NASCAR XFINITY Series teams will race 300 miles over 200 laps in the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday, September 24th at 8 pm ET. Television coverage on NBC Sports Network begins at 7:30 pm ET with radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
What to Watch For: Twelve drivers will compete for the championship in the inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase.
Regular season points leader Elliott Sadler embarks on his quest for his first career NASCAR national series championship. He finished second in the XFINITY Series standings in 2012 and 2013. Sadler is the only driver to earn a berth in both the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup (2004) and the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase (2016).
Chase driver Brendan Gaughan won at Kentucky in 2014.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Ryan Blaney takes the wheel of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford. He is the defending race winner.
Inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase Commences at Kentucky
Anticipate no more, because the seven-race NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase begins at Kentucky Speedway this weekend, featuring 12 drivers and two elimination rounds, narrowing down to four drivers competing in the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The first round, called the Round of 12, consists of the races at Kentucky, Dover and Charlotte. All drivers will start with their points adjusted to 2,000, with three additional bonus points added to their total for each win in the first 26 races. If a driver wins a race in the Round of 12, the driver automatically advances to the next round. The remaining available positions (1-8) that have not been filled by wins will be filled on points.
Each driver who advances to the Round of 8 (Kansas, Texas, Phoenix) then will have their points reset to 3,000. Drivers who win a race in the Round of 8 automatically advance to the Championship 4. The remaining available positions (1-4) that have not been filled by wins will be filled on points.
The four drivers who advance to the Championship 4 at Homestead will have their points reset to 4,000. The highest finishing Championship 4 driver will be crowned the NASCAR XFINITY Series champion.
Gibbs Teammates Jones and Suárez Embark on NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Erik Jones and Daniel Suárez should be considered among the drivers to beat for the NASCAR XFINITY Series championship.
During a Tuesday media availability at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, both described the challenges of racing as teammates, but also as individual competitors, when the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase playoffs kick off Saturday with the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 at Kentucky Speedway.
“The teammate deal is always tough in racing and it’s been tough since racing’s been around,” said Jones, who leads XFINITY Series regulars with four wins this season. “So there’s times when you have to race like teammates and there’s times you have to race like competitors and you can’t be teammates at times. It’s a tough balance for sure, but it’s also nice when you go to the race track and have other drivers to lean on and you can get information from them and better each other.”
Suárez didn’t agree with Jones’ sentiments, but didn’t totally dismiss them either.
“I don’t really agree with what Erik just mentioned,” said the 24-year-old Mexican, who has one win and 20 top-10 finishes this season. “I think it’s very helpful through the practice and qualifying having all that extra information of a good teammate to try to put a good race car together for the race. He just mentioned it though, it’s hard to balance that because both of us want to race hard for wins, but at the same time we have to take care of ourselves to not wreck each other. I think both of us have a shot to be competitive every single weekend of the Chase and hopefully both of us can make it to Homestead and have some fun in the second half of the race.”
Jones and Suárez should start the Chase off well. In the July race at Kentucky, Suárez finished third, while Jones placed fourth. Jones was leading the race on the next-to-last restart on lap 180-of-201 when he failed to keep pace with the pace car, forcing him to fall back to third before the race resumed.
“Hopefully we’re in the same position where we’re up front and challenging for a win and we can get a win early on (in the Chase),” Jones said. “But Kentucky is a place I like. I really liked the old surface a lot, but I really like the new surface as well. It was pretty good to us earlier this year, so I expect to be pretty good.”
NASCAR XFINITY Series Chasers in The Bluegrass State
Twelve NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase drivers will launch the Chase this weekend at Kentucky Speedway in the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 (Saturday, Sept. 24, 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN). Below is a look at each of this season’s Chase contenders and how they have performed at Kentucky Speedway (ordered by seeding).
- Erik Jones – No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry – is 20 years old out of Byron, Michigan. In 26 starts this season he has posted seven poles (series record), four wins (most rookie wins since Carl Edwards in 2005), 13 top fives and 16 top 10s. He has made three series starts at Kentucky, posting two top fives and an average finish of 4.7. Jones is one of three Sunoco rookies to make the Chase (Brennan Poole and Brandon Jones).
- Elliott Sadler – No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro – is 41 years old from Emporia, Virginia. In 26 starts this season he has posted two wins, ten top-fives and 23 top-tens (series most). Sadler has made 10 series starts at Kentucky, posting four top fives, seven top-tens and an average finish of 8.0.
- Daniel Suarez – No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry – is 24 years old from Monterrey, Mexico. Suarez was the 2015 Sunoco Rookie of the Year and a former graduate of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity and NASCAR Next programs. In 26 starts this season he has posted two poles, one win, 12 top-fives and 20 top-tens. Suarez has made three series starts at Kentucky, producing two top fives and an average finish of 10.0.
- Ty Dillon – No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro – is 24 years old from Welcome, North Carolina. In 26 starts this season Dillon has posted one pole, seven top-fives and 14 top-tens. Dillon has made five series starts at Kentucky, posting two top-fives, four top-tens with an average finish of 6.8.
- Justin Allgaier – No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro – is 30 years old from Riverton, Illinois. In 26 starts this season Allgaier has posted 11 top-fives and 21 top-tens. Allgaier has made eight series starts at Kentucky, posting four top-tens and an average finish of 13.3.
- Darrell Wallace Jr – No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Mustang – is 22 years old from Mobile, Alabama. Wallace has made 26 starts this season producing three top-fives and eight top-tens. Wallace has made three starts at Kentucky, posting one top-five, three top-tens and an average finish of 7.0.
- Brendan Gaughan – No. 62 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro – is 41 years old from Las Vegas, Nevada. In 26 starts this season he has posted four top-fives and 13 top-tens. Kentucky is one of Gaughan best tracks. In eight series starts he has posted one win, four top-fives and seven top-tens. His average finish at Kentucky is 5.8.
- Brennan Poole – Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Camaro – is 25 years old from The Woodlands, Texas. Poole has posted four top-fives and 14 top-tens in 26 series starts this season. Poole has made three starts at Kentucky, posting one top-ten and an average finish of 17.7. Poole is one of three Sunoco Rookies to make the Chase (Erik Jones and Brandon Jones).
- Ryan Sieg – No. 39 Ryan Sieg Racing Chevrolet Camaro – is 29 years old from Tucker, Georgia. In 26 starts this season Sieg has posted one top-five and two top-tens. Sieg has made five series starts at Kentucky, producing an average finish of 18.6.
- Ryan Reed – No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Mustang – is 23 years old from Bakersfield, California. Reed has posted one top-five and four top-tens in 26 starts this season. Reed has made five starts at Kentucky, posting an average finish of 19.2.
- Brandon Jones – No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro – is 19 years old from Atlanta, Georgia. In 26 starts this season Jones has posted 11 top-tens. Jones has made two starts at Kentucky, posting one top five and average finish of 8.0. Jones is one of three Sunoco rookies to make the Chase (Brennan Poole and Erik Jones).
- Blake Koch – No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro – is 31 years old from West Palm Beach, Florida. Koch has made 26 starts this season posting three top 10s. At Kentucky, Koch has made nine starts, posting an average finish of 28.4.
2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase Insights
This season’s NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase is stocked full of great talent from the different competitors, teams, manufacturers and tracks that are involved this season. Below are some great insights about this season’s playoffs.
Chase Drivers: 12 different drivers are competing in three rounds for the NASCAR XFINITY Series title
The average age of the 2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase contenders is 27
The youngest 2016 Chase contender is Brandon Jones (19 years, 7 months, 6 days on race day Saturday, Sept 24)
The oldest 2016 Chase contender is Elliott Sadler (41 years, 4 months, 25 days on race day Saturday, Sept 24)
Two countries are represented in this season’s NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase – Mexico (Daniel Suarez) and the United States (other 11 competitors)
Ten different states are represented by the 2016 Chase contenders – Florida, California, Texas, Nevada, Illinois, Alabama, North Carolina, Michigan, Virginia and Georgia (two drivers)
Three Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidates have made the Chase this season – Erik Jones, Brandon Jones and Brennan Poole
Two NASCAR Drive for Diversity program graduates have made the 2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase – Darrell Wallace Jr. and Daniel Suarez
None of the 12 drivers in the 2016 Chase are former NASCAR XFINITY Series champions
Chase Organizations and Manufacturers: Seven organizations are represented in the 2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase – Richard Childress Racing (three drivers), Joe Gibbs Racing (two drivers), JR Motorsports (two drivers), Roush Fenway Racing (two drivers), Chip Ganassi Racing (one driver), Ryan Sieg Racing (one driver) and Kaulig Racing (one driver)
Three active manufacturers will be represented in this season’s Chase – Chevrolet Camaro (eight Chase contenders), Toyota Camry (two Chase contenders) and Ford Mustang (two Chase contenders)
Chase Tracks:
Round of 12
Kentucky Speedway – is located in Sparta, Kentucky and has hosted 20 series races since it joined the schedule in 2001. The track is a 1.5-mile speedway with 14 to 17 degrees of progressive banking in Turns 1 and 2 and 14 degrees of banking in Turns 3 and 4. Only one of the 12 Chase drivers has won at Kentucky – Brendan Gaughan (2014).
Dover International Speedway – is located in Dover, Delaware and has hosted 65 series races since it joined the schedule in 1982. The track is a 1-mile concrete oval with 24 degrees of banking in the turns. Only one of the 12 Chase drivers has won at Dover – Erik Jones (2016).
Charlotte Motor Speedway – is located Concord, North Carolina and has hosted 69 series races since it joined the schedule in 1982. The track is a 1.5-mile asphalt speedway with 24 degrees of banking in the turns. None of the 12 Chase contenders have won at Charlotte. Charlotte will serve as the first cutoff race in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase, reducing the Chase field from 12 to eight contenders.
Round of 8
Kansas Speedway – is located in Kansas City, Kansas and has hosted 15 series races since it joined the schedule in 2001. The track is a 1.5-mile asphalt speedway with progressive banking in the turns that varies from 17 to 20 degrees. None of the 12 contenders in the 2016 Chase have won at Kansas.
Texas Motor Speedway – is located in Fort Worth, Texas and has hosted 31 series races since it joined the schedule in 1997. The track is a 1.5-mile asphalt speedway with 24 degrees of banking in the turns. Only one of the 12 Chase contenders has won at Texas – Erik Jones (2015).
Phoenix International Raceway – is located in Avondale, Arizona and has hosted 29 series races since joining the schedule in 1999. The track is a 1-mile asphalt track that has 11 degrees of banking in Turns 1 and 2 and nine degrees of banking in Turns 3 and 4. None of the 12 Chase contenders have won at Phoenix.
Championship 4
Homestead-Miami Speedway – is located in Homestead, Florida and has hosted 21 series races since it joined the schedule in 1995. Homestead-Miami Speedway has been the home to the final race of the season since its first race in 1995. The highest finishing driver at Homestead among the Championship 4 contenders will win the 2016 title. The track is a 1.5-mile asphalt speedway with progressive banking in the turns that varies from 18 to 20 degrees. None of the 12 Chase contenders have won at Homestead.
Ladder System Works: New Talent Will Join the Series Full-time in 2017 – Next season you can count on seeing two new faces walking around the NASCAR XFINITY Series garage. Richard Childress Racing announced this past Saturday that current NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase contender Daniel Hemric will be driving full-time for the team in the NASCAR XFINITY Series in 2017. Also, a newly formed NASCAR XFINITY Series team for Stewart-Haas Racing will join the series in 2017 with up-and-coming NASCAR Camping World Truck Series star Cole Custer. Both new drivers plan to compete for the title in 2017.
NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase Media Day – The 12 Chase drivers hosted media this past Tuesday, Sept. 20 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame to kick off the inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase.
Penske Taps Blaney – While most of the attention this weekend will be focused on the 12 Chase drivers and their performances this weekend, one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver, Ryan Blaney, will attempt to play the role of spoiler. Blaney is the lone NSCS driver entered in this weekend’s NXS Chase race. Blaney will be driving the No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang. Blaney has made six starts at Kentucky, posting two wins (including his series first win), three top-fives, five top-tens and an average finish of 6.5.