CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The moment has finally arrived for full-time drivers in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, whose Playoff field will be written in stone after Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway (3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio).
Ten drivers already have clinched berths in the postseason. Eight are in on wins: series leader Austin Hill, John Hunter Nemechek, Justin Allgaier, Cole Custer, Sam Mayer, Chandler Smith, Sammy Smith and Jeb Burton. Two have qualified on points: Josh Berry and Sheldon Creed.
Daniel Hemric will clinch simply by scoring one point at Kansas, even if a driver below him in the standings wins the race.
That leaves Riley Herbst and Parker Kligerman to battle for the final Playoff spot, with Herbst holding a one-point lead entering the decider. Herbst surged back into the final Playoff-eligible position with a sixth-place finish last Saturday at Darlington, where a late-race wreck relegated Kligerman to 24th.
Herbst, still seeking his first Xfinity Series win, will be keeping a close eye on points throughout Saturday’s race.
“At the end of the day, we show up at the race track each and every weekend to contend for the win,” said Herbst, who climbed as high as second in the standings before a rash of five DNFs (did not finish) in 10 races placed him squarely on the Playoff bubble. “It’s cool to be back in the Playoffs at the moment, and I’m hoping we can keep ourselves in contention.
“We never wanted to be in this position with how solid we were at the beginning of the year, but I know that we can bounce back from this. My hope is that we can go out, contend for the win and lock ourselves in the Playoffs with a victory, but we’re also going to be conscious of the points. We’re in the better position right now above the cut line, so it’s about finding that balance.”
At the top of the standings, the Regular Season Championship likewise won’t be decided until Saturday. Hill holds a lead of 23 points over Nemechek and 33 over Allgaier. The regular-season winner gets a bonus of 15 Playoff points, with 10 going to the runner-up and eight to the third-place driver.
Source: Reid Spencer / NASCAR Wire Service
