By Aaron Bearden, Motorsports Editor

On the Tuesday 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. 

Note: This week’s edition was delayed by one day to compensate for the Independence Day holiday. The schedule will return to normal next week.

XFINITY Series

Track: Daytona International Speedway

Event: Coca-Cola Firecracker 250

Race Winner: William Byron

Stage Winner(s): Blake Koch, Elliott Sadler

Who Won Big

• William Byron: Remember when we we talking about how this rookie fell just short of his first win? You know, two weeks ago? Well, now the JR Motorsports star has back-to-back wins, the overall lead in playoff points, and may have surpassed teammate Elliott Sadler as the championship favorite.
• Dakoda Armstrong: With Brendan Gaughan rising, the playoff bubble shrinks a bit more each week. Given that, Armstrong’s third-place run at Daytona – his second-consecutive top five – couldn’t have came at a batter time.

 Who Hurt Their Odds:

• Michael Annett: There’s no way around it – at 11th in the standings, Annett hasn’t matched his JR Motorsports teammates through the season to date. With a strong car in Daytona, Annett looked every bit capable of changing the narrative in Saturday’s race, which made his late crash and 33rd-place finish that much more crushing.
• Blake Koch: He salvaged a decent points day with a stage win that also netted himself 10 crucial points and a playoff point should he hold on to a postseason position, but Koch’s 38th-place run saw him fall to within nine points of the wrong side of the playoff bubble.

Playoff Standings: 

*Technically ineligible due to missed races. Would require a waiver to make the playoffs.

Playoff Points

Stage Points

Previous Race Results

Season Totals