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: Chicagoland Speedway
Event: TheHouse.com 300
Race Winner: Justin Allgaier
Stage Winner(s): Erik Jones (Won Both Stages)
Who Won Big
Brendan Gaughan made the most of a difficult day to clinch himself into the playoff field. (Photo: Russell LaBounty/NKP)
Justin Allgaier: In terms of sheer playoff gain, Saturday couldn’t have gone much better for Allgaier. The Illinois native won in his home state, overtook teammate William Byron for second in the regular season standings and earned a nine-point swing in playoff points as a result, hopping regular season champion Elliott Sadler for second in the preliminary playoff standings.
Elliott Sadler: He fell short of victory again, but Sadler still left Chicagoland as the regular season champion. If consistency is required to survive to the season finale, then Sadler is as well equipped as any to make a title run.
Brendan Gaughan: It wasn’t his prettiest run, but Gaughan’s 13th-place showing in his own throwback No. 62 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet was enough to increase his gap over Dakota Armstrong for the final playoff spot to 20 points with two races remaining.
Who Hurt Their Odds:
Dakoda Armstrong: It’s been a great year for Armstrong and JGL Racing, but a playoff berth simply wasn’t meant to be. Armstrong never contended for a postseason spot in a quiet afternoon in Chicagoland.
Everyone Else Outside of the Playoff Grid: Better luck next year.
Playoff Standings:
Rank
Driver
Wins
Points
Points Ahead/Behind Cutoff
1
William Byron
3
2025
20
2
Justin Allgaier
2
2023
18
3
Elliott Sadler
1
2020
15
4
Daniel Hemric
1
2009
4
5
Brennan Poole
0
2006
1
6 (tie)
Ryan Reed
0
2005
0
6 (tie)
Jeremy Clements
0
2005
0
6 (tie)
Cole Custer
0
2005
0
Round of 8 Cutoff
6 (tie)
Blake Koch
0
2005
0
10
Matt Tifft
0
2004
-1
11
Brendan Gaughan
0
2003
-2
12
Michael Annett
0
2001
-4
Playoff Points
Total Playoff Points
Rank
Driver
Playoff Points
1
William Byron
25
2
Elliott Sadler
23
3
Justin Allgaier
20
4
Daniel Hemric
9
5
Brennan Poole
6
6 (tie)
Ryan Reed
5
6 (tie)
Cole Custer
5
6 (tie)
Blake Koch
5
6 (tie)
Jeremy Clements
5
10
Matt Tifft
4
11
Michael Annett
3
12
Brendan Gaughan
1
Justin Allgaier had a nine-point swing in playoff points after winning and passing William Byron in the regular season standings. (Photo: Logan Whitton/NKP)
Playoff Points Earned On-Track
Rank
Driver
Playoff Points
1
William Byron
17
2
Justin Allgaier
13
3 (tie)
Ryan Preece
6
3 (tie)
Sam Hornish Jr.
6
5 (tie)
Ryan Reed
5
5 (tie)
Elliott Sadler
5
5 (tie)
Jeremy Clements
5
8 (tie)
Daniel Hemric
2
7
Blake Koch
2
8 (tie)
Darrell Wallace, Jr.
1
8 (tie)
Brendan Gaughan
1
8 (tie)
James Davison
1
Stage Points
Chicagoland Results
Stage 1
Stage 2
Pos.
Driver
Points
Pos.
Driver
Points
1
Erik Jones
N/A
1
Erik Jones
N/A
2
Kyle Larson
N/A
2
Cole Custer
9
3
Cole Custer
8
3
Ryan Blaney
N/A
4
Ryan Blaney
N/A
4
Kyle Larson
N/A
5
Daniel Suarez
N/A
5
Elliott Sadler
6
6
Elliott Sadler
5
6
Daniel Suarez
N/A
7
Justin Allgaier
4
7
Austin Dillon
N/A
8
Matt Tifft
3
8
Justin Allgaier
3
9
Austin Dillon
N/A
9
Ty Dillon
N/A
10
Daniel Hemric
1
10
Matt Tifft
1
Season Totals
Rank
Driver
Stage Points
Stage Wins
1
Elliott Sadler
225
5
2
Justin Allgaier
205
3
3
Brennan Poole
135
0
4
Daniel Hemric
118
3
5
William Byron
116
2
6
Cole Custer
90
0
7
Brendan Gaughan
66
0
8
Blake Koch
60
2
9
Tyler Reddick
50
0
10
Kyle Benjamin
48
1
11
Ryan Reed
47
1
12 (tie)
Ben Kennedy
43
0
12 (tie)
Matt Tifft
43
0
14
Darrell Wallace, Jr.
39
1
15
Ryan Preece
35
1
16
Sam Hornish, Jr.
31
1
17
Brandon Jones
26
0
18
James Davison
18
1
19
Jeremy Clements
16
0
20 (tie)
Dakoda Armstrong
15
0
20 (tie)
Ryan Sieg
15
0
20 (tie)
Ross Chastain
15
0
23
Justin Marks
14
0
24
Michael Annett
13
0
25
J.J. Yeley
12
0
26 (tie)
Andy Lally
6
0
26 (tie)
Casey Mears
6
0
28
Spencer Gallagher
5
0
29
Mario Gosselin
4
0
30 (tie)
Scott Lagasse, Jr.
3
0
30 (tie)
Harrison Rhodes
3
0
30 (tie)
Jeb Burton
3
0
33 (tie)
Josh Williams
2
0
33 (tie)
Ty Majeski
2
0
35
Josh Bilicki
1
0
35 (tie)
Sheldon Creed
1
0
Camping World Truck Series
(Photo: Barry Cantrell/NKP)
Track: Chicagoland Speedway
Event: TheHouse.com 225
Race Winner: Johnny Sauter
Stage Winner(s): Ryan Truex, Christopher Bell
Who Won Big
Ben Rhodes: It wasn’t a pretty night for Rhodes and his ThorSport Racing team, but they made the most of it and did just enough – literally – to advance to the playoffs on a tiebreaker. Now they enter the postseason with a clean slate and an opportunity to compete for a championship.
Christopher Bell: ‘Regular season champ’ has a nice ring to it. ’40 playoff points’ sounds even sweeter. Bell’s road to Homestead-Miami Speedway should be the smoothest of anyone in the Truck Series field.
Johnny Sauter: He couldn’t score the regular season championship, but Sauter did the next best thing in Chicagoland. The defending Truck Series champion earned his second win of the season, increasing his playoff point total to 25 and improving his postseason odds.
Who Hurt Their Odds:
Ryan Truex’s banner day in Chicagoland wasn’t enough to deliver a playoff berth. (Photo: Barry Cantrell/NKP)
Ryan Truex: Zero points. Nothing. Nada. That was the gap separating Truex, who missed the playoffs, from Rhodes. The New Jersey native did everything he could to close the gap on Friday, claiming a pole and winning a stage, but lost the final playoff spot in a tiebreaker.
Noah Gragson: After a summer that saw him rise into contention, Gragson was relatively quiet in Illinois. The Kyle Busch Motorsports rookie ultimately fell well short of victory lane, and missed the playoffs in the process.
Everyone Else Outside of the Playoff Grid: From Grant Enfinger to Justin Haley, a small group entered Chicagoland hopeful for a surprise win to make the postseason. They all fell short. Now they’ll all run for race wins and momentum alone over the final seven races of the season.
Playoff Standings:
Rank
Driver
Wins
Points
Points Ahead/Behind Cutoff
1
Christopher Bell
4
2040
33
2
Johnny Sauter
2
2025
18
3
John Hunter Nemechek
2
2014
7
4
Matt Crafton
1
2014
7
5
Chase Briscoe
0
2009
2
6
Austin Cindric
1
2007
0
Round of 6 Cutoff
7
Ben Rhodes
0
2007
0
8
Kaz Grala
1
2005
-2
Playoff Points
Total Playoff Points
Rank
Driver
Playoff Points
1
Christopher Bell
40
2
Johnny Sauter
25
3
Matt Crafton
14
4
John Hunter Nemechek
14
5
Chase Briscoe
9
6 (tie)
Ben Rhodes
7
6 (tie)
Austin Cindric
7
8
Kaz Grala
5
Christopher Bell claimed the regular season championship in the Land of Lincoln. (Photo: Barry Cantrell/NKP)
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Playoff Points: XFINITY/Truck update leaving Chicagoland
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: Chicagoland Speedway
Event: TheHouse.com 300
Race Winner: Justin Allgaier
Stage Winner(s): Erik Jones (Won Both Stages)
Who Won Big
Who Hurt Their Odds:
Playoff Standings:
Playoff Points
Stage Points
Chicagoland Results
Season Totals
Camping World Truck Series
Track: Chicagoland Speedway
Event: TheHouse.com 225
Race Winner: Johnny Sauter
Stage Winner(s): Ryan Truex, Christopher Bell
Who Won Big
Who Hurt Their Odds:
Playoff Standings:
Playoff Points
Stage Points
Chicagoland Results
Season Totals