NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff Picture: Expected 8 drivers advance
By Asher Fair
The eight drivers who were slated to advance to the round of 8 of the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs entering the round of 12 finale at Dover International Speedway advanced.
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer closed out the opening round of the three-round, seven-race 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs by winning the Use Your Melon Drive Sober 200 at Dover International Speedway.
Before this 200-lap race around the four-turn, 1.0-mile (1.609-kilometer) high-banked Monster Mile oval in Dover, Delaware even started, Custer had already locked himself into the round of 8 from the round of 12, as had Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell, whose shot at the victory was hampered by a fuel pressure issue.
Throughout this race, several other drivers clinched their spots in the round of 8 as fewer and fewer points became available for those below the round of 8 cut line.
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At the end of the race, the same eight drivers who started the race above the round of 8 cut line finished the race above it.
As a result, GMS Racing’s John Hunter Nemechek, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones, Kaulig Racing’s Justin Haley and RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg were eliminated from championship contention.
The battle at the round of 8 cut line between Haley and JR Motorsports’ Michael Annett, who landed in the eighth and final transfer spot above this cut line, was tight at times throughout the race, but Annett was ultimately above to finish where he needed to finish to stay ahead of Nemechek.
Annett started this race at the back of the field, but he ended up finishing in seventh place as the seventh and final driver on the lead lap. Nemechek finished in eighth.
Set to join Custer, Bell and Annett in the round of 8 are regular season champion Tyler Reddick of Richard Childress Racing, Team Penske’s Austin Cindric, JR Motorsports teammates Justin Allgaier and Noah Gragson and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe.
Here is the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff picture following the 2019 Use Your Melon Drive Sober 200 at Dover International Speedway.
Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Manufacturer: Points (Behind), Playoff Points (Rank)
1st – Christopher Bell – #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 3062 (+48), 62 (1st)
2nd – Cole Custer – #00, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 3050 (+36), 50 (2nd)
3rd – Tyler Reddick – #2, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet: 3044 (+30), 44 (3rd)
4th – Austin Cindric – #22, Team Penske, Ford: 3017 (+3), 17 (4th)
————————— CHAMPIONSHIP 4 CUT LINE —————————
5th – Justin Allgaier – #7, JR Motorsports, Chevrolet: 3014 (-3), 14 (5th)
6th – Chase Briscoe – #98, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 3013 (-4), 13 (6th)
7th – Michael Annett – #1, JR Motorsports, Chevrolet: 3009 (-8), 9 (7th)
8th – Noah Gragson – #9, JR Motorsports, Chevrolet: 3005 (-12), 5 (8th)
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The opening race of the round of 8 of the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs is the Kansas Lottery 300, which is scheduled to take place at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas on Saturday, October 19. This race is set to be broadcast live on NBC beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET.