NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff picture after 2018 Drive for the Cure 200

With one race remaining in the opening round of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs, the round of 12, how does the playoff picture look?

Part-time NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Chase Briscoe of Stewart-Haas Racing earned his first career Xfinity Series victory in his fourth start of the 2018 season in the second of three races in the first of three rounds of the playoffs, the round of 12.

Briscoe won the 55-lap Drive for the Cure 200 at the 17-turn, 2.28-mile (3.669-kilometer) Charlotte Motor Speedway roval in Concord, North Carolina, meaning that none of the 12 playoff drivers were able to clinch a spot in the second round, the round of 8.

So far, the only driver to clinch a berth in the round of 8 is Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell, who won the opening race of the playoffs at Richmond Raceway. The highest finishing playoff driver of the Drive for the Cure 200 was Team Penske’s Austin Cindric, who finished in third place.

However, Cindric currently sits in ninth in the playoff picture, and he sits nine points behind JD Motorsports’ Ross Chastain, who finished the race in 12th and is the eighth and final driver above the round of 8 cut line.

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Perhaps the most notable movement in the playoff picture following the Drive for the Cure 200 was that of JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier. Allgaier entered the playoffs as the regular season champion, and he entered with more playoff points than any other driver.

However, following his 32nd place finish in the opening race of the round of 12 at Richmond Raceway, he fell from first (36 points ahead of the round of 8 cut line) to third place (21 points ahead of the round of 8 cut line) in the playoff picture, and following his 15th place finish in the race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval, he fell from third to a sixth place tie in the playoff picture. He is now just 11 points ahead of the round of 8 cut line. A third consecutive bad race to close out the round of 12 could potentially eliminate him from playoff contention.

With the 12 playoff drivers having finished the race in anywhere from third through 22nd place, there was a lot of other movement in the playoff picture as well. But aside of Bell, only Richard Childress Racing’s Daniel Hemric appears to be safe as far as getting to the round of 8 is concerned.

Here is the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff picture with two races completed and one race remaining in the round of 12. The totals in the “behind” column show where each driver is currently positioned in relation to the round of 8 cut line.

Rank	Driver	Car, Team, Manufacturer	Points	Behind	Playoff Points (Rank)
1	Christopher Bell	#20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota	1 WIN	1 WIN	38 (2nd)
2	Daniel Hemric	#21, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet	2099	+30	12 (3rd)
3	Tyler Reddick	#9, JR Motorsports, Chevrolet	2090	+21	10 (T-6th)
4	Cole Custer	#00, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford	2083	+14	11 (T-4th)
5	Matt Tifft	#2, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet	2082	+13	3 (T-9th)
6	Justin Allgaier	#7, JR Motorsports, Chevrolet	2080	+11	39 (1st)
6	Elliott Sadler	#1, JR Motorsports, Chevrolet	2080	+11	11 (T-4th)
8	Ross Chastain	#42, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet	2078	+9	10 (T-6th)
9	Austin Cindric	#22, Team Penske, Ford	2069	-9	1 (11th)
10	Ryan Truex	#11, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet	2054	-24	3 (T-9th)
11	Ryan Reed	#16, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford	2053	-25	0 (12th)
12	Brandon Jones	#19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota	2050	-28	6 (8th)

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The Bar Harbor 200 is the third and final race of the opening round of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs. This race is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network from Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 6, so be sure not to miss it.

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