NASCAR: Preview of 2018 Xfinity Series season

By Sean Anderson | Jan 31, 2018

FORT WORTH, TX - NOVEMBER 04: Ross Chastain, driver of the #4 Flex Seal Chevrolet, leads David Starr, driver of the #99 WHATABURGER Chevrolet, and Garrett Smithley, driver of the #0 teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet, during the NASCAR XFINITY Series O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 4, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway) /

The 2018 NASCAR season is almost upon us. There are many changes coming to the Xfinity Series this season. Let’s go over them.

As the 2018 NASCAR season is almost upon us, there are many driver changes in all three of NASCAR’s top series. The Xfinity Series is no exception.

The biggest change might be a rule that NASCAR has implemented to begin this season. It restricts drivers with five or more years of Cup Series experience from competing in more than seven Xfinity races and five Camping World Truck Series races. This rule will affect many of the top teams in the Xfinity Series.

Joe Gibbs Racing might experience the most change. Kyle Busch competed in 10 races and won five last season in the Xfinity Series. That means he will compete in three fewer races this year than he did last year.

The #18 Toyota will be piloted by a combination of drivers as it has been in the past few years. Ryan Preece is expected to compete in ten races in the #18. 2017 Camping World Truck Series champion Christopher Bell will compete full-time in the #20 Toyota for the team. His primary sponsor will be Rheem, which has come over from Richard Childress Racing.

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Brandon Jones is expected to compete in seven races in the #19 Toyota, but there have not been any further announcements as to who else will drive the #19 car since Matt Tifft has moved over to Richard Childress Racing.

Richard Childress Racing will have only three cars competing this season. As mentioned, the #2 Chevrolet will be piloted by Matt Tifft. The team are in talks with potential sponsors for the #2 car, but no deal has been finalized yet.

The famous #3 car will be shared by brothers Austin and Ty Dillon. Brendan Gaughan is not running a full season, so he will run a limited schedule in the #3 as well. The third car from the Richard Childress Racing stable, the #21 Chevrolet, will be driven by Daniel Hemric, who finished fourth in the Xfinity Series championship standings last season. South Point Hotel & Casino will be his primary sponsor.

Roush Fenway Racing started last season with two full-time teams, but they eventually ran out of sponsorship money. They finished the season with only Ryan Reed driving the #16 Ford. The team will once again have two cars this season. Reed returns to pilot the #16 machine with Lilly Diabetes as his sponsor.

The #60 Ford will be in every race, but it will be driven by a combination of young drivers throughout the year. Ty Majeski, Austin Cindric and Chase Briscoe will all pilot the car. The schedule as to which race they will in drive was recently announced.

With the 2018 NASCAR season only weeks away, there is so much for fans to be excited about. There are several young drivers with a lot of talent participating in the Xfinity Series this year, such as last season’s Camping World Truck Series champion Christopher Bell.

Daniel Hemric will be competing in his second full-time season after finishing fourth in the championship standings last year. There are also veteran drivers returning for another season.

If you are rooting for a team that has veterans of the series, then JR Motorsports is the team to watch. Elliott Sadler, Justin Allgaier and Michael Annett all competed in all 33 races last year. They are expected to do so again this season for the team, as is rookie Tyler Reddick. Recently retired Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced that he will compete in at least one Xfinity series race in the #88 Chevrolet for the team as well.

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Team Penske will carry the same lineup as last season. Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney are set to split time behind the wheel of the #22 Ford. Details as to who will drive the #98 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing have not been fully announced. However, Kevin Harvick is expected to compete in five races this season.