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: Kentucky Speedway

Event: VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300

Race Winner: Tyler Reddick

Stage Winner(s): Cole Custer (Won Both Stages)

Who Won Big

• Cole Custer: Have yourself a day, rookie. Custer enjoyed on of his strongest performances to date for Stewart-Haas Racing, winning two stages and making a statement about his playoff odds with a fifth-place run in Kentucky.
• Brennan Poole: He probably wishes his teammate would’ve skipped out on the race, but Poole’s strong second-place performance capped off an unexpected showing of dominance from Chip Ganassi Racing. Now the Texan sits 21 points clear of the cut line with two races remaining in Round 1 of the playoffs.
• Matt Tifft and Ryan Reed: Make no mistake, Tifft and Reed weren’t dominant in Kentucky. But the duo did what they needed to do, tallying top 10s and staying on the right side of the playoff cutline. If they can repeat the feat two more times they should be fine to advance to the second round.

 Who Hurt Their Odds:

• Jeremy Clements: It wasn’t unexpected, but Clements struggled in his underdog debut as a playoff driver. The South Carolinian finished 22nd and fell 14 points out of the Round 2 grid. That won’t be easy for Clements’ humble team to make up.
• Brendan Gaughan, Blake Koch and Michael Annett: There’s no way around it – these three struggled in Kentucky. The trio finished outside of the top 10 in the XFINITY Series’ playoff opener, dropping below the cut line and hurting their championship chances in the process. They’ll need to be better to keep their postseason hopes alive.
• William Byron: Much like Erik Jones last season, Byron entered the playoffs among the favorites only to endure a difficult day in the postseason opener. The JR Motorsports rookie is still likely fine due to his playoff point cushion, but he could serve himself well to avoid enduring any additional incidents moving forward.

Playoff Standings: 

Playoff Points

Total Playoff Points
Rank	Driver	Playoff Points
1	William Byron	25
2	Justin Allgaier	23
3	Elliott Sadler	20
4	Daniel Hemric	9
5	Cole Custer	7
6	Brennan Poole	6
7 (tie)	Ryan Reed	5
7 (tie)	Blake Koch	5
7 (tie)	Jeremy Clements	5
10	Matt Tifft	4
11	Michael Annett	3
12	Brendan Gaughan	1

Playoff Points Earned On-Track
Rank	Driver	Playoff Points
1	William Byron	17
2	Justin Allgaier	13
3 (tie)	Ryan Preece	6
3 (tie)	Sam Hornish Jr.	6
5 (tie)	Ryan Reed	5
5 (tie)	Elliott Sadler	5
5 (tie)	Jeremy Clements	5
5 (tie)	Tyler Reddick	5
9 (tie)	Daniel Hemric	2
9 (tie)	Blake Koch	2
9 (tie)	Cole Custer	2
12 (tie)	Darrell Wallace, Jr.	1
12 (tie)	Brendan Gaughan	1
12 (tie)	James Davison	1

Stage Points

Kentucky Results

Playoff Totals

Season Totals

Camping World Truck Series

Track: New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Event: UNOH 175

Race Winner: Christopher Bell

Stage Winner(s): Christopher Bell (Won Both Stages)

Who Won Big

• Christopher Bell: It was a dream opener for Bell, who swept the stages and the race to add seven points to his series-best playoff point total. The regular season champion is quickly beginning to look like a lock for the Championship 4.
• Ben Rhodes: One week removed from clinching himself into the playoffs on a tiebreaker, Rhodes tallied 13 stage points and a seventh-place finish to rise to fourth in the playoff standings and establish himself as a legitimate championship threat.
• Austin Cindric: He didn’t make a lot of noise on Saturday, but Cindric added some legitimacy to his controversial postseason birth with a top 10 in his playoff debut. Cindric left the first race of Round 1 sitting fifth in the standings – eight points clear of the cutoff.

 Who Hurt Their Odds:

• John Hunter Nemechek: A transmission failure came at the worst possible time for Nemechek, placing the NEMCO Motorsports driver last on the playoff grid after the postseason’s first race.  The playoff points from his two wins kept Nemechek within just seven points of the cut line, but he can’t afford any issues over the next two races.
• Chase Briscoe: A rare off-day for Briscoe and his Brad Keselowski Racing squad dropped the rookie to seventh in the playoff standings, one spot short of the current Round 2 field. Briscoe will need to run better over the final two races of Round 1 if he hopes to keep his championship fight alive.

Playoff Standings: 

Playoff Points

Stage Points

New Hampshire Results

Playoff Totals

Season Totals