By Aaron Bearden, Motorsports Editor

Following each points race, Kickin’ the Tires takes a deep look at the current playoff grids for both the NASCAR XFINITY Series and Camping World Truck Series, evaluating the postseason picture for NASCAR’s second and third tours. 

Xfinity Series

Track: Richmond Raceway

Event: Go Bowling 250

Race Winner: Christopher Bell

Stage Winner(s): Daniel Hemric, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Who Won Big

• Christopher Bell: After spending the late summer watching on while Justin Allgaier established himself as the playoff favorite, Bell inserted himself back into the conversation with a playoff-opening win at Richmond. The Oklahoman now leads the points standings and has five more playoff points to carry with him into the next round.
• Ross Chastain: He only had one final run with Chip Ganassi Racing, so Chastain knew he had to make it count. The Floridian did just that, finishing second and thrusting himself 18 points clear of the Round of 8 cutoff with two races left.
• Daniel Hemric: This story might be growing old for him, but it should carry Hemric to the Championship 4 if it continues on. The Kannapolis, N.C. native fell just short of a victory again at Richmond, but won a stage and hauled in 52 points with a third-place showing.

 Who Hurt Their Odds:

• Every Ford Driver: The opening playoff race was a disaster for Ford’s trio of playoff contenders. None of them finished higher than 10th (Ryan Reed), and as a result they all find themselves on or below the cut line heading to the Roval.
• Justin Allgaier: He had a standard running going, but Allgaier found himself crashed after a run-in with Cole Custer late in the running at Richmond. The incident relegated Allgaier to a 32nd-place finish, and dropped the Illinoisan to within 21 points of the Round of 8 cutoff despite his healthy playoff point total.

Playoff Standings: 

Playoff Points

Playoff Points Earned On-Track
Rank	Driver	Playoff Points
1	Christopher Bell	29
2	Justin Allgaier	24
3	Ross Chastain	9
4 (tie)	Ryan Preece	6
4 (tie)	Tyler Reddick	6
6 (tie)	Spencer Gallagher	5
6 (tie)	Daniel Hemric	5
8	Elliott Sadler	4
9	John H. Nemechek	2
10 (tie)	Brandon Jones	1
10 (tie)	Cole Custer	1
10 (tie)	Matt Tifft	1
10 (tie)	Austin Cindric	1
10 (tie)	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	1

Stage Points

Richmond Results

Season Totals