NASCAR
A Look at the 2024 Xfinity Series Playoff Bubble Battle
Six races remain to decide the final four drivers in the 2024 Xfinity Series Playoffs. Eight championship contenders have seen the checkers first through 20 races. This includes both Stewart-Haas drivers in the last two events. The regular season races left include wildcards aplenty, with many talented teams sitting outside the top-12 cutoff. Here are the drivers currently in the final four spots and their chances at finding an evasive victory in the near future.
AJ Allmendinger +102 points
Has the flame sputtered out for NASCAR’s all-time winningest road course racer? Now 42 years old, AJ Allmendinger has been a step behind his typical performance in his Xfinity Series return season. Through 20 races, the Kaulig Racing No. 16 only has three top-fives, 36 laps led, and a 14th-place average finish.
Of the four road course races so far this year, three of them have been won by AJ’s teammate Shane van Gisbergen. In these four starts the 16 only mustered one top-five, however. Allmendinger still sits sixth in overall points, and has shown a tick more pace in the last month.
Watkins Glen is certainly circled on Allmendinger’s calendar as an upcoming track he knows how to win on. AJ may have to pry that trophy away from SVG however, who will be going for a road course fourpeat. This team does have past wins at three other tracks that lie ahead as well. All hope is not lost for AJ in finding victory lane again.
Sheldon Creed +69
Perennial Xfinity Series bridesmaid Sheldon Creed is as desperate as anyone to bust the victory lane gates wide open. Thanks to three more runner-up results this year, Creed now sits tied with Dale Jarrett at a series-record 10 second-places before a win. Nobody is more sick of seeing others bask in winning glory than Creed.
Consistency has been a strong point in Creed’s maiden season at Joe Gibbs Racing. The No. 18 has seen 12 top-10s, with five of the last seven races in the top-five. If this amount of strong results before a breakthrough win sounds familiar, look no further than this team three years ago. Daniel Hemric fought and clawed his way to Phoenix as a Championship 4 finalist, only to stun the racing world with the championship. Can this same spirit be reborn with Creed? He would certainly prefer wins before the finale. Creed’s talent and speed should allow him to get the job done almost anywhere.
Parker Kligerman +46
Amidst his second full-time season with Big Machine Racing, Parker Kligerman has matched his 2023 postseason effort so far. Still searching for that elusive first Xfinity triumph, PK has shown out this year on a variety of tracks. Road courses remain this past open wheel prodigy’s strong suit, but superspeedways have also proven very kind to him. The 48 was wrecked from the lead in overtime at Talladega, after slicing through the pack.
A win for PK may ultimately rely on the return trip to Talladega this fall. Kligerman is a two-time Truck Series winner here, and one of the most calculating superspeedway drivers. Nearly a full race’s worth of points above the cut line, team 48 is sitting pretty for another Playoff showing.
Ryan Sieg +3
What could have been the biggest day of Ryan Sieg’s life was 0.002 seconds away in April. The family-run No. 39 team was on the losing end of a photo finish at Texas with Sam Mayer. Sieg now holds the last provisional Playoff berth ahead of much larger teams, but only by three points.
The underdog RSS Racing has four past Playoff appearances, but missed out in 2023. Sieg finds himself directly ahead of two cars from JR Motorsports. It may come down to who can execute better between Sieg and this powerhouse team.
Sammy Smith -3
The first man on the outside of the Xfinity Playoffs looking in is JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith. The sophomore won his way into the postseason a year ago. This year however, Smith has had far less luck and fewer winning chances.
The famed No. 8 has been a regular top-10 presence this season when mistake-free. Much like with Sieg though, Smith’s Playoff future will hinge on earning points and staying clean over the next six races.
The Playoff cut line battle for Xfinity truly is shaping to as a David vs. Goliath fight. A throwback crew in every sense currently holds the slimmest edge over a series staple and championship-caliber team. Any surprise winner outside the top-12 however would upend this whole conversation. It will be fun to see how this points margin morphs and shifts over the final run to the postseason.
Written by Peter Stratta
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