NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff picture after 2018 Kansas Lottery 300

After the opening race of the round of 8 of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs, the Kansas Lottery 300, all four Championship 4 spots are still up for grabs.

Part-time NASCAR Xfinity Series and part-time Truck Series driver John Hunter Nemechek of Chip Ganassi Racing earned his first career Xfinity Series race in the 30th race of the 33-race 2018 season, the Kansas Lottery 300, at Kansas Speedway.

Because Nemechek is not playoff eligible, much less in the playoffs and much less in the second of three rounds of the three-round, seven-race playoffs, the round of 8, his victory means that all four spots in the Championship 4 are still up for grabs following the first of three races in the round of 8.

Richard Childress Racing’s Daniel Hemric was the highest finishing playoff driver of the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Kansas Speedway oval in Kansas City, Kansas. He finished in second place in his #21 Chevrolet as he continues to search for his first career Xfinity Series victory, a victory that he looked like he was going to earn considering he led 128 of the race’s first 170 laps.

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A multi-car wreck on the opening lap of the race had huge playoff implications, as four of the drivers who were involved in this wreck are round of 8 drivers. The two drivers who sat atop the playoff picture by a comfortable margin over third place heading into the round of 8, Christopher Bell and Justin Allgaier, were both involved in this wreck. In fact, this wreck began when Allgaier hit the side of Bell’s car.

Cole Custer and Austin Cindric are the other two round of 8 drivers who were involved in this wreck. Both of these drivers are well below the Championship 4 cut line as a result of their involvement in this wreck, and Allgaier dropped below it as well. Bell is still one point above it, as Matt Tifft is still one point below it. Tifft is the only driver who was not involved in this wreck that is still below it.

Hemric now sits atop the playoff picture, but because he did not win the Kansas Lottery 300, his spot in the Championship 4 is anything but secure. He sits just 23 points above the Championship 4 cut line, so he could very well end up below it with two bad races to close out the round of 8 — or even one bad race over the course of the next two races.

To open the round of 8, Bell sat atop the playoff picture and was 33 points ahead of the Championship 4 cut line. The fact that the driver who now sits atop the playoff picture sits just 23 points ahead of the Championship 4 cut line shows that these four spots are still truly up for grabs over the course of the final two round of 8 races of the season.

Here is the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff picture with the first of three round of 8 races in the books. The totals in the “behind” column show where each driver is currently positioned in relation to the Championship 4 cut line.

Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Manufacturer: Points (Behind) – Playoff Points (Rank)
1st – Daniel Hemric – #21, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet: 3067 (+23) – 14 (3rd)
2nd – Elliott Sadler – #1, JR Motorsports, Chevrolet: 3058 (+14) – 11 (T-4th)
3rd – Tyler Reddick – #9, JR Motorsports, Chevrolet: 3055 (+11) – 10 (6th)
4th – Christopher Bell – #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 3045 (+1) – 44 (1st)
5th – Matt Tifft – #2, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet: 3044 (-1) – 3 (7th)
6th – Justin Allgaier – #7, JR Motorsports, Chevrolet: 3040 (-5) – 39 (2nd)
7th – Cole Custer – #00, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 3022 (-23) – 11 (T-4th)
8th – Austin Cindric – #22, Team Penske, Ford: 3002 (-43) – 1 (8th)

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The O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 is the next race on the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs schedule. This race, which is the second race of the round of 8, is scheduled to be broadcast live on NBC from Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, November 3, so be sure not to miss it.

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