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: Texas Motor Speedway
Event: O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge
Race Winner: Erik Jones
Stage Winner(s): Erik Jones (Won Both Stages)
Who Won Big
Matt Tifft kept his playoff hopes alive with a strong run in Texas. (Photo: Rusty Jarrett/NKP)
JR Motorsports: Another week without massive issues means JR Motorsports is one solid race away from placing three drivers in the Championship 4.
Brennan Poole and Matt Tifft: Both drivers delivered solid days once again in Texas, giving themselves a small advantage over the three playoff drivers behind them. The race for the fourth championship spot appears poised to come down to which of these drivers has a better day at Phoenix Raceway.
Who Hurt Their Odds:
Ryan Reed: It was another tough day for Reed, who finished 23rd and fell well out of range for a spot in the Championship 4. He’ll need to mimic his season-opening win at Daytona International Speedway if he hopes to keep his title hopes alive to Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Daniel Hemric: By all accounts Hemric’s 14th-place run wasn’t terrible. However, he had no margin for error after struggling at Kansas Speedway.
Playoff Standings:
Rank
Driver
Wins in Round
Points
Points Ahead/Behind Cutoff
1
Elliott Sadler
0
3103
29
2
William Byron
0
3098
24
3
Justin Allgaier
0
3094
20
4
Brennan Poole
0
3079
5
Championship 4 Cutoff
5
Matt Tifft
0
3074
-5
6
Cole Custer
0
3066
-13
7
Daniel Hemric
0
3061
-18
8
Ryan Reed
0
3046
-33
Playoff Points
Total Playoff Points
Rank
Driver
Playoff Points
1
William Byron
26
2
Justin Allgaier
23
3
Elliott Sadler
20
4
Daniel Hemric
9
5
Cole Custer
7
6
Brennan Poole
6
7 (tie)
Ryan Reed
5
7 (tie)
Blake Koch
5
7 (tie)
Jeremy Clements
5
10
Matt Tifft
4
11
Michael Annett
3
12
Brendan Gaughan
1
JR Motorsports continued their march to the Championship 4 courtesy of their hefty playoff point totals. (Photo: Russell LaBounty/NKP)
Playoff Points Earned On-Track
Rank
Driver
Playoff Points
1
William Byron
18
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
5 (tie)
Tyler Reddick
5
9 (tie)
Daniel Hemric
2
9 (tie)
Blake Koch
2
9 (tie)
Cole Custer
2
12 (tie)
Darrell Wallace, Jr.
1
12 (tie)
Brendan Gaughan
1
12 (tie)
James Davison
1
Stage Points
Texas 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
Kyle Larson
N/A
3
Elliott Sadler
8
3
Brennan Poole
8
4
Ryan Blaney
N/A
4
Elliott Sadler
7
5
Matt Tifft
6
5
Matt Tifft
6
6
Christopher Bell
N/A
6
Daniel Hemric
5
7
William Byron
4
7
Cole Custer
4
8
Brennan Poole
3
8
Ryan Blaney
N/A
9
Justin Allgaier
2
9
William Byron
2
10
Daniel Hemric
1
10
Brendan Gaughan
1
Playoff Totals
Driver
Playoff Stage Points
This Round (Round of 8)
Round of 12
Playoff Stage Wins
William Byron
46
11
35
1
Cole Custer
41
9
32
2
Daniel Hemric
39
10
29
0
Elliott Sadler
37
20
17
0
Justin Allgaier
35
13
22
0
Brennan Poole
27
18
9
0
Matt Tifft
17
12
5
0
Ryan Reed
2
0
2
0
Brendan Gaughan (e)
0
0
0
0
Blake Koch (e)
0
0
0
0
Michael Annett (e)
0
0
0
0
Jeremy Clements (e)
0
0
0
0
(e)=Eliminated from playoff contention
Season Totals
Rank
Driver
Stage Points
Stage Wins
1
Elliott Sadler
262
5
2
Justin Allgaier
240
3
3
William Byron
162
3
4
Brennan Poole
161
0
5
Daniel Hemric
156
3
6
Cole Custer
131
2
7
Tyler Reddick
91
0
8
Brendan Gaughan
67
0
9 (tie)
Blake Koch
60
2
9 (tie)
Kyle Benjamin
60
1
9 (tie)
Matt Tifft
60
0
12 (tie)
Ryan Reed
49
1
12 (tie)
Ryan Preece
49
1
14
Ben Kennedy
46
0
15
Sam Hornish, Jr.
40
1
16
Darrell Wallace, Jr.
39
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
Brian Scott
7
0
27 (tie)
Andy Lally
6
0
27 (tie)
Casey Mears
6
0
29
Spencer Gallagher
5
0
30
Mario Gosselin
4
0
31 (tie)
Scott Lagasse, Jr.
3
0
31 (tie)
Harrison Rhodes
3
0
31 (tie)
Jeb Burton
3
0
34 (tie)
Josh Williams
2
0
34 (tie)
Ty Majeski
2
0
36 (tie)
Josh Bilicki
1
0
36 (tie)
Sheldon Creed
1
0
Camping World Truck Series
Track: Texas Motor Speedway
Event: JAG Metals 350
Race Winner: Johnny Sauter
Stage Winner(s): Christopher Bell, Noah Gragson
Who Won Big
Johnny Sauter took care of business in Texas. (Photo: John K Harrelson/NKP)
Johnny Sauter: What a clutch performance. Sauter’s late surge delivered the GMS Racing veteran his second-straight Championship 4 berth, and with it the opportunity to defend his title from last season. Sauter’s season has been relatively quiet, but he’s one solid run at Homestead from another trophy.
Austin Cindric: That run couldn’t have came at a better time. Cindric tallied 12 stage points and a second-place finish to soar into the top four in the standings, meaning the road course winner is one good run away from a surprising berth in the Championship 4.
Matt Crafton: He didn’t thrive in Texas, but Crafton scored a top 10 and left the Lone Star State up 24 points on the cutoff. Given his position, that’s all the two-time Truck Series champion needed to do.
Who Hurt Their Odds:
Ben Rhodes: It’s been a strong offseason for Rhodes, but 18th isn’t going to cut it. The ThorSport Racing star heads to Phoenix with five points separating himself from a championship chance in Homestead.
John Hunter Nemechek: Nemechek’s poor luck to start the Round of 6 meant he needed a win to contemplate possible advancement to the Championship 4, so NEMCO Motorsports rolled the dice. Unfortunately for them, it didn’t work. Nemechek will get one more week to try to win his way back into the championship fight.
Playoff Standings:
Rank
Driver
Wins in Round
Points
Points Ahead/Behind Cutoff
1
Christopher Bell
1
3135
55
2
Johnny Sauter
1
3131
51
3
Matt Crafton
0
3104
24
4
Austin Cindric
0
3085
5
Championship 4 Cutoff
5
Ben Rhodes
0
3080
-5
6
John Hunter Nemechek
0
3046
-39
Playoff Points
Total Playoff Points
Rank
Driver
Playoff Points
1
Christopher Bell
48
2
Johnny Sauter
31
3
Matt Crafton
15
4
John Hunter Nemechek
14
5
Ben Rhodes
13
6
Austin Cindric
7
Matt Crafton’s playoff points have helped him build a healthy advantage in the championship standings. (Photo: Matthew T. Thacker/NKP)
Playoff Points Earned On-Track
Rank
Driver
Playoff Points
1
Christopher Bell
33
2
Johnny Sauter
21
3
John Hunter Nemechek
11
4
Matt Crafton
8
5
Ben Rhodes
7
6 (tie)
Austin Cindric
6
6 (tie)
Noah Gragson
6
8
Kaz Grala
5
9
Ryan Truex
3
10
Chase Briscoe
2
11
Stewart Friesen
1
Stage Points
Texas Results
Stage 1
Stage 2
Pos.
Driver
Points
Pos.
Driver
Points
1
Christopher Bell
10 (+1 Playoff Point)
1
Noah Gragson
10 (+1 Playoff Point)
2
Johnny Sauter
9
2
Myatt Snider
9
3
Austin Cindric
8
3
Christopher Bell
8
4
Ben Rhodes
7
4
Kaz Grala
7
5
John Hunter Nemechek
6
5
Ryan Truex
6
6
Matt Crafton
5
6
Ben Rhodes
5
7
Myatt Snider
4
7
Austin Cindric
4
8
Kaz Grala
3
8
Matt Crafton
3
9
Austin Hill
2
9
Johnny Sauter
2
10
Noah Gragson
1
10
John Hunter Nemechek
1
Playoff Totals
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoff Stage Points
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Playoff Points: XFINITY/Truck update leaving Texas
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: Texas Motor Speedway
Event: O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge
Race Winner: Erik Jones
Stage Winner(s): Erik Jones (Won Both Stages)
Who Won Big
Who Hurt Their Odds:
Playoff Standings:
Playoff Points
Stage Points
Texas Results
Playoff Totals
(e)=Eliminated from playoff contention
Season Totals
Camping World Truck Series
Track: Texas Motor Speedway
Event: JAG Metals 350
Race Winner: Johnny Sauter
Stage Winner(s): Christopher Bell, Noah Gragson
Who Won Big
Who Hurt Their Odds:
Playoff Standings:
Playoff Points
Stage Points
Texas Results
Playoff Totals
(e)=Eliminated from playoff contention
Season Totals