Analysis: XFINITY Series playoff race impacted by Clements’ win
Brad Norman
Stacy Revere | Getty Images
RELATED: XFINITY Series playoff standings
Jeremy Clements' win Sunday at Road America had it all -- it had late contact, was a massive upset (one of the biggest in NASCAR history, in fact) and also had major playoff implications.
For Clements, he's got a stranglehold on one of 12 playoff berths for the NASCAR XFINITY Series playoffs. A win does that for a driver.
Other drivers on the bubble, though, saw their somewhat comfortable road become much rockier now that Clements, who is 17th in the regular-season standings, has grabbed an unexpected playoff berth.
MORE: Vote: Biggest upset ever?
Here's what to know:
THE FIELD
Here is what the XFINITY Series playoff field would look like if the playoffs started today. We've handed out all bonus points for victories and stage wins, and the appropriate bonuses for final regular-season rankings as the standings sit post-Road America.
Rank
Driver
Projected points
1.
William Byron
2,027
2.
Elliott Sadler
2,020
3.
Justin Allgaier
2,016
4.
Daniel Hemric
2,008
5.
Brennan Poole
2,007
6.
Ryan Reed
2,006
7.
Jeremy Clements
2,005
8.
Cole Custer
2,005
9.
Blake Koch
2,005
10.
Matt Tifft
2,004
11.
Michael Annett
2,002
12.
Brendan Gaughan
2,001
BUBBLE WATCH
The battle for the final spot, currently occupied by Brendan Gaughan, is one to watch over the final three regular-season races. Here's who to monitor:
• Blake Koch. He's two spots above the cutoff line, but only holds a 26-point edge.
• Michael Annett. The second-to-last driver leads the first driver out by 11 points.
• Brendan Gaughan. The Las Vegas native is a scant four points above Dakoda Armstrong for the final playoff position.
• Dakoda Armstrong: From comfortably in to first driver out, his fortunes changed drastically with Clements winning. He trails Gaughan by just four points, though.