The Xfinity Series returns to action after a two-week respite for the My Bariatric Solutions 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, April 7th at 3 pm ET. Pre-race coverage is available at 2:30 pm ET on FOX, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Distance: 300 miles (200 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)

What to Watch For: Erik Jones is the defending and three-time Texas race winner in this series, sweeping both races in 2017. He also won at Fort Worth in the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series in 2015.

The average age for the top-ten in the Xfinity standings is 26. Four of the top-drivers are 22 years old or younger, including current championship runner-up Tyler Reddick (22 years old).

Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray, Ryan Blaney, and Ty Dillon are the Cup regulars entered this weekend.

Xfinity’s Dash 4 Cash Makes 2018 Debut with Qualifier in the Lone Star State

Everyone loves a bonus, and this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway in the My Bariatric Solutions 300 on Saturday, Comcast will be holding the qualifier for the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash program. The Dash 4 Cash provides four talented drivers with the opportunity to compete for an additional $100,000 prize at select races.

Here is the format for this season’s Dash 4 Cash program:

• Full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers will compete for four positions in consecutive Dash 4 Cash events:
  • Bristol Motor Speedway (April 14)
  • Richmond Raceway (April 21)
  • Talladega Superspeedway (April 28)
  • Dover International Speedway (May 5) 

• The top-four NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers at Texas Motor Speedway will qualify for the first Dash 4 Cash event at Bristol Motor Speedway. 

• Of the four competing for Dash 4 Cash, the highest finisher wins the $100,000 prize. That winner and the three highest finishing full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers, for a total of four contenders, will qualify for the next week’s event.

For 2018, Comcast is adding a new element to the NASCAR Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash program. In addition to the $100,000 awarded to each Dash 4 Cash winner, Comcast will also donate a total of $40,000 to local organizations within race markets on behalf of the Internet Essentials program. Comcast’s Internet Essentials is the nation’s largest program for getting low-income households online, having connected 4 million low-income Americans since 2011.

The Dash 4 Cash program began back in 2009 and has become a driver – and fan – favorite over the years. Last season Justin Allgaier captured two Dash 4 Cash wins while Daniel Hemric and William Byron each took home one of the extra-large checks awarded to the Dash 4 Cash winners.

Here are the top-ten NASCAR Xfinity Series championship contending drivers in average finish at Texas Motor Speedway heading into this weekend – Cole Custer (5.0), Christopher Bell (6.0), Elliott Sadler (11.3), Matt Tifft (11.5), Justin Allgaier (12.3), Spencer Gallagher (14.5), Ryan Reed (15.9), Michael Annett (16.1), Ryan Sieg (18.0) and Brandon Jones (19.5).

Biagi-DenBeste Racing Saddles Up SHR’s Big Shot Kevin Harvick at Texas

One of the hottest drivers in NASCAR at the moment is Stewart-Haas Racing’s, Kevin Harvick. In fact, he is so hot this season he is the only driver in any of the three NASCAR national series to post multiple wins (three MENCS wins, one NXS). In his only NASCAR Xfinity Series start this season (Atlanta), he won with Biagi-DenBeste Racing in the No. 98 Ford Mustang, the same rocket he will strap into this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway thanks to an alliance formed in the off-season between Biagi DenBeste Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing.

It shouldn’t surprise you the two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion and Bakersfield, California, native is one of the favorites for this weekend’s My Bariatric Solution 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. Harvick has the second-most series wins all-time at the famed 1.5-mile track with five victories (2001, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2012).  In total, he has made 20 series starts at Texas, posting the third-most top-fives (11), the most top-tens (17) and an average finish of 7.3; including a third-place finish in this event last season.

Harvick will not be the only Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title contender competing in the Xfinity Series race on Saturday. He will also be joined by Richard Childress Racing’s Ty Dillon in the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney in the No. 22 Ford Mustang and Chip Ganassi Racing’s Jamie McMurray in the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro.

Texas Native Bayley Currey to Attempt Xfinity Series Debut at Home Track

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series part-time driver Bayley Currey from Dixieland, Texas, will be attempting to make his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway in the B.J McLeod Motorsports No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro. Currey will become the 13th different driver to make his series debut at Texas this weekend, joining current Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, and Michael McDowell.

Currey has four NASCAR national series starts to his name, all in the Camping World Truck Series. He ran three NCWTS races in 2017, posting one top-ten and an average finish of 21.0. He also made one NCWTS start this season at Las Vegas, starting 23rd and finishing 20th.

The 21-year-old Currey is the third different driver to wheel the B.J. McLeod Motorsports No. 8 this season, Caesar Bacarella kicked the season off at Daytona, finishing a career-best 13th. The next four races Tommy Joe Martins climbed into the No. 8, posting an average finish of 27.2.

No Signs of JR Motorsports Slowing Down

Just five points separate the top-three in the championship standings after five NASCAR Xfinity Series races this season, and the JR Motorsports trio at the top, Elliott Sadler (standings leader), Tyler Reddick (second-place, -4 points) and Justin Allgaier (third-place, -5 points), show no signs of slowing up as the series returns to action this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.

Elliott Sadler holds the points lead after posting the series-most top-fives (four) and top-tens (five) through the first five races of the season. He also leads the series in the average finish with a solid 4.8. – the only series title contender with an average finish inside the top-five. Sadler took home the NASCAR Xfinity Series regular season championship last season on his way to the Playoffs and looks poised to do it again this season.

But one driver not letting Sadler relax atop the standings is his JRM teammate Tyler Reddick, who sits in second, four-points back and virtually locked into the Playoffs with a season-opening win at Daytona. Now Reddick, the Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender who has proven to be a quick study, is on the fast track to learning what it takes to put together a series title run in the wake of his veteran teammates Sadler and Allgaier. Through five races this season, Reddick has posted one win, four top-tens and an average finish of 9.0 – third-best among title contenders.

Lurking just one point behind Reddick in the standings is his teammate Justin Allgaier, who has posted two runner-ups, three top-fives, and four top-tens in the first five races of the season. Allgaier’s average finish this season (8.0) is second only to points leader Elliott Sadler (4.8).

Heading into Texas this weekend, their nearest competitor in the championship standings is Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell (fourth), 22 points behind third-place Allgaier. None of the four active JR Motorsports drivers have won at Texas before. Chase Elliott brought home the JRM organization’s first Xfinity Series Texas trophy in 2014. This weekend, Elliott Sadler (11.3) leads Justin Allgaier (12.3) and Tyler Reddick (33.0) in average finish at the famed 1.5-mile facility.  

Xfinity Series Youth Movement has a Lasso Around 2018

In recent years, the NASCAR Xfinity Series has been a big stage for up-and-coming young stars in NASCAR to show off their talents, and this season is no different. Through the first five races, the top-ten in driver points is besieged with youngsters looking to make a name for themselves. So much so, the average age of the series’ top-ten following Auto Club Speedway is a youthful 26.0.

Eight of the top-ten in the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship driver standings are in their 20s; with the youngest being Cole Custer at the age of 20. The two elders of the group are Elliott Sadler at the age of 42 and Justin Allgaier at 31.

To put in perspective how young some of these drivers are, current standings leader Elliott Sadler is twice the age of three of his top-ten competitors – Cole Custer (20), Brandon Jones (21) and Matt Tifft (21).

Ryan Blaney Jumps in the Team Penske No. 22 to Keep the Win Streak Alive

Team Penske’s No. 22 Ford Mustang team, led by crew chief Brian Wilson, has been off to a fast start this season, winning the last two consecutive races (ISM Raceway and Auto Club Speedway) and taking the owner standings lead by 19-points over JR Motorsport’s No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro team. This weekend, Ryan Blaney will pilot the No. 22 at Texas Motor Speedway and is looking to keep the win streak alive to make it three in a row.

Since the series’ inception in 1982, a single car/team has only won three or more consecutive races 13 times. The last time a team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series won three races in a row was in 2016; when the series’ winningest driver, Kyle Busch, won at Kentucky (7/8), New Hampshire (7/16) and Indianapolis (7/23) in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota Camry.

The most consecutive series wins by a single car/team is four and it has happened twice – Sam Ard Racing’s No. 0 Oldsmobile team was the first to accomplish the feat with driver Sam Ard winning four straight in 1983 at South Boston (9/17), Martinsville (9/24), Rougemont (10/1) and Charlotte (10/8). The second team to accomplish the record was Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 Toyota team in 2008 when drivers Kyle Busch won at Mexico City (4/20), Tony Stewart won at Talladega (4/26), Denny Hamlin won at Richmond (5/2) and then Stewart again at Darlington (5/9).

Team Penske is no stranger to putting together a trio of wins in a row. The No. 22 Ford team won three straight in 2013 with Brad Keselowski grabbing the victory at Iowa (8/3) and Watkins Glen (8/10) and then AJ Allmendinger winning at Mid-Ohio (8/17).

Ryan Blaney has made has made five series starts at Texas Motor Speedway, posting four top-fives, five top-tens and an impressive average finish of 3.4. He finished runner-up in both Texas races last season. 

Xfinity Track Facts: Texas Motor Speedway

Below are some quick facts to get you ready for the weekend:

• The NASCAR Xfinity Series has run 34 races at Texas Motor Speedway.
• The first race was run on April 5, 1997. Jeff Green won the pole for the race and Mark Martin won the event.
• Since the inaugural event in 1997, a total of 323 different drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, led by Mike Bliss with 21 series starts at TMS.
• There have been 21 different pole winners in the series at Texas, led by Kyle Busch with four.
• There have been 16 different series race winners at Texas, led by Kyle Busch with eight.
• The youngest series Texas pole winner is Erik Jones (4/10/2015 – 18 years, 9 months, 11 days)
• The youngest series Texas race winner is Chase Elliott (4/4/2014 – 18 years, 4 months, 7 days)
• Erik Jones holds the series record for the best average start at 1.8 and average finish at 2.2. He swept both races last season.

Additional NASCAR Xfinity Series Texas Event Stats:

• Lead Changes – Most: 22 (4/12/2013) and Least: 3 (4/6/2002)
• Leaders – Most: 11 (4/12/2013) and Least: 3 (4/8/2016)
• Cautions – Most: 10 (3/29/2003) and Least: 3 (4/8/2011)
• Laps Led (Winner) – Most: 179 (11/7/2009) and Least: 6 (three times, most recently 11/5/2011)
• The Margin of Victory – Largest: 3.485 seconds (11/3/2007) and Least: 0.128 second (4/14/2007)