NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff Picture: Brandon Jones spoils the party

Brandon Jones secured his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory in the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway, preventing a playoff driver from securing a Championship 4 berth.

Despite the fact that four of the eight drivers remaining in the three-round, seven-race 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs combined to lead 190 of the 200 laps of the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway, it was Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones who took the checkered flag.

Jones was already eliminated from playoff contention prior to this 200-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Kansas Speedway oval in Kansas City, Kansas, meaning that none of the eight round of 8 drivers were able to lock themselves into the Championship 4 in the round of 8 opener.

That said, the “Big 3” of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer and Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick are still looking pretty strong, even though only one of them, Reddick, finished this race in the top 10 with his second place finish.

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No other drivers are within 34 points of any of the “Big 3” heading into the second of three races in the second round of the playoffs. Each of the other five drivers are within 30 points of the Championship 4 cut line, with four of those five drivers being within 17 points of it and two of those four drivers being within just two points of it.

Custer ended up finishing in 11th place ahead Bell in 12th, even after they combined to lead 154 laps. Both were involved in late incidents with Reddick and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe, another round of 8 driver, respectively.

Playoff drivers rounded out the top five behind Reddick, as Briscoe rebounded to finish in third place ahead of JR Motorsports teammates Michael Annett and Justin Allgiaer in fourth and fifth, respectively. Allgaier currently sits in the fourth and final transfer spot above the Championship 4 cut line while Briscoe sits right behind it in fifth and Annett sits one position behind in sixth.

Here is the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff picture following the 2019 Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway.

Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Manufacturer: Points (Behind), Playoff Points (Rank)
1st – Christopher Bell – #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 3106 (+49), 63 (1st)
2nd – Cole Custer – #00, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 3095 (+38), 51 (2nd)
3rd – Tyler Reddick – #2, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet: 3094 (+37), 44 (3rd)
4th – Justin Allgaier – #7, JR Motorsports, Chevrolet: 3059 (+2), 14 (5th)
————————— CHAMPIONSHIP 4 CUT LINE —————————
5th – Chase Briscoe – #98, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 3057 (-2), 13 (6th)
6th – Michael Annett – #1, JR Motorsports, Chevrolet: 3047 (-12), 9 (7th)
7th – Noah Gragson – #9, JR Motorsports, Chevrolet: 3042 (-17), 5 (8th)
8th – Austin Cindric – #22, Team Penske, Ford: 3029 (-30), 17 (4th)

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Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas is scheduled to host the next race on the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff schedule, the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300. NBC Sports Network is set to broadcast this race live from the track beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET.

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