The NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff’s first round will come to a close this weekend at Dover International Speedway in the Use Your Melon Drive Sober 200 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Four of the 12 Playoff drivers will be eliminated and eight will move on to the next round.
Two drivers have already clinched their spots in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff Round of 8 – Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell by winning the Richmond Playoff opener and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer who clinched his position on points last weekend at Charlotte.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff standings following Charlotte:
| Rank | Driver | Points | Starts | Race Wins | Stage Wins | Playoff Pts | Pts From Cutoff |
| 1 | Christopher Bell | 2,143 | 28 | 7 | 17 | 62 | In On Wins |
| 2 | Cole Custer | 2,133 | 28 | 6 | 7 | 45 | Clinched On Points |
| 3 | Tyler Reddick | 2,114 | 28 | 5 | 4 | 44 | 52 |
| 4 | Austin Cindric | 2,112 | 28 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 50 |
| 5 | Justin Allgaier | 2,102 | 28 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 40 |
| 6 | Chase Briscoe | 2,097 | 28 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 35 |
| 7 | Noah Gragson | 2,088 | 28 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 26 |
| 8 | Michael Annett | 2,073 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 11 |
| 9 | John H. Nemechek | 2,062 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -11 |
| 10 | Brandon Jones | 2,062 | 28 | 0 | 3 | 4 | -11 |
| 11 | Ryan Sieg | 2,036 | 28 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -37 |
| 12 | Justin Haley | 2,034 | 28 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -39 |
The remaining six positions in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs will be decided this Saturday. All 10 drivers vying for those remaining six spots can win their way into the next round this weekend. Below are the Round of 8 clinch scenarios for this weekend at Dover:
Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick can clinch on points with 15 points and a new winner this weekend. If there is a repeat winner (or a win by Cole Custer, Austin Cindric, Justin Allgaier, Chase Briscoe, Noah Gragson or Michael Annett), then he could clinch on points with four points. Reddick has made four starts at Dover, putting up two top-five finishes; including a third-place result earlier this season.
Team Penske’s Austin Cindric can clinch on points with 16 points and a new winner this Saturday. If there is a repeat winner (or a win by Cole Custer, Tyler Reddick, Justin Allgaier, Chase Briscoe, Noah Gragson or Michael Annett), then he could clinch on points with five points. Cindric has made three series starts at Dover grabbing three top 10s; including his best finish at the track (sixth) earlier this year.
JR Motorsport’s Justin Allgaier can clinch on points with 27 points and a new winner this weekend. If there is a repeat winner (or a win by Cole Custer, Tyler Reddick, Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe, Noah Gragson or Michael Annett), then he could clinch on points with 16 points. Of the Playoff drivers, Allgaier has the most experience at Dover having made 17 starts and amassing one win (May 2018), seven top fives and 10 top 10s.
Stewart-Haas Racing with Fred Biagi’s Chase Briscoe can clinch on points with 32 points and a new winner this weekend. If there is a repeat winner (or a win by Cole Custer, Tyler Reddick, Austin Cindric, Justin Allgaier, Noah Gragson or Michael Annett), then he could clinch on points with 21 points. Briscoe has made two series starts at Dover, posting one top five and an average finish of 12.0. He finished fifth at Dover earlier this season.
JR Motorsport’s Noah Gragson can clinch on points with 41 points and a new winner this Saturday. If there is a repeat winner (or a win by Cole Custer, Tyler Reddick, Austin Cindric, Justin Allgaier, Chase Briscoe or Michael Annett), then he could clinch on points with 30 points. Gragson has made two starts at Dover posting one top-10 finish. Earlier this season he started ninth and struggled a bit, finishing 19th.
JR Motorsport’s Michael Annett can clinch on points if there is a repeat winner (or a win by Cole Custer, Tyler Reddick, Austin Cindric, Justin Allgaier, Chase Briscoe or Noah Gragson), with 45 points. Annett could also clinch on points with a new winner and help. Annett has made 15 series starts at Dover, collecting one top five and two top 10s. His average finish at Monster Mile is 13.1. Annett currently sits in the final Playoff transfer position only 11 points ahead of ninth place John Hunter Nemechek.
The remaining four Playoff contenders outside the Xfinity Series postseason cutoff can clinch on points but will need a lot of help. A win is the only sure way they can guarantee their spot in the next round.
GMS Racing’s John H. Nemechek is currently ninth in the NASCR Xfinity Series Playoff standings 11 points back from eighth-place Michael Annett in the final postseason transfer position. Nemechek has made three previous starts at Dover, posting two top 10s; including his best finish at the track (eighth) earlier this season.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones is 10th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs, 11 points back from eighth-place Michael Annett in the final Round of 8 transfer position. Jones has made seven series starts at Dover posting one pole and three top-10 finishes; including his career-best finish at the track (sixth) in this race last season.
RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg is 11th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs, 37 points back from eighth-place Michael Annett in the final Round of 8 transfer position. Sieg has made 11 series starts at Dover putting up an average finish of 15.9. He finished a career-best 11th at Dover earlier this season.
Kaulig Racing’s Justin Haley is 12th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs, 39 points back from eighth-place Michael Annett in the final Round of 8 transfer position. Haley made his series track debut at Dover earlier this season; he started 11th and finished 17th.
| 2019 Playoff Driver – 2019 Postseason Stats | ||||||||||
| Drivers | Starts | Wins | Top Fives | Top 10s | Poles | Laps Led | Laps Completed | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish | Rank |
| Christopher Bell | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 257 | 317 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 1 |
| Cole Custer | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 317 | 8.0 | 5.5 | 2 |
| Tyler Reddick | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 317 | 2.5 | 6.0 | 3 |
| Austin Cindric | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 317 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 4 |
| Justin Allgaier | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 317 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 5 |
| Chase Briscoe | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 317 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 6 |
| Noah Gragson | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 317 | 10.0 | 6.0 | 7 |
| Michael Annett | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 317 | 16.5 | 12.0 | 8 |
| John H. Nemechek | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 316 | 26.0 | 11.0 | 9 |
| Brandon Jones | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 317 | 13.0 | 13.5 | 10 |
| Ryan Sieg | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 315 | 19.0 | 21.0 | 11 |
| Justin Haley | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 310 | 8.0 | 24.0 |
NASCAR PR
