RELATED: XFINITY playoff standings | Full schedule for Richmond
The NASCAR XFINITY Series playoff picture is bearing down toward a pivotal point, with just half of the 12 preseason berths locked in. Friday night’s 250-lapper at Richmond Raceway should go a long way toward deciding the complexion of the season’s final stretch.
Playoff hopefuls have the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM) — the last short-track race of the XFINITY season — circled as an opportunity for championship eligibility. The playoff picture stands to gain a measure of clarity with just one other regular-season race (Sept. 16 at Chicagoland) on the schedule.
William Byron, Justin Allgaier, Ryan Reed, Elliott Sadler, Brennan Poole and Daniel Hemric are the only certified clinchers heading into Richmond. Six others — Jeremy Clements, Cole Custer, Matt Tifft, Blake Koch, Michael Annett and Brendan Gaughan — are provisionally in.
Clements’ situation is unique. He is the only XFINITY Series regular with a victory (Road America on Aug. 27) who has not yet met the other requirement for postseason eligibility. He sits 17th in the series standings, needing to maintain a spot among the top 20 to secure his spot. A finish of 20th or better Friday would secure Clements’ reservation.
The most dubious grip on a provisional playoff spot belongs to Gaughan, currently occupying the 12th and final berth, with just a 20-point gap separating him from 13th-place Dakoda Armstrong. Annett ranks a scant three points ahead of Gaughan, placing him in a similarly fragile spot.
Though Sadler has no uncertainty about his playoff standing, he has plenty of extra motivation to perform well in his home state. Sadler — still seeking his first win of 2017 — leads the series standings with a 91-point edge over his JR Motorsports teammate Byron and a 119-point cushion over third-place Allgaier, another JRM driver.
If Sadler leaves Richmond with a 61-point edge in hand, he’ll clinch the regular-season championship. That achievement includes a 15-point bounty in his playoff-point column, a tidy advantage for the seven-race postseason.