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: Pocono Raceway

Event: Pocono Green 250

Race Winner: Kyle Busch

Stage Winner(s): Kyle Busch, Paul Menard

Who Won Big

• Austin Cindric: With Cup drivers stealing the show up front, perhaps no Xfinity regular gained quite as much as Cindric. The rookie finished fourth, scored a race-high 48 points and rose up to 10th in the championships standings as a result. After a difficult start to the year, Cindric has built up a 60-point cushion on the playoff bubble.
• Cole Custer: With Elliott Sadler soaring out to a massive points lead, the battle is on for second in the standings and the 10 playoff points that accompany the spot. Leaving Pocono, that position goes to Custer. The sophomore tallied a top five and 41 points to emerge with a one-point advantage over Daniel Hemric for the spot. Speaking of that….
• Daniel Hemric: Another week, another close call with victory lane. A third-place result helped Hemric leave Pennsylvania third in the championship standings, with second a definite possibility moving forward.

 Who Hurt Their Odds:

• Christopher Bell: A mid-race crash ruined the day for Bell, dropping the rookie to a clear fifth in the championship standings. He’ll need to make up 17 points to rise back up to second over the summer months.
• Justin Allgaier: The same crash that eliminated Bell also took out Allgaier, dropping the JR Motorsports veteran back to a 37th-place finish. The Illinoisan now sits a distant sixth in the standings, with just three points separating him from

Playoff Standings: 

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

Playoff Points

Stage Points

Pocono Raceway Results

Season Totals