NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff Picture: Christopher Bell a lock for Miami?

Following Christopher Bell’s dominant Go Bowling 250 at Richmond Raceway, how does the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff picture look?

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell did what he usually does at Richmond Raceway by dominating the Go Bowling 250 to open up the three-round, seven-race 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs.

As a result of his victory in this 250-lap race around the four-turn, 0.75-mile (1.207-kilometer) Richmond Raceway oval in Richmond, Virgina, which was his series-high seventh victory of the season in the 33-race season’s 27th race, Bell is locked into the round of 8.

He also might as well be locked into the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

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His playoff point total of 62 is 18 higher than the next highest total of 44, shared by Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer and Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick.

The fifth highest playoff point total is 12, which is shared by JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe, so assuming the drivers with the highest playoff point totals advance to the round of 8, Bell will open up the round at least 50 points above the Championship 4 cut line. In other words, he is slated to start the round of 8 roughly one full race’s worth of points above that cut line.

That’s not even factoring in the fact that he might and probably will win at least another race or two over the next few weeks.

As for the playoff drivers who aren’t yet locked into the round of 8, Custer, Reddick and Team Penske’s Austin Cindric are all in solid positions to advance. Custer is over one race’s worth of points above the round of 8 cut line, and Reddick and Cindric would need disastrous finishes to the round of 12 to drop below that cut line.

Nobody is currently within 14 points of the cut line, so the four playoff drivers who sit below it have their work cut out for them to advance to the round of 8 — and even that may not be enough depending on how the four drivers who sit between 15 and 21 points above it perform over the course of the round of 12’s final two races.

Here is the playoff picture following the 2019 Go Bowling 250 at Richmond Raceway.

Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Manufacturer: Points (Behind), Playoff Points (Rank)
1st – Christopher Bell – #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: IN (1 WIN), 62 (1st)
2nd – Cole Custer – #00, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 2093 (+60), 44 (2nd)
3rd – Tyler Reddick – #2, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet: 2071 (+38), 44 (2nd)
4th – Austin Cindric – #22, Team Penske, Ford: 2067 (+34), 17 (4th)
5th – Justin Allgaier – #7, JR Motorsports, Chevrolet: 2054 (+21), 12 (5th)
6th – Michael Annett – #1, JR Motorsports, Chevrolet: 2051 (+18), 9 (7th)
7th – Chase Briscoe – #98, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 2050 (+17), 12 (5th)
8th – Noah Gragson – #9, JR Motorsports, Chevrolet: 2048 (+15), 5 (8th)
————————— ROUND OF 8 CUT LINE —————————
9th – Brandon Jones – #19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 2033 (-15), 4 (9th)
10th – Ryan Sieg – #39, RSS Racing, Chevrolet: 2029 (-19), 1 (11th)
11th – Justin Haley – #11, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet: 2028 (-20), 3 (10th)
12th – John Hunter Nemechek – #23, GMS Racing, Chevrolet: 2027 (-21), 0 (12th)

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The second race of the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs is scheduled to take place at the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval in Concord, North Carolina on Saturday, September 28. This race, the Drive for the Cure 250 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network starting at 3:30 p.m. ET.

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