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. 

XFINITY Series

Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Event: Lilly Diabetes 250

Race Winner: William Byron

Stage Winner(s): William Byron, Elliott Sadler

Who Won Big

• William Byron: At one of the sport’s grandest venues, with a host of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers in the field and a new package to compete with, it was Byron that somehow found a way to reign supreme. The rookie now has three wins, a tremendous lead in playoff points and an ever-shrinking gap to JR Motorsports (JRM) teammate Elliott Sadler for the points lead.
• Brendan Gaughan: He didn’t light the world on fire with his 13th-place finish, but Gaughan did tally stage points and, most importantly, finally passed the MIA Darrell Wallace Jr. to officially take over the final playoff spot.
• Brandon Jones: Okay. It was only a ninth-place run, and he’s still out of range for a playoff spot. Still, given the torrid year sophomore Jones has endured, a quiet top 10 had to feel like a win.

 Who Hurt Their Odds:

• Michael Annett: Annett’s poor summer continues. While his JRM teammates excelled, Annett came home 25th to drop another spot to 10th in the standings.
• Justin Allgaier: All seemed well for Allgaier until a disastrous set of pit stops ruined his day. Allgaier ultimately finished 14 laps off-pace in 35th. He’ll need some wins if he wants to close the gap to his two stronger JRM teammates.

Playoff Standings: 

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

Playoff Points

Stage Points

Season Totals