NASCAR driver added to the playoff field

Jeremy Clements is indeed set to be a part of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs, despite the fact that he was initially removed from the field.

Exactly five years after securing his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory and playoff berth at Road America, Jeremy Clements Racing’s Jeremy Clements found victory lane for the second time at Daytona International Speedway late last month, surviving a crash-filled finish to take the checkered flag.

In doing so, he locked himself into the playoffs for the second straight season and third season overall.

However, because it was later discovered that there was an illegal intake manifold in the engine used in his race-winning #51 Chevrolet, the #51 team ended up being issued an L2-level penalty as a result of violations of Section 14.6.12K and Section 14.6.12U of the NASCAR Rule Book.

Clements wasn’t disqualified from the race, but the win no longer counted toward playoff eligibility.

He was docked 75 points in the driver standings, dropping him from 16th to 20th place, and the #51 team was docked 75 points in the owner standings. He was also docked 10 playoff points, in the event that he managed to re-qualify for the playoffs with another win. Crew chief Mark Setzer was also fined $60,000.

Two races have taken place since then, and neither one saw Clements finish in the top 20. However, he is back in the playoffs.

The #51 team appealed the L2-level penalty and won, the National Motorsports Appeals Panel decided on Tuesday. All penalties issued to the 37-year-old Spartanburg, South Carolina native and his team were rescinded.

Clements jumps from 19th to 16th place in the point standings with those 75 points reinstated, but more importantly, he is once again one of eight drivers locked into the playoffs as a result of a victory.

Unfortunately, this move does shift the cut line for some of the other playoff hopefuls. There are now just four drivers above the cut line on points, and only two of those drivers, JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst, are locked into the 12-driver postseason.

Instead of sitting 50 points above the cut line in 10th place in the playoff picture, Kaulig Racing’s Daniel Hemric now sits 37 points ahead of it in 11th. Instead of sitting 32 points above the cut line in 11th, teammate Landon Cassill sits just 19 points above it in the 12th and final spot.

Instead of occupying the 12th and final spot by 13 points over Richard Childress Racing’s Sheldon Creed, RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg now sits below the cut line, 19 points behind Cassill. And instead of being the first driver below the cut line by just 13 points behind Sieg, Creed now sits two spots below it, 32 points behind Cassill.

There is just one race remaining in the regular season at Bristol Motor Speedway this Friday night (USA Network, 7:30 p.m. ET). Nobody below Creed in the standings can get in without winning this race, the Food City 300.