With five races remaining to set the 12-driver NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff field, Friday night’s Wawa 250 powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) could produce a surprise winner and new Playoff entrant on the historic high-banks.
There are only three former Xfinity Series race winners in this weekend’s field led by three-time Daytona race winner, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill, Jeremy Clements Racing owner-driver Jeremy Clements and last week’s Michigan race winner, JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier – who is the defending winner of this Daytona summer 250-miler.
While those closer to the top of the standings have either solidified their positions with victories or good points days, drivers near the cutoff line arrive in Daytona racing for their Playoff lives.
Big Machine Racing’s Parker Kligerman is ranked 11th with a 36-point margin to the Playoff good, but 12th place JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith holds only a single point lead on RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg for that last Playoff position.
Eight drivers have already earned Playoff bids with victories, led by popular New Zealand driver Shane van Gisbergen, who has three race wins in his first fulltime NASCAR season. Allgaier, Hill, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chandler Smith and Allgaier’s teammate at JR Motorsports, Sam Mayer all have won twice.
Defending series champion Cole Custer, his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Riley Herbst and RCR’s Jesse Love all have earned Playoff berths with a win. Veteran Kaulig Racing driver A.J. Allmendinger currently holds a 102-point advantage on the cutoff line while JGR’s Sheldon Creed is a healthy 70-points up. Kligerman and Sammy Smith round out the current dozen safe in the Playoff standings.
Hill, who won the first two races of the season, is competing for a rare Daytona double. A win Friday would give him the track season sweep meaning he would join NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. as the only two competitors to sweep a season’s two NASCAR Xfinity Series events at the Daytona track. Hill’s three consecutive wins in the February Daytona season-opener gives him the most Daytona trophies among the fulltime Xfinity Series drivers.
Creed, who just set a record for most runner-up finishes (11) in the series before a win, has finished runner-up in the last two Daytona races.
Asked what it would take to finally hoist that first trophy this weekend, Creed said, “A good push and even better luck. It’s been feast or famine at Daytona for me so far and that’s helped me realize the importance of making it to the end. If things go our way, I feel good about our ability to put ourselves in contention. From there we just have to hope that the cards fall in a way that give me a chance to execute in the final laps. If that happens, I like our chances.”
Allmendinger’s average finish of 10.7 in seven starts is the second best average finish to three-time Daytona race starter, Jordan Anderson Racing’s Parker Retzlaff (4.7) among active drivers.
There is no practice this week. Qualifying is Friday at 3 p.m. ET (USA Network).
Source: Holly Cain | NASCAR Wire Service
