With Kyle Busch’s victory at Circuit of the Americas in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, drivers fighting for their spot in the Playoffs luckily didn’t lose another chance to make their way in.
Currently, there are five drivers locked into the postseason with wins – Austin Cindric, Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, Jeb Burton and Myatt Snider.
That means there are seven spots left in the field to either make it in with a win or on points. After last weekend’s race at COTA, Harrison Burton jumped to sixth in the standings, making him the highest ranked driver without a win this season.
Daniel Hemric had occupied that spot for a majority of the season but after bad luck loomed over him and the No. 18 team again at COTA, he dropped to seventh. He still has a 141-point cushion between himself and the Playoff cutline.
Noah Gragson also had a rough day at COTA as he finished 36th because of an engine issue, completing only 13 laps. He’s in 10th in the Playoff standings, with a 59-point buffer.
Jeremy Clements is still the underdog story of the season in the Xfinity Series, sitting in ninth in the Playoff standings. His small, family-owned team has been above the cutline for the entire season so far (11 races). He’s moved up a few spots in recent weeks with a 60 point cushion between himself and the Playoff cutoff heading into Charlotte.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones is in the final transfer spot right now in 12th with Brandon Brown right behind him in 13th – the two separated by 26 points. The two drivers have gone back and forth each week for the final spot while Riley Herbst and Ryan Sieg are in 14th and 15th, respectively.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Driver Playoff Outlook Following COTA:
| Rank | Driver | Points | Starts | Race Wins | Stage Wins | Playoff Pts | Pts From Cutoff |
| 1 | Austin Cindric | 471 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 20 | In On Wins |
| 2 | Justin Allgaier | 359 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 11 | |
| 3 | AJ Allmendinger | 390 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 7 | |
| 4 | Jeb Burton | 345 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| 5 | Myatt Snider | 298 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| 6 | Harrison Burton | 394 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 152 |
| 7 | Daniel Hemric | 383 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 141 |
| 8 | Justin Haley | 330 | 10* | 0 | 2 | 2 | 88 |
| 9 | Jeremy Clements | 302 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 |
| 10 | Noah Gragson | 301 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 59 |
| 11 | Michael Annett | 279 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 |
| 12 | Brandon Jones | 268 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 26 |
| 13 | Brandon Brown | 242 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -26 |
| 14 | Riley Herbst | 227 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -41 |
| 15 | Ryan Sieg | 208 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -60 |
| 16 | Tommy Joe Martins | 187 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -81 |
| 17 | Landon Cassill | 182 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -86 |
Note: The (*) symbol by the number of Starts indicates a driver missed a race but is still eligible for the Playoffs due to receiving a waiver.
NASCAR Xfinity Series, Etc.
Manufacturer update after COTA: Chevrolet held onto their lead in the manufacturer standings this weekend with 411 points and six wins. Toyota got their second win of the season and jumped to the second position with 381 points. Ford is in third with three wins and 378 points, not far behind Toyota.
Best Buy sponsoring Ryan Vargas: JD Motorsports with Gary Keller announced that longtime sponsor Best Buy is returning to NASCAR with Ryan Vargas for Saturday’s race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Swann Security will also join the partnership. Swann announced a four-race deal with Vargas at the beginning of the season. They will team up to showcase their latest camera security systems that are available exclusively at Best Buy. Best Buy will be prominently featured on the quarter panels of the No. 4 Chevrolet with a red, white and blue theme with stars across the front of the car to commemorate Memorial Day. This will be Vargas’ first career start at the Charlotte track.
