Brendan Gaughan, the driver of the #62 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet, signs autographs during qualifying for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Zippo 200 at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 5, 2017, in Watkins Glen, New York. Photo – Sean Gardner/Getty Images

If Brendan Gaughan qualifies for the XFINITY Series playoff, the month of August likely will play a large part in his success.

Three of the next four XFINITY races take place on road courses, broken up only by a short-track event at Bristol. But this weekend’s Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International, followed by trips to Mid-Ohio (Aug. 12) and Road America (Aug. 27 after Bristol) are the events that have Gaughan’s attention.

In qualifying for last year’s playoff, Gaughan finished eighth at Watkins Glen and Mid-Ohio before posting a runner-up finish at Road America. The latter two races were settled in the rain.

“Everybody knows I love me my road racing,” said Gaughan, who drives the No. 62 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. “I circle this month at the start of the season and say, ‘This is what I look forward to.’ I love starting it at Watkins Glen. I love Mid-Ohio. Road America, of course, one of my favorites in the country.

“This month to me is one of the coolest months of racing NASCAR’s ever come up with. If it rains, that doesn’t bother me much at all. I will be very, very happy if it rains.”

Gaughan, 41, is now 12th in the series standings, squarely on the playoff bubble.