Youth Dominate Xfinity Series Tight Point Standings

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Ty Dillon, driver of the #3 Yeungling Light Chevrolet, sits in his car during practice for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Drive To Stop Diabetes 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 17, 2015 Photo - Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Ty Dillon, driver of the #3 Yeungling Light Chevrolet, sits in his car during practice for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Drive To Stop Diabetes 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 17, 2015 Photo – Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

The NASCAR XFINITY Series’ top-five in points has average age of 21.2, but that’s only half the story. Just 22 points separate first to fifth in the championship standings, and the competition levels keep rising.

Heading into the seventh race of the season, Richard Childress Racing’s Ty Dillon leads the standings by two points over Roush Fenway Racing’s Chris Buescher in second. Not far behind Dillon in third-place is the 2014 series champ Chase Elliott (-11 points from the lead), fourth-place Darrell Wallace Jr. (-15) and fifth-place Ryan Reed (-22).

All five young stars have kicked 2015 off right, but Dillon has had the strongest start to his season; in six races he has posted two top-fives, four top-tens and an average finish 7.7.  Buescher also has been a force this season posting three top-fives, four top-tens and an average finish of 8.0. But as of late 19-year-old Chase Elliott is proving his rookie success was not a fluke. Following the season opener at Daytona, where Elliott finished 38th due to an accident, he has climbed from 20th in points to third thanks to five consecutive top-ten finishes. Among the championship contenders Elliott, leads in season-to-date driver rating (100.0).

The top three are hot but don’t forget rookie standout Darrell Wallace Jr. has posted two top-tens and an average finish of 10.5 this season. Also his Roush Fenway Racing teammate Ryan Reed won the season opener at Daytona and has an average finish 11.8.

Among the top-five in points Ty Dillon has the best record at Bristol Motor Speedway. The 23-year-old, Dillon has made three starts at Bristol posting three top-tens and an average finish of 5.6 (the best among active drivers). This will be Darrell Wallace Jr.’s series début at Bristol, but the remaining drivers in the top-five in points have posted the following average finishes at Bristol – Buescher (11.0), Elliott (6.0), and Reed (23.6).