NASCAR
A Look at the Rest of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff Field
The bottom half of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff grid is as story-filled as the championship favorites. One could easily look at these six drivers and say they only have a combined total of two wins. What these teams lack in victories they absolutely make up for in compelling paths to the Playoffs. All of these teams are now on the doorstep of a championship. Here’s a dive into how each team made the 2023 Playoffs. Chances are high for the stars to align into a Cinderella ending for any of these drivers.
Josh Berry – 2,009 points
The third Playoff team from JR Motorsports, Josh Berry truly has done everything but win in 2023. Berry’s No. 8 car has 15 top-10s, a 12.1 average finish and a best result of second twice. Berry is in a very unique situation heading into these Playoffs, knowing he will go Cup racing next year. Even with this team’s lame duck status, Berry and JRM both still want to go out as winners.
“It’s definitely a little different, I don’t feel like anyone’s done anything specifically that’s hurt our performance,” Berry said. “I think obviously everyone’s still really hungry to finish the season out strong. I’m very fortunate to be in the position I’m in, being at JR Motorsports for a long time. All the emotional ties there make it really important to finish this year on a positive note. Everyone’s working really hard there. Obviously on the background I’ve been doing little things here or there with Stewart-Haas. Interiors, seats, stuff like that, but nothing major. Obviously we still feel like we’re really focused in on these last seven races.”
Starting off as the seventh seed, the Round of 8 provides Berry two great chances at a second-straight Championship 4. If the 8 manages to survive the first cutoff, Las Vegas and Martinsville are both tracks where Berry has won. Last year, it was a Vegas victory that locked Berry into Phoenix. As long as the 8 maintains and has three clean races, they should get through the Round of 12. Definitely keep the 8 circled when these two dates come up.
Sheldon Creed – 2,008 points
Making his first Xfinity Playoff appearance is sophomore driver Sheldon Creed. The RCR No. 2 team has yet to find victory lane this season, but has seen 11 top-10s. Nobody has been closer to breaking the first career win glass ceiling in 2023 than Creed. The 2 has two runner-up results and a third-place run in just the last four weeks. Creed claiming a maiden Xfinity triumph seems to be a question of when more than if. The Childress driver knows that strong finishes like the past few weeks will serve him well in the Playoffs.
“I feel like the Playoffs is firstly going to be a game of survival,” Creed said. “Obviously someone out of us 12 is going to have a bad weekend, or something’s going to happen. Survival, finishing all of these next six races, points in all of the Stages will be key. For us, I’m just going to go on the offense and try to put the pressure on the other guys. We don’t have a win yet. But if we can point good and have fast racecars, that will put pressure on the other guys.”
“(Recent momentum) has been huge for us. We came off a stretch where we didn’t finish in the top-10 for a few weeks. To put the last four or five weeks together has been bigger for the guys in the shop more than anything. They’re getting confidence back in building the cars and having me drive them. I think we’re more excited to go to the racetrack now. As much as anyone says it’s fun, it is not fun to go to the racetrack and tear stuff up every week or not run well. I think everyone’s having more fun and is more confident of our situation. I think we’re ready to kick it off here.”
While Austin Hill is a co-championship favorite, Creed starts the Playoffs as the eighth seed. We’ve seen teams get hot before when the pressure is on, finding postseason victory lane multiple times. The 2 should be a formidable force in this eight-race stretch, trying to join the 21 in the Championship 4.
Sammy Smith – 2,006 points
One of the most perplexing team performances all season has been put together by Sammy Smith. The rookie in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 went to Phoenix victory lane in March. The sixth months since though have only had three top-fives. Smith’s first full-time Xfinity campaign has been defined by being taken out in multiple crashes not of his own doing. The 18 has five crash DNFs, including issues in the last three races. No race better encapsulates the 18’s year than Kansas last week. A restart crash after running in the top-10 saw Smith finish 35th. Thanks to the points reset, Smith is confident the 18 team can turn it around for the postseason.
“I think (the bad streak) has just been wrong place and wrong time,” Smith said. “I feel like we’ve been in good positions while we’re running, where we’re running when we got wrecked. We had a lot of speed and have brought speed to the track every week. It’s just been a rough couple of weeks where we’ve had speed, been running up front and gotten taken out. I don’t really believe in luck or any of that stuff, I don’t know what to call it. We’ve just got to reset again like we did at Kansas. We were fast there with a good practice, qualifying and first two Stages, then just got taken out there. Nothing I could do about it. I just think trying to reset is good for the mental side of things. If we go into the Playoffs with the right mindset, I know we have the team and cars to do it. We just have to go and execute.”
“Excited to get the Playoffs started this weekend. It doesn’t change anything with what we’re doing, no mindset change or anything. I think this is just a rest where we can run up front and be there. If we execute I think we can make the final four.”
The 19-year-old phenom has had fewer bright moments than expected in his maiden National Series season. His lone victory did come at the sight of the Championship finale though. If the 18 makes Phoenix again, they will be a serious threat for a second-straight Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity title.
Jeb Burton – 2,006 points
Making his second Playoff appearance in three years, both of Jeb Burton’s postseasons came from winning Talladega. Putting Jordan Anderson Racing into their first top-12 showing, the No. 27 team is punching above their weight class. Aside from just Talladega, Burton is also the lone Xfinity driver with zero DNFs this season. This marks complete turnaround from Burton’s crash-riddled 2022 efforts. The second-generation star was taught early this year how much wrecking sets his team back.
“I made a little mistake at COTA on the last corner, and it cost us a little bit of money and Jordan (Anderson, owner) let me know about it,” Burton said. “Ever since then, we really haven’t torn up anything, and I think that’s just my mindset driving the car.”
“We definitely need more speed in our racecars, but we’ve done a good job at maximizing what we have right now, and not tearing up cars. We’re a small team with 25 employees, we can’t afford to wreck stuff every week. Just need to bring the car home in the top-15 every week and keep working on it to make it better.”
“For me, I want to win every week. But I just got to realize that right now, we’re not capable of doing that every week. We just need to do what we’ve been doing. If we try to get more, it’s just not going to end well for us. If the car will run first, then we’ll run first. If it’ll run fifth, we need to run fifth. So we just need to continue doing what we’ve been doing and finish races. We need to get the best finish possible, and let others make mistakes.”
“An average finish of 15th should take us to the next round, that’s what we need to do. If it’s meant to be then it will be. If not then we’re still doing a lot with a lot less than our competitors. Everyone at Jordan Anderson Racing should be proud of that.”
Potentially the biggest Cinderella story of the 2023 Playoffs, Burton is already fighting from behind as the 10th seed. If the 27 can merely survive and finish like mentioned above, then others will take themselves out of contention. Inevitable mistakes can allow the 27 to make up ground. Heading to the opening Playoff race only two points below the cut line, Burton does have a feasible path forward.
Daniel Hemric – 2,003 points
2021 Xfinity champion Daniel Hemric enters 2023’s Playoffs as the 11th seed. The Kaulig Racing driver’s season has been highlighted by 13 top-10s, including second in both Atlanta races. Part of the RCR alliance, Hemric is hopeful that some of Austin Hill’s speed and performance will trickle down into his team.
“I’ve been fortunate to be a part of the Xfinity Playoffs every year I’ve ran full-time,” Hemric said. “No Talladega this year eliminates a bit of the wildcard side of it all. It will be fun to navigate that now, without that element in it.”
“I feel like from the raw speed side of it, we can run with our alliance partners in the 21. We’ve created a little bit more speed and opportunity on that side of things. But the 20 for sure has continued all year to be the fastest car, lead the most laps. They have given themselves the most room for error in this format. For us in our situation, even if we find a little bit of raw speed, we still got to go and execute better. I have to do a better job. As a race team, we just have to find that next level. You never really know how some people in your team will react until they’re put in these situations. I’m excited to see everybody have the opportunity to rise to the occasion. Hopefully we can do the same thing and give ourselves a chance.”
As one of five RCR-aligned cars in the 12-man Playoffs, Hemric should have pace to advance past the opening round. Starting as the next-to-last seed though, the 10 team needs to be on the offensive from race one. Top-fives are all but needed for a team five points below the cut line.
Parker Kligerman – 2,002 points
The final driver to make the 2023 Xfinity Playoffs was Parker Kligerman. The Big Machine Racing No. 48 has been the picture of consistency and outscoring competition over the past several weeks. The last eight races have seen seven top-10s for Kligerman, punctuated with a fourth-place run at Kansas. Kligerman is well aware that if these results remain unchanged, the 48 will go far in these Playoffs.
“I keep talking about the last 12 weeks. But really if you go back to Portland, from that moment onward we have been a solid top-10 car,” Kligerman said. We’ve competed for wins and really continued to excel late in races and find great execution and finishes. I’ve talked obviously about our lack of Stage points, that starts in qualifying. Our pit crew also has to make changes to be better, faster and more consistent. When you look at these races in the second half of the season, I have to think we’re a top-seven or eight car, maybe even top-five. If we just bring that same level of performance for the next three weeks, that’s getting us in the second round. From there, all bets are off. We could go win Vegas or any race and find ourselves in the Championship 4. I definitely embrace the reset, even seeing that we’re last. I don’t think that’s where our team stacks up. Even looking at the standings, we were 10th in points. We have really been on a roll. The slow first half of the year and Stage points just set us back. If we keep the performance up though, we can definitely compete at a higher level than we’re ranked now.”
“I have committed to doing my TV schedule at the same level I have preseason. I don’t see it being an issue, aside from potentially making the Championship 4. Phoenix is a week-long preparation on the TV side. I couldn’t feasibly make that work if I also had the driver obligations. I am thankful to NBC for being gracious should this be the case.”
Perhaps the busiest man in any NASCAR Playoffs between driving and television reporting, Kligerman has confidence in his corner. If their season-best Kansas speed remains, then the 48 may just be the little engine that can advance forward.
The coming three-race opening round offers ample opportunities ahead for these bottom-half drivers on the Playoff grid. Bristol, Texas and the Charlotte Roval are all prime chances for one of these Xfinity underdog teams to pull off the ultimate stunner and find victory lane. While most attention is on the championship front runners, the Xfinity best of the rest cannot be overlooked yet.
Written by Peter Stratta
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