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: Bristol Motor Speedway

Event: Food City 300

Race Winner: Kyle Busch

Stage Winner(s): Kyle Busch (Won Both Stages)

Who Won Big

• Kyle Busch: No, Busch didn’t get any playoff points or anything of note because he’s a Cup Series driver, but he won everything. Good enough, right?
• Elliott Sadler: He’s still hunting for his first win of 2017, but Sadler’s strong third-place showing at Bristol gave the JR Motorsports veteran a 110-point edge over William Byron for the points lead, all-but guaranteeing he’ll take the regular season crown and 15 bonus playoff points.
• Justin Allgaier: He faded on the race’s final run to fifth, but Allgaier’s second-place finishes in each stage meant he tallied the most points of any XFINITY Series regular on Friday. Paired with Byron’s struggles, the result saw Allgaier close to within 26 points of his JR Motorsports teammate for second.

 Who Hurt Their Odds:

• Brendan Gaughan: It was a long night for Gaughan – one that ended early after a Lap 278 crash. Now the Nevadan is back on the playoff bubble in 12th, albeit with a 43-point cushion on 13th-place Ross Chastain.
• Ryan Reed: The Daytona International Speedway winner crashed out again at Bristol, finishing 37th and dropping to within 23 points of falling outside of the top 10 in the standings and losing playoff points as a result.
• William Byron: An unusually quiet night for Byron went from bad to worse when the rookie suffered a late flat tire, dropping to 22nd at the checkered flag. Any hopes Byron had of taking the regular season championship are effectively over. Now the North Carolinian can only hope to try to earn more wins and hold on to second.

Playoff Standings: 

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

Playoff Points

Playoff Points Earned
Rank	Driver	Playoff Points
1	William Byron	17
2	Justin Allgaier	8
3 (tie)	Ryan Preece	6
3 (tie)	Sam Hornish Jr.	6
5 (tie)	Ryan Reed	5
5 (tie)	Elliott Sadler	5
7	Blake Koch	2
8 (tie)	Daniel Hemric	1
8 (tie)	Darrell Wallace, Jr.	1
8 (tie)	Brendan Gaughan	1

Stage Points

Bristol Results

Season Totals

Camping World Truck Series

Track: Bristol Motor Speedway

Event: UNOH 200

Race Winner: Kyle Busch

Stage Winner(s): Kyle Busch (Won Both Stages)

Who Won Big

• Kyle Busch: See Busch’s entry in the XFINITY Series up above.
• Grant Enfinger: That was the run Enfinger needed. Fresh off of a post-race inspection failure at Michigan International Speedway, Enfinger and ThorSport Racing bounced back in a big way at Bristol – tallying points in both stages and finishing in fourth. That’s enough to keep Enfinger within just nine points of Ryan Truex for the final playoff spot as things stand.
• Ben Rhodes: It was another strong night for Rhodes, whose fifth-place finish was enough to push him past Truex and off of the playoff bubble. Rhodes sits 26 points clear of the cutoff with just a couple races remaining.

 Who Hurt Their Odds:

• Ryan Truex: Wednesday was a difficult day for Hattori Racing and Truex. The team struggled heavily, finishing all the way back in 16th. Truex’s top fives in the two races before Bristol kept him on the playoff bubble, but he can’t afford another bad day moving forward.

Playoff Standings: 

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

Playoff Points

Stage Points

Bristol Results

Season Totals