NASCAR Xfinity Series: Is the 2019 playoff field already set?

Only eight races into the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, 32 points separate the driver right above the playoff cut line and the driver right below it. Is the playoff field already set?

Despite only eight NASCAR Xfinity Series races having been completed thus far this season, several drivers can already be looking towards the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs. Yes, the championship standings after the ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway clearly show that part of the playoff field has already been set.

Christopher Bell has already earned two victories this season, and he has accrued the most playoff points with 14. He’s eager to win some more stages and races to better his odds of advancing all the way to the Championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway. An Xfinity Series championship would further the argument that he should race in the Cup Series in 2020.

Cole Custer just won for the second time this season as well in the ToyotaCare 250. He is a definite championship contender. He, too, could be the subject of conversation about moving to the Cup Series in 2020.

Michael Annett won the season opener at Daytona International Speedway, allowing him to gamble to win more stages and races.

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Outside of those three drivers with victories, Tyler Reddick and Austin Cindric are both more than 100 points ahead of the playoff cut line. Both drivers are effectively locks to make the playoffs. Cindric has yet to win an Xfinity Series race in his career whereas Reddick is the reigning Xfinity Series champion.

Justin Allgaier is currently 80 points ahead of the playoff cut line. In every Xfinity Series season during which he has competed on a full-time basis, he has finished inside the top 10 in the championship standings. To boot, he won five races last season. All five of those races have yet to take place this season. Mark it down; he will be in the playoffs.

John Hunter Nemechek and Chase Briscoe are classified as Xfinity Series rookies, but both drivers have experience in the Xfinity Series from prior to this season. Both drivers are at least one full race;s worth of points above the playoff cut line. It is a safe bet that they will both make the playoffs.

There are eight drivers who will most certainly compete for the Xfinity Series championship. The last four playoff positions are more wide open due to the uncertainty and the possibility that a series regular below the playoff cut line wins a race and moves that cut line. The four drivers currently above the cut line are Ryan Sieg, Noah Gragson, Justin Haley and Brandon Jones.

Ryan Sieg drives for his family-owned team, RSS Racing. He is having his career-best Xfinity Series season by far, but with only five top five finishes in 177 career starts, will he be able to stave off the competition for the rest of the regular season to make the playoffs? The 31-year-old from Tucker, Georgia, certainly has the talent to pull it off.

Noah Gragson presents an interesting case. He drives the #9 Chevrolet, for JR Motorsports, a Cup Series-affiliated team, but he is a rookie. He is 51 points ahead of the playoff cut line, but a bad race or two can narrow that gap. He has to avoid a prolonged rookie slump to make the playoffs.

Like Gragson, Justin Haley is also a rookie. Haley’s team, Kaulig Racing, have never won an Xfinity Series race. Haley wants to deliver them their first win. He nearly won the July race at Daytona International Speedway last season, but he made his race-winning pass below the yellow line, so he was penalized.

Haley won a stage in the 2019 season opener at Daytona International Speedway, so he could be a threat to win the restrictor plate races at Talladega Superspeedway, Daytona International Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway later this season.

Finally, Brandon Jones is the biggest wild card, as he is currently the last driver above the playoff cut line, albeit with a 32-point margin. He has never won an Xfinity Series race and a win by a driver who currently sits below the cut line would knock him below it.

So who is currently on the outside of the playoff cut line who could make the playoffs? The only three drivers within 100 points of the cut line are Ross Chastain, Brandon Brown, and Gray Gaulding.

Ross Chastain has talent. JD Motorsports are a hard-working team. But without a Cup Series-affiliation, will they be able to help Chastain earn a playoff berth via the point standings? JD Motorsports have never earned an Xfinity Series victory, so it’s questionable regarding whether or not Chastain will earn their first win behind the wheel of the #4 Chevrolet.

Chastain won the September race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last season, although he drove the #42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. He has three more scheduled races driving the #10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet this season, so perhaps he will score Kaulig Racing their first ever Xfinity Series victory and make the playoffs that way.

Brandon Brown is a rookie, and funding issues have plagued him and his team, Brandonbilt Motorsports. Brown is their primary driver of the #86 Chevrolet, but Mason Diaz brought sponsorship and drove the #86 Chevrolet in the ToyotaCare 250.

Fortunately, Brown piloted the #93 RSS Racing Chevrolet in this race, but if funding issues continue to be an issue for Brandonbilt Motorsports, he may not compete in every race, thereby ending his playoff eligibility. He currently sits 69 points below the playoff cut line.

Lastly, Gray Gaulding has only competed in 16 Xfinity Series races in his career. He currently sits 78 points below the playoff cut line, so he probably needs to win to make the playoffs.

While his team, SS Green Light Racing, have surprised people with the solid performances of he and teammate Ray Black Jr. so far this season, they have never won an Xfinity Series race, and neither has Gaulding. It will be an uphill climb for him to make the playoffs.

In all likelihood, the vast majority of the 2019 Xfinity Series playoff field has already been determined. That said, the remaining regular season races at Talladega Superspeedway, Daytona International Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway are the three wild cards races.

Then again, Jeremy Clements surprised everyone with his victory in the race at Road America in the 2017 season. There are 18 races left in the Xfinity Series regular season, so there are opportunities for the playoff picture to change.

After an off-weekend for Easter, the NASCAR Xfinity Series is scheduled return to action at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, April 27 with the MoneyLion 300. Fox Sports 1 is set to provide live television coverage of this race from the high-banked oval in Lincoln, Alabama beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET.