In addition to being the first NASCAR Xfinity Series race not won by Connor Zilisch in a whopping 41 days, Friday night's Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway threw the Xfinity Series playoff field a massive curveball.
And as far as the playoff picture goes, it was really more of an overhaul.
Three of the four drivers who opened up the three-round, seven-race playoffs below the round of 8 cut line are now inside the provisional round of 8 playoff picture. Likewise, three of the eight who started the round of 12 above the cut line are now below it.
3 drivers in, 3 drivers drop out of provisional round of 8 picture
JR Motorsports' Carson Kvapil started the playoffs in an eighth place tie (but officially ninth due to a tiebreaker going the way of Joe Gibbs Racing's Taylor Gray). He used a fourth place finish in Saturday's 300-lap race around the four-turn, 0.533-mile (0.858-kilometer) high-banked Bristol, Tennessee oval to vault up to fourth place in the standings, 16 points above the cut line.
Haas Factory Team's Sheldon Creed, still winless in Xfinity Series action, used his 15th career runner-up finish to vault his way from 10th place and two points below the cut line to seventh in points and seven points above the cut line.
And AM Racing's Harrison Burton used his seventh place finish to jump from 11th in points and three points below the cutoff to fifth, placing him nine points above the cutoff.
Among drivers who started the round of 12 below the round of 8 cut line, only Richard Childress Racing's Austin Hill is still there, 16 points behind down in 11th place. If not for his suspension, he'd find himself above the cutoff as well, since that penalty ultimately cost him 27 points to start the playoffs. He finished Friday's race in 19th.
Three new drivers are now with Hill below the cutoff. Teammate Jesse Love fell from a fourth place tie to a ninth place tie with a 25th place finish at Bristol, Big Machine Racing's Nick Sanchez fell from seventh to a ninth place tie with a 13th place finish, and JR Motorsports' Sammy Smith fell from sixth to 12th with a 37th place DNF due to an engine issue.
Love and Sanchez are both three points below the round of 8 cut line after starting out eight points ahead and one point ahead, respectively, while Smith finds himself 24 points back after starting out four points ahead.
Friday's race was won by Joe Gibbs Racing part-time driver Aric Almirola, so nobody is technically locked into the round of 8 with two races remaining in the round of 12. That said, JR Motorsports teammates Connor Zilisch and Justin Allgaier appear relatively safe, sitting 85 points and 53 points above the cutoff, respectively. Haas Factor Team's Sam Mayer is also a solid 35 points up.
The Xfinity Series is off next weekend and is scheduled to return on Saturday, September 27 with the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway.
The CW Network is set to provide live coverage of each of this year's six remaining NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff races. Start a free trial of FuboTV and don't miss any of the action!