NASCAR XFINITY Series Championship 4 Clinch Scenarios for Phoenix

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Daniel Suarez, driver of the #19 Juniper Networks Toyota, practices for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200 at Phoenix International Raceway on March 11, 2016 in Avondale, Arizona. Photo - Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Daniel Suarez, driver of the #19 Juniper Networks Toyota, practices for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200 at Phoenix International Raceway on March 11, 2016 in Avondale, Arizona. Photo – Sean Gardner/Getty Images

This weekend at Phoenix International Raceway, NASCAR XFINITY Series Round of 8 elimination begins with the Ticket Galaxy 200 on Saturday to decide who will qualify for the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Below are the clinch scenarios for these drivers.

Daniel Suarez (0 Wins, 3075 Points) – Would clinch on points with 26 Points (15th and no laps led, 15th and led at least one lap, 16th and led most laps). With a win, would clinch a spot on wins.

Elliott Sadler (0 Wins, 3074 Points) – Would clinch on points with 26 Points (15th and no laps led, 15th and led at least one lap, 16th and led most laps). With a win, would clinch a next round spot on wins.

Erik Jones (0 Wins, 3065 Points) – Would clinch on points with 36 Points (5th and no laps led, 6th and led at least one lap, 7th and led most laps).  With a win, would clinch a next round spot on wins.

Blake Koch (0 Wins, 3059 Points) – If there is a winner who has already been eliminated or is currently in a transfer spot, would clinch with a 2nd place finish.  With a win, would clinch a spot. Could clinch on points with a new winner and help.

The following drivers can only guarantee a spot with a win. Each could also clinch on points with help:

Justin Allgaier (0 Wins, 3058 Points)

Ryan Reed (0 Wins, 3054 Points)

Darrell Wallace Jr (0 Wins, 3039 Points)

Brendan Gaughan (0 Wins, 3036 Points)

Ryan Reed Remains within Striking Distance in XFINITY Series Chase after Texas

Ryan Reed, driver of the #16 Lilly Diabetes/American Diabetes Association Ford, stands on the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR XFINITY Series O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on November 5, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo - Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Ryan Reed, driver of the #16 Lilly Diabetes/American Diabetes Association Ford, stands on the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR XFINITY Series O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on November 5, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Ryan Reed and the No. 16 Lilly Diabetes/American Diabetes Association team earned a top-15 finish on Saturday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway, crossing the finish line in 12th.  The finish keeps Reed within striking distance in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) Chase approaching next weekend’s cutoff race at Phoenix International Raceway.

After two practice sessions on Friday, the NXS set the starting lineup with a three-round qualifying session on Saturday morning.  Reed made it past the first round of qualifying, but with just a handful of seconds left in the second round was bumped from the top-12 and ultimately earned a 13th-place starting position. Continue reading

Larson Holds Off Keselowski for NASCAR XFINITY Series Win at Texas

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Grabbing the lead after a restart on lap 171 of 200, Kyle Larson moved to the top of the track just in time to hold off polesitter Brad Keselowski for the victory in Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway.

In a race that saw Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez open some breathing room in the inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase with respective fourth- and fifth-place finishes, Larson got a push from sixth-place finisher Elliott Sadler on the decisive restart and kept Keselowski behind him for the final 30 laps.

Despite brushing the outside wall in turn one with eight laps left, Larson’s No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet got to the finish line .385 seconds ahead of Keselowski’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford, as the winner worked traffic over the closing five laps. Continue reading

NASCAR XFINITY Series O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Preview

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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). Continue reading

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega Preview

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams will take to the track on Sunday, October 23rd at 2 pm ET to race 500.8 miles over 188 laps in the Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. NBC Sports Network begins their coverage at 1:30 pm ET and radio coverage is on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

What to Watch For: Heading into Sunday’s Hellmann’s 500 cutoff race at Talladega Superspeedway, Austin Dillon (ninth, tiebreaker), Denny Hamlin (tenth, -6 points below Joey Logano on the cutoff line), Brad Keselowski (11th, -7) and Chase Elliott (12th, -25) are on the outside looking in for advancement to the Round of 8.

Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski can break their tie for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins lead by getting a fifth victory. Continue reading