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: Charlotte Motor Speedway

Event: Drive for the Cure 200

Race Winner: Chase Briscoe

Stage Winner(s): Daniel Hemric, Christopher Bell

Who Won Big

• Christopher Bell and Daniel Hemric: Neither brought home the victory they felt capable to securing, but both Bell and Hemric earned stage wins to claim a playoff point and leave Charlotte as the top two in the standings.
• Ross Chastain: The Las Vegas winner did exactly what he needed to do at the Roval, keeping his No. 4 clean and bringing home a respectable 12th-place finish to stay on the right side of the bubble heading into the Round of 8 cutoff race.
• Austin Cindric: Of all playoff contenders, none served to gain as much in the inaugural Roval race as Cindric. The road course ace scored 41 points at the track to make up for a tepid Richmond weekend and claw within nine points of the playoff cutoff.

 Who Hurt Their Odds:

• Brandon Jones: A 22nd-place letdown at Charlotte left Jones in a position he likely remembers from his 2016 rookie season – on the outside looking in heading to a likely must-win race to close the opening round of the playoffs.
• The Ryans: Both Ryan Truex and Ryan Reed found themselves well outside of the playoff grid after difficult outings at the Roval. It’ll probably take a Dover victory to keep either driver afloat heading into the Round of 8.
• Justin Allgaier: The regular season champ entered the playoffs with momentum, but back-to-back struggles have left him just 11 points clear of the cutoff heading into the Round of 12 finale. Allgaier should still be okay thanks to his playoff points, but another issue at the Monster Mile could prove to be the deciding blow to his championship campaign.

Playoff Standings: 

Playoff Points

Rank	Driver	Playoff Points
1	Christopher Bell	30
2	Justin Allgaier	24
3	Ross Chastain	9
4 (tie)	Ryan Preece	6
4 (tie)	Tyler Reddick	6
4 (tie)	Daniel Hemric	6
7	Spencer Gallagher	5
8	Elliott Sadler	4
9	John H. Nemechek	2
10 (tie)	Brandon Jones	1
10 (tie)	Cole Custer	1
10 (tie)	Matt Tifft	1
10 (tie)	Austin Cindric	1
10 (tie)	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	1

Stage Points

Charlotte Results

Season Totals