NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff Picture: Christopher Bell the favorite?

The first of four spots in the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4 has been clinched, and it belongs to Christopher Bell.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell punched his ticked to the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4 by winning the second of three races in the round of 8 of the three-round, seven-race playoffs at Texas Motor Speedway, the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300.

Bell’s victory in this 200-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Texas Motor Speedway oval in Fort Worth, Texas locked him into the Championship 4 for the second time in his two seasons as a full-time Xfinity Series driver.

After Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones won the opening race of the round of 8 at Kansas Speedway, nobody had locked themselves into the Championship 4, so Bell is the first to do so. Only the race at ISM Raceway remains in the round of 8 before the season finale.

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In last season’s Championship 4, Bell ultimately finished in fourth place of the four championship contenders despite the fact that he entered the round with seven victories and the other three drivers entered it with a combined two wins.

JR Motorsports’ Noah Gragson, Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe all experienced issues in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 that hurt them in the playoff picture. Gragson and Reddick both failed to finish the race while Briscoe finished in 22nd place, three laps off the lead lap.

Reddick still finds himself above the Championship 4 cut line by somewhat of a comfortable 36-point margin (or an 18-point margin if a driver below the cut line wins the round of 8 finale at ISM Raceway), but Gragson and Briscoe both sit below it and may very well need to win the round of 8 finale to advance to what would be their first Championship 4.

Here is the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff picture following the 2019 O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Manufacturer: Points (Behind), Playoff Points (Rank)
1st – Christopher Bell – #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota: 1 WIN (IN), 70 (1st)
2nd – Cole Custer – #00, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 3135 (+52), 51 (2nd)
3rd – Tyler Reddick – #2, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet: 3119 (+36), 44 (3rd)
4th – Justin Allgaier – #7, JR Motorsports, Chevrolet: 3101 (+18), 14 (5th)
————————— CHAMPIONSHIP 4 CUT LINE —————————
5th – Chase Briscoe – #98, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford: 3083 (-18), 13 (6th)
6th – Michael Annett – #1, JR Motorsports, Chevrolet: 3073 (-28), 9 (7th)
7th – Austin Cindric – #22, Team Penske, Ford: 3070 (-31), 17 (4th)
8th – Noah Gragson – #9, JR Motorsports, Chevrolet: 3054 (-47), 5 (8th)

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The Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 is the next race on the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff schedule. This race is the third and final race of the round of 8 and the penultimate race of the season, and it is scheduled to take place on Saturday, November 9. NBC is set to broadcast this race live from ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET.

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