NASCAR
12 Drivers Set to Start 2018 Xfinity Series Playoffs at Richmond Raceway
After 26 regular season races, 12 drivers are ready to start the 3rd annual NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs. This weekend will mark the Xfinity Series Playoff opener at Richmond Raceway. TSJNASCAR was able to gain access to all 12 Playoff contenders at the Playoff Media Day at Charlotte. 1 of the following drivers will be crowned champion in just a matter of weeks, and the depth of the Xfinity Playoff field has never been stronger.
Ryan Reed
As the lowest-placed seed in the 2018 Xfinity Series Playoffs, Ryan Reed knows that he must be on the offense for Round 1. “We’ll have to be racing week-by-week. I think you have to have so much situational awareness in the Playoffs. Guys like Bell or Allgaier could race a little more big picture, because they have a little bit of a cushion. I think where I’m going in, as the dark horse last seed, it’s gotta be all situational awareness. I have to be aggressive when needed and I need to back it down when needed.”
Reed has quite the obstacle ahead of him this first round. He has no Playoff points from Stage wins or being in the top 10 in points. While nothing is impossible, making Round 2 of the Xfinity Series Playoffs would be a major win for the 16 team. Reed certainly has the confidence needed to make a charge in the Playoffs. Let’s see if he is capable of delivering on-track.
Austin Cindric
The rookie Ford driver has made starts this season for 3 different teams, in 3 different car numbers. That will no longer be the case for the road-racing ace. Cindric will be in the Penske 22 car for the remainder of the year. As a road course specialist, Cindric must look to next week’s race on the Charlotte Roval with confidence. His lone Truck Series win came on a road course last year. Can he earn his 1st Xfinity Series win in similar fashion? With the Roval race being in the 1st round, it will be a tricky balance for Cindric. He must weigh the risks of going for the win versus staying consistent.
“I don’t see any race in the 1st round as a must-win for us. Like we saw in the Vegas Cup race, there’s a lot of mistakes made by guys driving hard. I think the 1st round is very much about finishing races. It’s about gaining stage points, it’s about clicking off solid results and putting whole races together. At the same time, you still have to beat 4 cars, which is a lot to have to outrun. You’re still going to have to be perfect and run just as hard, but Round 2 and beyond is more must-win than Round 1 in my situation.”
The Penkse 22 team is more than capable of winning multiple races in the Xfinity Series Playoffs. However, Cindric is still a young driver getting adjusted to this series. Cindric advancing beyond Round 1 would not be the biggest surprise. He still needs to build up week-to-week consistency if he wants to make the Final 4 in Homestead.
Ryan Truex
A quietly consistent driver and team, Ryan Truex and the Kaulig Racing 11 car enter the Xfinity Series Playoffs as the 10th seed. Though this is Truex’s first year with this team, Kaulig Racing has experience making deep runs in these Playoffs. They were contending for a Final 4 spot in 2016 as a brand new team.
“Our strong suit is that we’re really consistent. Even when we have a bad day, we find a way to finish in the top 15 almost every time. I think we have only 1 DNF. We’re good at finishing races. If we have a bad weekend or qualify badly, we always get better in the race. Wherever we’re running at the start of the race, we’re always better at the end. That’s our strength as a team. I think as a driver I’m strong at taking care of equipment and not putting myself in a bad spot. I feel like those strong suits are what it takes to make it deep into the Playoffs.”
While far from the top of the points standings, Ryan Truex and the 11 team can be a dark horse in this year’s Playoffs. As stated above, Ryan is great at finishing races better than where he starts. So he should be able to go far into the Xfinity Series Playoffs.
Matt Tifft
In his 1st season with Richard Childress Racing, Matt Tifft has made his 2nd straight Xfinity Series Playoffs. There are 3 cars in the Playoffs either from RCR or with a technical alliance. These include Tifft, Daniel Hemric, and Ryan Truex. RCR’s many teams are known for transparency in regards to sharing information. This strategy will not change in the postseason. “With the 3 team racing for the Owner’s Championship, our alliance with the 11, and our teammates at the 21, our data sharing won’t change at all. I think that open-book policy the same as its been all year long. The trend shows that RCR cars keep getting a little bit better as the year goes on.”
Tifft is in the danger zone in terms of advancing out of Round 1. With only 3 Playoff Bonus Points, Tifft currently finds himself as the first guy below the cut line. Top-10 runs should be enough to get the 2 team past Round 1. But with the unknown of the Roval, nothing is guaranteed. While the RCR team has been streaky all year long, Tifft has top-10s in half of the races in 2018.
Brandon Jones
The young driver from Atlanta will make his 2nd Playoff run in his 1st year at Joe Gibbs Racing. Though Jones is winless in 2018, he does have 12 top-10s. Jones’ stats in 2018 are uncharacteristic of a JGR team, as they are considered the benchmark in the Xfinity Series.
However, with an absence of Cup drivers in the Playoffs, Jones could have more consistency. “It’s great for us Xfinity drivers to be able to go at it between ourselves. I love racing the Cup guys. But at the same time, it’s great that for our Playoffs we can all just go at it as a unit. I think that’s going to help us, but there are a lot of great Xfinity regulars. There are a lot of great guys you’ll have to beat every week, so it’s going to be tough. But, we definitely have a better shot at a win than having some of the sport’s best with us.”
Brandon Jones needs an uptick in performance if he is to be a contender in this year’s Playoffs. It is very much possible for his JGR Toyota to make it all the way to Homestead. However, Jones will need more strong runs to have a shot in Round 2. Jones’ season has been defined by inconsistency. We shall see if the lack of Cup drivers leads to better results for the 19.
Daniel Hemric
A Homestead Final 4 contender from a season ago, Daniel Hemric and the RCR 21 team look to repeat. In last year’s Xfinity Series Playoffs, Hemric was able to advance through the rounds on the strength of consistency.
In the 6 races leading into Homestead last year, the 21 was in the top 10 in 4 races. This consistency should be repeatable, but Hemric desperately wants to score his first NASCAR win. “It’s going to take a little bit of both consistency and racing week-by-week to make it deep in this year’s Playoffs. With the competitiveness of this field, I think there’s the ability for people to win and only get in without consistency. I’m sure that will be the case for 1 or 2 people. We’d like to be able to win a couple races. But the consistency is always what’s going to point your way through Round 1. For Rounds 2 and 3, it becomes more crucial to have the speed to be able to win. I look to us to be able to hopefully capitalize on both of those factors.”
In his current position, Daniel Hemric should be able to contend for a Final 4 spot once again. The 21 team has had the speed and execution needed to win multiple races this year. Only little things have prevented that. Outside of the top 2 in points, Hemric should be considered a favorite for the championship. He should also be thought of as the next first-time winner.
Ross Chastain
The Florida watermelon farmer has been the headliner for his amazing performance last week at Las Vegas. While scoring his first ever win was a great moment, Ross Chastain only has 1 more start scheduled with Chip Ganassi Racing. That last start for Chastain in the 42 will be this weekend’s race at Richmond. If he does not win at Richmond, he is at risk of being eliminated in the first round.
Ross is well aware that his 4 JD Motorsports team is a dark horse to advance onto Round 2. In spite of this, he remains optimistic after the huge win. “Everyone at CGR has been incredible to me. They all did great getting me up to speed and trying to prepare me for these races. I just do whatever they say, it’s no different than Johnny Davis at his shop. Whatever my crew chief or spotter say, I just listen. They’ve all done this more than me, I’m the new guy wherever I go. I have nothing but thanks to everyone at CGR, and whatever happens happens.”
The status of Ross Chastain in terms of which car he drives is a true wildcard in this year’s Playoffs. This weekend at Richmond, he is sure to be a favorite for the win in the Ganassi 42. However, if he remains in the 4 beyond then, he will have a long shot at advancing on through the rounds. The resurgence of Ross Chastain’s career has certainly been a bright spot on this year. The sky is the limit as to where he will end up in the future.
Tyler Reddick
The winner of the season-opening Daytona race, rookie Tyler Reddick is all new when it comes to a Playoff elimination system. As is the case with most rookies, he leans on his teammates for help. Perhaps there are no 2 more knowledgeable teammates than Elliott Sadler and Justin Allgaier. “Having 2 teammates who have made it all the way to Homestead before will be helpful. But probably also a disadvantage. To have their knowledge, to know their feedback and notes will be helpful. At the same time I’m racing in the Playoffs against 2 guys with the same level of equipment as me. They’re both very good racecar drivers. Those are 2 guys we’ll have to compete with to try to make it to Homestead. That leaves 1 spot if all of us make it.”
Reddick winning Daytona was definitely a highlight for his year. He is likely to make it past Round 1 if he can stay clean. However, the cars he will be racing against for a spot at Homestead are much more consistent and have more speed. Reddick does have some recent momentum however. Indianapolis saw him finish 2nd, only a week after finishing 3rd at Darlington. Reddick has the potential to make Homestead again, but his team will need near-flawless execution throughout the Xfinity Series Playoffs.
Cole Custer
To say that Cole Custer is eager to race for another championship is an understatement. Especially given how his Homestead race went a year ago. Although he narrowly missed advancing onto the championship race, Custer was the best car in Florida by a country mile. Custer led 182 laps and won by over 15 seconds at Homestead last November. This marked his first victory in the Xfinity Series. 1.5-mile tracks such as Homestead were his strong suit last year. He earned more points on 1.5 mile tracks than anyone else in the Xfinity Series. With all of this going for him, the obvious question is, can it happen again?
“I think mile-and-a-half tracks are still our strong suit, I would say. But this year I think there’s less difference between our strong suits and tracks we need to work on. We can still compete for wins on short tracks. But I would say at mile-and-a-half tracks, we know we’re going to be fast and we know we can win.”
If not for being previously eliminated from last year’s Xfinity Series Playoffs, Cole Custer would be the defending champion. The Stewart-Haas Racing team has not lacked in raw speed or execution. They have to be a favorite to make Homestead this year. Minor errors have kept the 00 out of victory lane since Homestead, but that may change in the immediate future.
Elliott Sadler
The oldest man in this year’s Xfinity Series Playoffs is the man making his final appearance in the postseason. Elliott Sadler announced last month that 2018 would be his last year of racing in the Xfinity Series. The Virginia native wants to end his 2 decade career on a high note. Sadler is seeded 3rd in the Playoffs, and is looking to return to victory lane once again. “I think you’re going to have to have a win to progress in the 2nd round. Anytime you get a win it’s definitely confidence building, especially this time of the year. Everyone’s bringing the best they got, so hopefully we’ll be able to win. To pull that off would be used as a building block to carry momentum the rest of the way.”
In the 2 prior years of the Xfinity Series Playoffs, Sadler and the Jr Motorsports 1 team have made it to the championship race and had strong cars at Homestead. On consistency shown throughout this year alone, Sadler is a strong pick for Homestead once again. If Elliott can win 1 more race in his final season, look out for this team to be a serious title threat.
Christopher Bell
Although Christopher Bell is a rookie, he has experience racing and winning in elimination-style Playoffs. The reigning Truck Series Champion made the Playoffs in that series each of the last 2 years. Bell will rely heavily on experience from the Truck Playoffs to help manage expectations in the Xfinity Series. “I think the past Truck Playoff experience will help me. The biggest thing was getting bonus points from Daytona until now. Being able to accumulate those bonus points in case you have a bad day. That’s 1 thing that we were able to do last year in the Truck Series by winning races. The bonus points from the wins made getting to Homestead fairly easy because I had that cushion. Luckily this year we’ve been able to capitalize on that and getting bonus points too, so hopefully we can afford a bad day.”
With 32 bonus points and 4 wins so far this season, Christopher Bell has to be considered all but locked in for the Homestead Championship 4. Bell has one of the best teams in the series behind him. Bell looks to win another title for Joe Gibbs Racing. It’s shaping up to be an intense fight in Homestead between Bell and Allgaier. We will have to see who comes out on top.
Justin Allgaier
The 2018 Xfinity Regular Season Champion, Justin Allgaier is having his career-best year. On the strength of 5 wins, including 3 of the last 6 races, Allgaier has a series-high 39 bonus points heading into Richmond. Much like with Bell, this major points cushion all but assures Allgaier a spot in the championship finale. With the 7 team appearing to fire on all cylinders, where could any potential weakness be? “Our main weakness is with ourselves. We can’t get ahead of ourselves or quit racing with the big-picture goal in mind. If we stay true to the team’s target, then we should be alright for Homestead.”
Perhaps no team in any level of NASCAR is stronger right now than the JRM 7 car and Justin Allgaier. This team has not finished outside of the top 10 since Pocono in June. They also rallied from 5th in the championship to 1st in a matter of weeks. Who else in the Xfinity Series Playoffs can knock Justin Allgaier off the mountain? Or is this championship his to lose?
The next 7 races are sure to be action-packed and a thriller for the Xfinity Series. With 2 drivers having a large points cushion, 2 spots are still anyone’s to take in the Championship 4. Stay tuned to TSJNASCAR to see how the Xfinity Series Playoffs end up.
