By Aaron Bearden, Motorsports Editor

Following each regular season 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: Road America

Event: Johnsonville 180

Race Winner: Justin Allgaier

Stage Winner(s): Matt Tifft, Daniel Hemric

Who Won Big

• Justin Allgaier: The best year of Allgaier’s career continued Saturday, as the Illinoisan claimed his second road-course victory of the season in Wisconsin. Allgaier now has four wins on the year, and has surged into the points lead to draw even with Joe Gibbs Racing breakout star Christopher Bell in the projected playoff standings.
• Ross Chastain: Before he could get to his highly-anticipated drive with Chip Ganassi Racing, Chastain had to survive Road America. The JD Motorsports veteran did just that on Saturday, notching a seventh-place finish to keep his playoff pursuit alive and well.
• Matt Tifft and Daniel Hemric: Both drivers hoped to leave Road America with their first Xfinity Series victory and fell short. But Tifft and Hemric did each tally a stage victory to exit the road course with an extra playoff point in hand.

 Who Hurt Their Odds:

• Michael Annett: A strong Bristol run gave Annett hope to close ground on Chastain, but he lost ground in Elkhart Lake. Now Annett will need to close the gap with Chastain in equal or better equipment over for the majority of the remaining races.
• Austin Cindric: After showcasing his road-course prowess at Mid-Ohio, Cindric entered Road America among the favorites to pull into victory lane. But a strong Wisconsin result wasn’t meant to be. Cindric blew a motor after 15 laps, finishing 37th and falling within range of Ryan Reed in the battle for 10th and a lone playoff point entering the postseason.

Playoff Standings: 

Playoff Points

Playoff Points Earned On-Track
Rank	Driver	Playoff Points
1	Christopher Bell	24
2	Justin Allgaier	19
3 (tie)	Ryan Preece	6
3 (tie)	Tyler Reddick	6
5	Spencer Gallagher	5
6	Elliott Sadler	4
7	Daniel Hemric	3
8 (tie)	Brandon Jones	1
8 (tie)	John H. Nemechek	1
8 (tie)	Cole Custer	1
8 (tie)	Matt Tifft	1

Stage Points

Road America Results

Season Totals

Camping World Truck Series

Track: Canadian Tire Motorsports Park

Event: Chevrolet Silverado 250

Race Winner: Justin Haley

Stage Winner(s): Noah Gragson (Won Both Stages)

Who Won Big

• Justin Haley: Teams asking their drivers to be in position to capitalize on late mistakes will reference Haley’s run on Sunday for years to come. The Hoosier was third entering the last turn, but benefitted from the spinning Noah Gragson and Todd Gilliland to score his second win of 2018 and a Round of 6 berth.
• Brett Moffitt: Starting 17th meant Moffitt and Hattori Racing had a steep climb to salvage their trop to Canada. The team managed just that, climbing to third by race’s end to score 48 points and keep themselves well inside of the current Round of 6 projections.
• Noah Gragson: Okay, so that last lap happened. Gragson’s late dive failed, and he didn’t score a playoff-advancing win. But the Nevadan still earned 48 points to tie for second most among playoff contenders, and score two playoff points from stage wins along the way.

 Who Hurt Their Odds:

• Grant Enfinger: What a day it was for Enfinger. He started at the tail, climbed through the field, went back to the tail after a pit road penalty and rose to the front again. But in the Enfinger’s rally proved to be for naught. He was included in the last-lap scrum, finishing 17th and falling 12 points out of the playoff grid.
• Ben Rhodes: Another victim of last-lap contact, Rhodes was relegated to 14th after a late run-in with Johnny Sauter, dropping him out of the playoff grid by a lone point.

Playoff Standings: 

Playoff Points

Playoff Points Earned On-Track
Rank	Driver	Playoff Points
1	Johnny Sauter	27
2	Brett Moffitt	21
3	Noah Gragson	14
4	Justin Haley	10
5	Ben Rhodes	9
6	Stewart Friesen	5
7	Grant Enfinger	3
8 (tie)	David Gilliland	1
8 (tie)	Christian Eckes	1
8 (tie)	Todd Gilliland	1

Stage Points

Canadian Tire Motorsports Park Results

Season Totals