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: Kansas Speedway

Event: Kansas Lottery 300

Race Winner: Christopher Bell

Stage Winner(s): Erik Jones (Won Both Stages)

Who Won Big

• JR Motorsports: One race down, two to go. The JRM trio of Justin Allgaier, William Byron and Elliott Sadler all tallied finishes in the top seven on Saturday, keeping themselves a step above the rest of the XFINITY Series field due to their advantage in playoff points. Two more races like that and they’ll have a stranglehold on the Championship 4.
• Brennan Poole and Matt Tifft: Poole did it with strong runs in the opening two stages. Tifft pulled it off with an eighth-place run. Regardless of how they got there, the duo each left Kansas with a solid points day, sitting fourth and fifth in the standings.

 Who Hurt Their Odds:

• Daniel Hemric: One mistake can be all it takes. Hemric appeared poised for a strong top 10 when a penalty for pitting outside of the box trapped him a lap down. Now the Richard Childress Racing ace will need to close up a six-point gap to crack the championship finale.
• Cole Custer: What seemed like a good day in Kansas was undone for Custer when he ran over debris late in the race, causing a flat tire that resulted in a 19th-place finish. Now the rookie finds himself last on the playoff grid, though a spot in the Championship 4 is just eight points away.

Playoff Standings: 

Playoff Points

Stage Points

Kansas Results

Playoff Totals

(e)=Eliminated from playoff contention

Season Totals