The NASCAR Xfinity Series is set to deliver the weekend’s first dose of close-quarter, high-skilled action at the hallowed Watkins Glen International road course. With only two races now remaining to formalize the 12-driver Playoff field, Saturday’s Mission 200 at The Glen (3 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) could be a pivotal chapter in the title run.
JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer is the defending race winner, beating Sheldon Creed to the line last summer by a slight .909-second, with a third member of this year’s title contending group, Parker Kligerman, finishing third.
Mayer is the only current fulltime Xfinity Series driver to hoist the trophy in this race, although three other fulltime drivers have won at The Glen. Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill was the 2021 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race winner at the famed road course and his current RCR teammate Jesse Love won last year’s ARCA Menards Series race there. JRM’s Brandon Jones earned the 2022 ARCA trophy.
Hill won last week at Atlanta – his second win of the year, matching the win total for Regular Season Championship leader Justin Allgaier, Chandler Smith, and Sam Mayer. Kaulig Racing’s Shane Van Gisbergen is a three-race winner in 2024, scoring all three trophies on road courses (at Chicago, Sonoma, Calif. and Portland).
Another of the sport’s best road racing drivers, Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger is still looking to score his first Xfinity Series win at the track. A victory this weekend would also be his first of the season, although he is the highest ranked driver (ninth) in terms of points without a win, with a safe 144-point advantage over Ryan Sieg in 13th place.
Sieg took a hard hit in points last week when he was collected in a late race multi-car accident at Atlanta. He now trails JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith by 44 points for that 12th and final Playoff points position.R
What looked a lot like a championship lock for Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer has now become a close tussle between the reigning series champ Custer and Allgaier. The 26-year-old Californian, Custer, led Allgaier by double digits only three races ago, but three finishes of 30th or worse in the last four races have instead left him 34 points behind Allgaier with just two races to decide the regular season title.
Connor Zilisch is set to make his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut this weekend, driving the No. 88 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports.
There are also several fulltime NASCAR Cup Series drivers entered from Joey Logano to William Byron, Ross Chastain, Ty Gibbs and part-time competitor Aric Almirola. International drivers Ed Jones and Alon Day are also on the entry list.
Practice for the Mission 200 at The Glen gets underway Saturday at 9:30 a.m. followed by qualifying at 10 a.m. ET. Both will be available on the NBC Sports App.
Source: Reid Spencer | NASCAR Wire Service
