Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger got his second win of the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season last weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, which means for the drivers without a win, they haven’t lost another spot up for grabs in the post-season.
Currently, there are still only 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. Daniel Hemric jumped back up to sixth in the standings and is the highest ranked driver without a win right now. He’s 128 points above the cutline so his points cushion is strong but if bad luck continues to strike for him, he might lose the gap.
Hemric and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Harrison Burton are tied with a 128-point cushion, but Hemric owns the tiebreaker due to best finishes this season.
Their Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Brandon Jones has been improving in the last few weeks. He had been sitting in the final Playoff transfer spot after a couple bad finished but has made his way up to ninth. Justin Haley is still sitting in eighth, the only Kaulig Racing driver without a win so far this season.
Noah Gragson has been up and down all season but is currently in the final Playoff transfer spot, 15 points above the cutline. He has had a handful of bad results, including last weekend at Mid-Ohio where he didn’t even make it one lap around the track, but is hoping he can swing the pendulum back to the positive this weekend at Texas.
Brandon Brown is in 13th in the standings, 15 points below the cutline right now. He’s had a career season and has been above the cutline as well as below. If he stays consistent, he’ll be able to jump back above the cutline. Riley Herbst and Ryan Sieg are sitting in 14th and 15th, respectively. The two have been running up front more regularly now and are fighting their way into the top 12.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Driver Playoff Outlook Following Mid-Ohio:
| Rank | Driver | Points | Starts | Race Wins | Stage Wins | Playoff Pts | Pts From Cutoff |
| 1 | Austin Cindric | 558 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 20 | In On Wins |
| 2 | AJ Allmendinger | 462 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 13 | |
| 3 | Justin Allgaier | 395 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 11 | |
| 4 | Jeb Burton | 419 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| 5 | Myatt Snider | 321 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| 6 | Daniel Hemric | 437 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 128 |
| 7 | Harrison Burton | 437 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 128 |
| 8 | Justin Haley | 401 | 12* | 0 | 3 | 3 | 92 |
| 9 | Brandon Jones | 345 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 36 |
| 10 | Jeremy Clements | 334 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| 11 | Michael Annett | 326 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| 12 | Noah Gragson | 324 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 15 |
| 13 | Brandon Brown | 309 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -15 |
| 14 | Riley Herbst | 279 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -45 |
| 15 | Ryan Sieg | 244 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -80 |
| 16 | Landon Cassill | 223 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -101 |
| 17 | Alex Labbe | 206 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -118 |
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.
