NASCAR XFINITY Series teams will race 300 miles during 200 laps in the Hisense 4K TV 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 28th. Television Coverage starts at 2 pm ET on FOX Sports 1 with a green flag around 2:30 pm ET. Radio Coverage is available on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
Sadler’s Slight Points Lead Not Enough to Get Comfortable
JR Motorsports knew it was getting a solid veteran when it signed Elliott Sadler for 2016.
With ten races in the books and the NASCAR XFINITY Series standings lead, solid might’ve been an understatement.
Sadler holds a three points advantage over second-place Daniel Suárez, but knows that buffer is not exactly comfortable as the series heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway for Saturday’s Hisense 4K TV 300.
Sadler’s average finish through ten starts is 6.6 – tied with Suárez as top the series. Sadler has one win (Talladega), four top fives and nine top-tens. In season-to-date loop data, he is sixth in average running position (9.2) and fifth in Driver Rating (99.8).
Early in Sadler’s career he struggled at Charlotte, but as of late he has found his groove on the 1.5-mile speedway, posting six top-tens in his last nine starts. He finished ninth in this event last season.
Dillon/RCR Look at Becoming Third Driver/Team to Win Three Straight Races at Charlotte
Rising star and former series champion Austin Dillon dominated Charlotte Motor Speedway last season, sweeping both races from the Coors Light Pole. The feat impressed many and now gives Dillon and Richard Childress Racing the opportunity at becoming just the third driver and third team in series history to win three consecutive races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Dillon can put himself in rare company if he can win this weekend at Charlotte. He would become the third driver to win three consecutive races at CMS, joining 1989 XFINITY Series champion Rob Moroso (Fall 198, both races of 1989) and Mark Martin (Fall of 1995, both races of 1996).
Dillon has made six series starts at Charlotte, recording two wins, three top fives, four top-tens and an average finish of 5.8. Dillon also owns three poles at the famed 1.5-mile track.
Richard Childress Racing has entered four drivers this weekend at CMS: Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon, Brandon Jones and Brendan Gaughan. If any of the four were to win at Charlotte on Saturday, Richard Childress Racing would become the third team in series history to win three consecutive races at CMS, joining Moroso Performance (Fall 1988, both races of 1989) and Roush Fenway Racing (Fall of 1995, both races of 1996).
Rookie Erik Jones has a Lot to Smile About Lately
Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Erik Jones has showcased his talents over the past several weeks. The Byron, Michigan native jumped two spots in the XFINITY Series points following his win at Dover International Speedway.
In ten starts this year, he has two victories (Bristol and Dover) and two Dash 4 Cash wins totaling $200,000 of bonus money. Plus, the 19 year-old is virtually locked into the XFINITY Series Chase and has six Chase bonus points due to his multiple wins, provided he stays in the top-30 in points and qualifies for the remaining events.
“Charlotte has been a place where I’ve run fairly well myself and JGR has always run well,” Jones said. “We’ll see as the week goes on, but I think our mile-and-a-half program has been pretty stout this year everywhere we’ve gone, no matter what mile-and-a-half it may be.”
Jones has made two starts at Charlotte, posting one top five and an average finish of 8.5.
Assuming Jones continues his streak of success this weekend at Charlotte wouldn’t be foolish. He holds the second-best average finish on 1.5-mile tracks this season – an astounding 2.7.
North Carolina Natives Aplenty this Weekend
Eight drivers with their home state recorded as North Carolina are on the entry list this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the XFINITY Series: Ty Dillon (Welcome), Austin Dillon (Welcome), Morgan Shepherd (Ferguson), Harrison Rhodes (High Point), Ryan Blaney (High Point), Drew Herring (Benson), Cody Ware (Greensboro) and Carl Long (Roxboro).
Of the eight entered, Austin Dillon (2015 sweep) is the only active North Carolina driver to win at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the series.
JGR’s Suárez Must Keep the Heat on the Standings Leader
With just three points separating himself from the XFINITY Series standings lead, 2015 Sunoco Rookie of the Year Daniel Suárez needs to keep the heat on veteran Elliott Sadler to close the points gap between first and second.
In ten starts, Suárez has posted four top-fives, nine top-tens and an average finish of 6.6. In season-to-date loop data Suárez leads the series in Average Running Position (6.7) and is second in Driver Rating (106.9).
Charlotte provides the perfect stage for Suárez to catapult ahead of Sadler in the points. Suárez has made two starts at CMS, logging one top-five, two top-tens and an average finish of 5.0.
Chase Bubble: 16 Races to Go Until Cutoff
As the XFINITY Series rolls into Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend, the competitors know there are just 16 races left in the regular season. The seven-race XFINITY Series Chase will begin at Kentucky Speedway on Sept. 24, and feature 12 drivers and two elimination rounds, with four drivers competing in the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
A win in the first 26 races all but guarantees a driver entry into the XFINITY Series Chase, provided the driver is in the top-30 in points and has attempted to qualify for each race. Drivers who win two Dash 4 Cash bonuses are also all but guaranteed a Chase berth.
Below are a look at the drivers teetering on the XFINITY Series Chase bubble after ten races:
- Jeb Burton (+17) – No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford Mustang – Burton’s season has been a mix of ups and downs. Burton sits 11th in the standings after posting one top-ten and eight top-20 finishes.
- Ryan Sieg (+10) – No. 39 RSS Racing Chevrolet Camaro – Sieg’s currently the last driver eligible for the 2016 XFINITY Series Chase as he is ten points ahead of 13th-place Blake Koch. Sieg’s success this season is building on consistency. In ten starts this season, he has posted one top-ten and seven top-20 finishes. He also has two top-ten starts this season.
- Blake Koch (-10) – No. 11 Kaulig Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro – Koch is the first driver on the outside of the XFINITY Series Chase cutoff line looking in. Koch is 13th in the standings just ten points behind 12th. Koch’s season started strong, but an accident at Texas knocked him outside the top-12 and he is trying to rebound ever since. In ten starts, Koch has posted two top-tens and six top-20s.
A Few Truck Men: Gallagher, Custer Sampling Some XFINITY Series
Two of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ rising stars, Cole Custer and Spencer Gallagher, will be strapping into cars this Saturday and competing in the Hisense 4K TV 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Custer will wrangle the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro this weekend in his second career start in the XFINITY Series. Custer’s series debut came a few weeks back at Richmond International Raceway, where he drove the JR Motorsports No. 5 from 17th to a sixth-place finish.
Custer has made only one NASCAR national series start at Charlotte Motor Speedway – last weekend in the Camping World Truck Series race – where he started 16th and finished 13th.
GMS Racing has tapped Spencer Gallagher to drive their No. 21 Chevrolet Camaro this weekend at CMS. Gallagher has made three starts in the XFINITY Series this season, posting a best finish of 17th (Richmond). This weekend will also be Gallagher’s series debut at Charlotte. Like Custer, Gallagher competed in the Truck Series race at Charlotte last weekend, starting second and finishing sixth.
Noteworthy in the XFINITY Series
XFINITY Series in North Carolina: There have been 796 NASCAR national series races (NSCS, 522; NXS, 187; NCWTS, 18) held in the state of North Carolina. The 187 XFINITY Series races held in NC have been on seven different tracks: Charlotte Motor Speedway (68), Rockingham Speedway (42), Hickory Speedway (42), Orange County Speedway (27), North Wilkesboro Speedway (four), Caraway Speedway (three) and Asheville Speedway (one). The first NASCAR national series race in North Carolina was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Charlotte Speedway (dirt track) on June 19, 1949 when Jim Roper (Lincoln) won. The first XFINITY Series race held in North Carolina was on April 10, 1982 at Hickory Speedway in Hickory, North Carolina and the winner was Jack Ingram (Pontiac).
XFINITY Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway: The XFINITY Series has held 68 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The first NXS race at CMS was held on May 29, 1982 and won by Harry Gant (Pontiac). Four-hundred-sixty-seven drivers have made at least one start in the series at Charlotte Motor Speedway; 56 of the 467 made their first series career start at CMS. Thirty-two different drivers have won at CMS in the NXS, led by Kyle Busch with eight victories. Eight drivers tallied their first series win at CMS (none are active).
North Carolina Drivers in NASCAR: A total of 439 drivers who have made at least one NASCAR national series start have their home state recorded as North Carolina. Of the 439 North Carolina drivers, only 29 have won in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, led by Richard Petty with 200 victories (series-most). Out of the 439, only 109 have competed in the XFINITY Series. Of the 109 North Carolina drivers who have competed in the XFINITY Series, 21 have visited Victory Lane, led by Jack Ingram with 31 wins. Six North Carolina drivers have won at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the XFINITY Series: Harry Gant, four wins (Taylorsville); Dale Earnhardt, three wins (Kannapolis); Austin Dillon, two wins (Welcome); Dale Jarrett, two wins (Hickory); Phil Parsons, one win (Denver) and Sam Ard, one win (Asheboro). Five NXS champions are from North Carolina: 2013 champ Austin Dillon (Welcome), 2003 champ Brian Vickers (Thomasville), two-time series champ (1998-1999) Dale Earnhardt Jr., 1982 and 1985 champ Jack Ingram (Asheville) and 1983-1984 champ Sam Ard (Asheboro).