver standings following Road America, 120 points behind 12th-place Ross Chastain. In 23 starts this season, Sieg has tallied one top 10 and an average finish of 20.4. He has made four series start at Darlington in his career with an average finish of 22.8.

source:   NASCAR.com

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