NASCAR
Who Are the Top Dogs for 2022’s Xfinity Series Playoffs?
Through 2022’s Xfinity Series regular season, six drivers accounted for 21 of 26 victories. This top half of the Playoff field enters the coming seven-week run for the championship as the favorites; how do they each fare for the Playoffs? In an odd twist, the regular season champion will not start this postseason as the top seed. Xfinity Playoff race one is Saturday from Texas. Ahead of that, let’s take a look at their most prolific drivers so far this season.
Noah Gragson – 2,051 points
Nobody ended the regular season on more of a heater than Noah Gragson. The JR Motorsports No. 9 team won the last three Xfinity races, vaulting him up to the top seed. Despite finishing third in the regular season championship, Gragson is now the top seed. Not only is he number one, but he also has a wealth of Playoff bonus points to his name. The last three weeks are just part of an already-fruitful six-win campaign for the 9. In his last Xfinity season, Gragson is trying to make a second-straight Championship 4 appearance. Far from in need of an early Playoff win, bonus points alone should be enough to carry Gragson onward. The Xfinity 9 team is in a very similar position to Chase Elliott’s 9 car on the Cup side.
Gragson’s versatility as a driver has been on full display the last three weeks. Wins on a short track (Bristol), an intermediate (Kansas), and a unique venue in Darlington show few if any weaknesses for the 9. As perhaps the fastest car from the JRM fleet, very little stands between Gragson and a potential championship. In the Playoffs just two years ago, the 9 finished second or third in six of seven races. As a far superior all-around team now, that consistency could turn into multiple wins. Gragson also won at Phoenix in the spring, and is eyeing another victory there to take the Xfinity Series title.
Ty Gibbs – 2,038 points
Many people’s preseason championship favorite, Ty Gibbs has shown great promise so far in 2022, with five wins. The No. 54 Toyota is seemingly always a threat, no matter the track. Gibbs has time out front in all but four races this season. He could have easily taken Kansas and Bristol wins away from Gragson, but faced setbacks in both races. Playing double-duty still in the No. 45 Cup car, Gibbs is far from lacking track time or experience. While he’s only won once since Kurt Busch’s injury, it has not been from a lack of execution.
As arguably the fastest and most consistent car in the series, Gibbs is heavily favored to make the Phoenix finale. In two starts at Phoenix, Gibbs has finished second and sixth. With speed and consistency only matched by the JRM cars, Gibbs’ chances are quite high to be in this year’s Championship 4. Expect him to be a contender in just about every race for the rest of the year.
Justin Allgaier – 2,033 points
The veteran at JRM, Justin Allgaier has seen a solid three-win season land him as the third Playoff seed. When the 7 team has found victory lane in 2022, it’s been in dominating fashion each time. A five-time Championship 4 member, Allgaier is still pursuing title number one at what he calls his favorite racetrack. Just last week in Bristol, the 7 was the class of the field before a late pit road speeding penalty, eventually finishing ninth. Should Allgaier have similar cars throughout the Xfinity Playoffs, he could upset the favorites of Gragson and Gibbs as the last man standing at Phoenix.
AJ Allmendinger – 2,032 points
Despite being the regular season champion, AJ Allmendinger gets reset to fourth for the Xfinity Playoffs. AJ’s 2022 so far includes three wins and an astounding 23 top-10s. To the surprise of few, all three of Allmendinger’s victories so far this year have been on road courses: COTA, Portland, and Indianapolis. For the Round of 12 cutoff race at the Charlotte Roval, the Kaulig 16 team are going for their fourth-straight win in this event.
Aside from the Roval though, AJ could be facing an uphill battle against his title rivals. While the 16 is a near-constant presence in the top 10, he has yet to win an oval this year. With six of the seven Playoff races being ovals, this could be a detriment for the 16. AJ made his first Championship 4 last year, after also taking 2021’s regular season championship. However, a disappointing result in Phoenix saw the Kaulig crew place last of the four title combatants. Last season as well, AJ was a regular threat on both ovals and road courses. In an admittedly down year for Kaulig, the 16 will try and rally to bring this team their first championship.
Josh Berry – 2,022 points
The third JRM driver, Josh Berry and the No. 8 team have won twice so far in 2022, at Dover and Charlotte. In addition, the 8 has seen 16 top-10s and an average finish of 11.2. Throughout the summer stretch, JRM was the team to beat. With none of that speed lacking now, JRM appears well on their way to great representation in Phoenix. While Gragson and Allgaier have experience in this Playoff format, this is all new territory for Berry. Should Berry stay clean and execute to JRM’s full potential, he could be a third car from this shop competing for a championship in seven weeks.
Austin Hill – 2,016 points
2022 started off perfectly for Austin Hill and the RCR No. 21 team, winning the season-opener at Daytona. Since then, the 21 visited victory lane again in Atlanta in July. Two wins to date in a rookie season is success for any driver. After three appearances in the Truck Series Playoffs, Hill is ready to go to battle in the Xfinity postseason. Race two of the opening round at Talladega is certainly circled for the 21 team, going for a third superspeedway win. As the lone RCR car remaining in any NASCAR Playoffs, Hill is trying to bring a sixth Xfinity championship back to Welcome.
The 2022 Xfinity Series Playoffs begin Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway. With Tyler Reddick taking the win here in May, that kept any contender from victory lane. That will certainly change this time, as the six drivers above all have a great shot at celebrating big with the six-shooters as a Texas winner. The Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 will go green at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Meg Oliphant/Getty Images for NASCAR
