By Aaron Bearden, Motorsports Editor

On the day 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: Texas Motor Speedway

Event: My Bariatric Solutions 300

Race Winner: Ryan Blaney

Stage Winner(s): Ryan Blaney, Brandon Jones

Who Won Big

• Christopher Bell: He’s yet to win this season, and he hasn’t held the points lead once this year. But Bell has four top-four finishes in his past five starts, including two runner-up runs. If he can keep up that level of consistent speed, a deep playoff run seems feasible.
• Matt Tifft: After six races, Tifft appears poised to prove those that doubted his move from Joe Gibbs Racing to Richard Childress Racing wrong this season. The sophomore tallied a sixth-place finish on Saturday, rising to ninth in the standings with a 35-point edge on the bubble.
• Austin Cindric: The rookie didn’t deliver a dominant drive to victory like teammate Ryan Blaney managed, but Cindric did what he needed to do for his playoff hopes, earning a ninth-place finish and rising to 16th in the championship standings. He’ll need another 32 markers to climb into the playoff grid.
• Brandon Jones: He crashed out in the end, but beforehand Jones did managed to put together the best stage performances of his career. The Georgian earned 19 stage points and, more importantly, a playoff point as a result of his first stage win.

 Who Hurt Their Odds:

• Justin Allgaier: Positions are everything in the Xfinity Series regular season due to the limited playoff points afforded to series regulars. It’s unfortunate for Allgaier, then, that engine woes took him out after 70 laps and relegated him to a 35th-place finish. The Illinoisan dropped to fifth in the standings as a result.
• Ross Chastain: He minimized his losses with a handful of stage points, but Chastain still dropped as a result of his 28th-place finish. The JD Motorsports ace still holds a playoff spot, but only by a lone point over Kaz Grala.

Playoff Standings: 

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

Playoff Points

Stage Points

Texas Motor Speedway Results

Season Totals