NASCAR XFINITY Series teams are racing 300 miles over 200 laps in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, November 5th at 3:30 pm ET. Television coverage is on NBC with radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

 

What to Watch For: Texas marks the penultimate race of the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase Round of 8. Elliott Sadler (12 points above Erik Jones on the cutoff line) leads the Chase Grid, followed by Daniel Suarez (+12), Blake Koch (+5), Justin Allgaier (0, currently holds tiebreaker over Erik Jones), Erik Jones (0), Ryan Reed (-2), Brendan Gaughan (-17) and Darrell Wallace Jr. (-18).

The Round of 8 drivers’ career average finishes at Texas: Erik Jones (2.3), Elliott Sadler (12.1), Justin Allgaier (12.5), Daniel Suarez (13.3), Darrell Wallace Jr. (13.3), Ryan Reed (16.2), Brendan Gaughan (19.4) and Blake Koch (31.5). Jones is the lone Chase contender who has won at Texas Motor Speedway (2015).

Back At It: The NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase Recommences At Texas

Following a two-week hiatus, the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase returns to action this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge

Just two races remain (Texas and Phoenix) in the Round of 8 to clinch a spot in the Championship 4 and a shot at the 2016 title in Miami.  Elliott Sadler, Daniel Suarez, Blake Koch and Justin Allgaier currently have accumulated enough points to be in the top-four in the Chase standings and are in position to move on.

Erik Jones, Ryan Reed, Brendan Gaughan and Darrell Wallace Jr. are currently in Chase positions five through eight and, unless they win at Texas or Phoenix in the next two weeks or move into the top-four in the Chase standings, they will be eliminated from the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase.

A win is the only thing that will guarantee one of the eight remaining Chase contenders a spot in Championship 4. Of those drivers, Erik Jones (2015) is the only one that has won at Texas Motor Speedway.  Of the eight contenders, Jones also had the highest finish at Texas earlier this season when he crossed the line second.

Here are the Round of 8 drivers career average finish at Texas: Erik Jones (2.3), Elliott Sadler (12.1), Justin Allgaier (12.5), Daniel Suarez (13.3), Darrell Wallace Jr. (13.3), Ryan Reed (16.2), Brendan Gaughan (19.4) and Blake Koch (31.5).

Round Of 8: Nobody Is Safe From Elimination

None of the eight drivers are safe from elimination as the NASCAR XFINITY Series heads to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge.

Why, you ask?

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver, Kyle Busch, played spoiler at Kansas and edged out NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase contenders for the win. With none of the Chase drivers locked into the Championship 4, tensions will be running high over these next two weeks.

Elliott Sadler (3,039) is currently tied with second-place Daniel Suarez in the Round of 8 Chase standings following Kansas, but Sadler holds the tiebreaker of a higher-finish during the current round with his second-place finish to Suarez’s third. Sadler looks poised to make his way into the Championship 4, in his first four races of the seven-race NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase, he has posted an average finish of 3.0 – second-best among Chase drivers.

Sadler has made 17 series starts at Texas Motor Speedway posting ten top-tens; including five top-ten finishes in his last six races at TMS.

Daniel Suarez (3,039) can not only see the Championship 4 out his windshield but also the title as he sits tied with Elliott Sadler for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase standings lead with three races remaining in the season. Suarez has been ascending in talent from the moment he stepped into one of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Toyotas. He leads the all Chase contenders in average finish (2.25) over the first four races of the Chase – his lowest finish thus far in the Chase has been third. Plus, he is on an eight race top-ten streak dating back to Road America in August. Suarez rolls into Texas having made only three starts at the 1.5-mile facility.  Though he has struggled in the spring races, last season’s Sunoco Rookie of the Year posted his best-finish (sixth) at TMS in this event.

“(Crew Chief) Scott (Graves) and I have had some really productive meetings this week and I think we have a great game plan for the weekend (at Texas),” said Chase contender Daniel Suarez. “We are as focused as ever as a team to get a good finish and do everything we can the next two weeks to make it to the Championship 4 at Homestead.”

Blake Koch (3,032) is one of the biggest surprises in 2016.  Kaulig Racing’s No. 11 Chevrolet Camaro team, led by crew chief Chris Rice, proudly stand third in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase Round of 8 following driver Blake Koch’s fourth top-ten of the season. With two races to go in the Round of 8 and a current spot in the Championship 4, Kaulig Racing is now looking to become the first single-car team to win a NASCAR XFINITY Series title in almost 18 years. The last single-car team to win a NASCAR XFINITY Series title was Dale Earnhardt Inc.’s No. 3 Chevrolet team in 1998. DEI scaled their two-car team back to a single-car team in 1998 to focus on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s first series title. DEI resumed a multi-car team operation the following season. Note: The next single-car team to win a NASCAR XFINITY Series championship before 1998 was BACE Motorsports No. 74 Chevrolet team owned by William Baumgardner with driver Johnny Benson in 1995 (over 20 years ago).

Koch will be looking to echo his Kansas performance at Texas this week.  Earlier this season a mid-race accident relegated the No. 11 Chevrolet team to a 34th-place finish at Texas. But the team will be looking for another solid result because Koch has posted the fourth-best average finish (11.5) among Chase contenders over the first four races of the 2016 Chase.

Justin Allgaier (3,027) is currently tied with fifth-place Erik Jones in the Round of 8 NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase standings, but Allgaier holds the tiebreaker of higher-finish in the current round after he edged Jones out at Kansas with a 14th-place to Jones’s 15th-place finish.  Allgaier and crew chief Jason Burdett have been riding the wave of consistency all season (24 top-tens), and their average finish of 8.0 over the first four races of the Chase have them Championship 4 bound. Expect Allgaier to post a solid finish at Texas this weekend, in five of his last seven starts at the famed 1.5-mile speedway he has posted a top-ten finish; including earlier this season where he started 23rd and finished sixth.

The Outsiders: Chase Contenders On The Verge Of Elimination

Two races remain in the Round of 8 in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase making this weekend’s performance at Texas pivotal if the following four drivers want to move on to the Championship 4.

Erik Jones (3,027) has lacked consistency this season and therefore finds himself on the verge of elimination with two races to go in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase. Though the Joe Gibbs Racing Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate leads the Chase contenders in wins this season with four, he also leads them in DNFs with four, which now has his back against the wall for the second time in the elimination-style Chase format. Jones can’t afford a mistake over the next few weeks, but luckily for him Texas (2.3 career average finish) and Phoenix (4.0 career average finish) are some of his best tracks. Plus, Jones is the only Chase contender that has won at Texas.

“After a few weeks off, I’m really looking forward to getting to Texas this weekend and putting ourselves in position to compete for the Championship in Miami,” said Erik Jones. “Texas is a track I really enjoy and have had success in both the Truck Series and XFINITY Series. It’s a fun place, a place where we can put on a show for the fans and that makes it a lot of fun for the drivers.”

Ryan Reed (3,025) will need to find some speed in the next few races to make it into the Championship 4; his average finish of 12.0 (fifth-best among Chase contenders) won’t cut it if he wants to advance. Reed is just two points behind Allgaier and Jones along the Chase cutoff line, so moving on to the Championship 4 is definitely doable. Reed has made five series starts at Texas posting an average finish of 16.2. He posted his best-career finish at Texas (14th) earlier this season.

Brendan Gaughan (3,010) is currently seventh in the Chase standings, 17 points back from Justin Allgaier in fourth place. Following Gaughan’s dismal performance at Kansas that saw him spinning through the infield on the way to a 31st-place finish, he and the No. 62 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro team will look to Texas to rebound. Gaughan has posted an average finish of 14.8 over the first four races the seven race NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase (sixth-best among Chase contenders). Gaughan has made nine starts at Texas posting an average finish 19.4. He finished 12th at Texas in his last two starts at the 1.5-mile track.

Darrell Wallace Jr. (3,009) sits at the bottom of the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase Round of 8 point standings barrel. With two races remaining in the Round of 8, Wallace is nearing a must-win situation following a DNF at Kansas. A total of 18 points separate Wallace and fourth-place Justin Allgaier just above the Chase cutoff line. Wallace has struggled the first four races of the 2016 Chase posting just one top-ten finish (Kentucky). Heading to Texas this weekend, a track Wallace has made three starts at posting one top-ten and an average finish of 13.3.

Texas Natives In the Field – Chip Ganassi Racing’s Brennan Poole from The Woodlands, Texas will be driving the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Poole will be joined by fellow Texan, David Starr, who will be driving the No. 93 Chevrolet Camaro for RSS Racing. Starr is from Houston, Texas.

Double Dippers – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Austin Dillon, Matt DiBenedetto, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick are all entered to compete in this weekend’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge.

Several NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers will also be attempting to participate in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge – Matt Tifft, Austin Theriault, and Timmy Hill.

Defending Race Winner Returns – Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski has been tapped this weekend to drive the No. 22 Ford Mustang at Texas. Keselowski won this event the last two times he competed in it (2013 and 2015). In 17 series starts at Texas, Keselowski has posted an average finish of 9.8. In the car owner Chase, the No. 22 team is currently fourth in the standings, two points ahead of fifth-place JR Motorsports No. 88 team.

Milestones – Kevin Harvick will attempt to post his 250th NASCAR XFINITY Series top-ten finish this weekend at Texas. Harvick leads the series in top-tens all-time.

Elliott Sadler (175) can tie Tommy Houston (176) for the series’ fourth-most top-ten finishes all-time with a top-ten this weekend at Texas.