Setting the Xfinity Series Playoff Stage
Only Josh Berry has Cinched his Spot in the Championship 4
The NASCAR Xfinity Series kicked off the Playoffs Round of 8 last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a race that saw JR Motorsports driver Josh Berry take the checkered flag and secure his spot in the Championship 4 Round for the first-time in his career.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series now heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the ‘Contender Boats 300’ to keep the Playoffs rolling. Drivers will fill the grid on Saturday, Oct. 22 at 4:30 p.m. ET on the USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
The 1.5-mile South Florida track has produced 21 different race winners and 20 different pole winners in 28 races. The first race held at Homestead-Miami Speedway was a NASCAR Xfinity Series event on November 5, 1995 – the inaugural Xfinity Series race was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett (Ford, 92.229 mph).
Casey Mears set the track’s qualifying record in 2004 with a speed of 177.936 mph while Tyler Reddick set the race record with a speed of 140.515 mph in 2018. Joe Nemechek has posted the most wins at the track (three) along with the most lead lap finishes (11) and laps completed (3,514). Only five races have been won from the pole or first starting position, most recently by Harrison Burton with his win in 2020.
This will be the first time that Homestead-Miami Speedway serves as the fifth race in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs. During the Playoff Era (2016-2022), the track was home to the championship race from 2016 to 2019. Daniel Suárez (2016), William Byron (2017) and Tyler Reddick (2018, 2019) took the checkered flags in those seasons. In the 2020 and 2021 seasons, the 1.5-mile track was not featured in the postseason but was on the regular season schedule.
The Xfinity Series will kick off its weekend with practice on Friday, Oct. 21 at 6:05 p.m. ET followed by qualifying at 6:35 p.m. ET on the USA Network and streamed on the NBC Sports App.
One clinched. Three spots up for grabs
The championship race at Phoenix Raceway is now only two weeks away and drivers are starting to feel the heat as time in running short. JR Motorsports’ Josh Berry clinched his spot in the Championship 4 with his win last weekend in Las Vegas so now the remaining seven Playoff drivers will have to bring their A-game this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway in hopes of clinching their spot before the Round of 8 concludes at Martinsville Speedway on Oct. 29.
Already Clinched
The following driver has clinched a spot in the four-driver field of the next round: Josh Berry.
Can Clinch Via Points
If there is a repeat winner or a win by a driver who cannot advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being 56 points above the third winless driver in the standings. The same point requirements listed below would hold true if a new win comes from among Noah Gragson or Ty Gibbs.
- Noah Gragson: Could only clinch with help
- Ty Gibbs: Could only clinch with help
If there is a new winner from Justin Allgaier or another winless driver lower in the standings but still eligible to advance to the next round, the following drivers could clinch by being 56 points above the second winless driver in the standings.
- Noah Gragson: Could only clinch with help
Can Clinch Via Win
The following drivers would clinch on their win alone: Noah Gragson, Ty Gibbs, Justin Allgaier, Austin Hill, AJ Allmendinger, Brandon Jones, Sam Mayer.
source: NASCAR Media