Where the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff Contenders Stand After the Race at Texas

NASCAR Xfinity Series action shifted to Texas Motor Speedway earlier in the day. The second Round of 8 playoff race saw Harrison Burton edge past Noah Gragson off Turn 4 of the final lap to win the race.

Chase Briscoe is already in the championship race at Phoenix after the win at Kansas last week. Burton’s win, however, does not count for much considering he was already ousted from the playoffs in the Round of 12. What that does is that it throws the race wide open going into Martinsville.

Anthony Alfredo, who was running his last race for Richard Childress Racing, finished third. Austin Cindric, along with Brandon Brown, completed the Top-5.

Briscoe, who led the starting lineup, could not repeat the performance from Kansas and finished 24th. Brandon Jones, Justin Allgaier, and Ryan Sieg had a relatively tough outing and ended the race 25th, 26th, and 31st respectively.

Austin Cindric currently stands with 14 points above the cutline, Justin Allgaier with 8 points, and Justin Haley, 4 points. They are the only three drivers in a transfer spot going into next weekend’s Round of 8 race at Martinsville Speedway.

On the other hand, there are four drivers that find themselves outside a transfer spot. They are Brandon Jones, 4 points below the cutline, Ross Chastain, 15 points below, Noah Gragson, 24 points below, and Ryan Sieg with 43 points below the cutline.

NASCAR Xfinity Series Race and what happened With Noah Gragson

The Xfinity races starting lineup are usually set using a specific formula that revolves around the owner’s points position, owner’s final race position, the finish, and fastest lap recorded from the most recently completed race.

Noah Gragson, who lead the starting lineup at Kansas, saw a potential change in fate at Texas. He was well on his way to taking the white flag to seal a spot in the championship 4, however, Burton went past him to steal a much-needed victory.

“I don’t know,” Gragson said. “In Turn 3 you’re on top of the world and the next thing you know you feel like a POS.”

Next week’s race at Martinsville Speedway leaves Gragson with a final chance to qualify for the race at Phoenix. A win is what he desperately requires and anything less than that puts his qualification in jeopardy.

The race at Martinsville is going to be all-important, with 3 spots still up for grabs. Chase Briscoe already has his qualification tension out of the way and will be focusing solely on the race at Phoenix. Meanwhile, Gragson will have to forget his tough day out at Texas and look for a turnaround, and a possible place in the Final 4.

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