NASCAR’s traveling roadshow heads to Las Vegas this weekend, and the Xfinity series enters the playoff Round of 8 coming off a wild final stage at the Charlotte Roval last Saturday.
AJ Allmendinger‘s somewhat-expected and fourth consecutive win at the Roval still wasn’t enough to usurp Noah Gragson from the top spot in the Xfinity playoff standings. Gragson and Allmendinger have won the last six Xfinity Series races spanning all types of tracks and should be fighting at the front on Saturday.
Despite recent dominance from Gragson and Allmendinger, count out Ty Gibbs at your peril. Gibbs took his #54 Toyota Supra to victory lane at the NASCAR Xfinity Series race in Vegas in the spring, one of his five victories on the season so far. Gibbs is one of three playoff drivers who’ve won at Vegas in the past two seasons. AJ Allmendinger and JR Motorsports’ Josh Berry are the others.
The Round of 8 is where we see the championship picture really take shape. In recent history, playoff drivers have struggled to win in this penultimate round. Last season, only one playoff driver, Gragson, scored a win in the Round of 8.
Outside of the playoff picture, one storyline heading into Vegas is the Xfinity Series debut of Hailie Deegan. The 21-year-old Deegan has had an up-and-down season in the Truck Series, with six DNFs and a position of 21st in the Truck Series points standings. Deegan has performed most consistently on intermediate tracks and is looking to impress in her Xfinity debut Saturday.
The Track
Las Vegas Motor Speedway is an intermediate (1.5 miles) tri-oval that became a fixture on the NASCAR schedule in 1998. On March 8, 2017, Vegas was awarded a second race weekend for Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Truck Series.
Thanks to “anti-Buschwhacking” rules, only Xfinity Series drivers competing for championship points are allowed to race in the fall NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas. With the success of playoff drivers at the track in recent seasons, Saturday’s race should be a showcase of Xfinity’s best.
Vegas’s progressive banking has produced an entertaining racing product since a reprofile in 2006. The bottom of the track has a shallow 12 degrees of banking and the top of the track near the outside wall measures 20 degrees of banking.
Saturday’s race is exactly one lap longer than its spring counterpart, 201 laps, and 301.5 miles. Stage 1 and 2 are 45 laps each, and Stage 3 runs the final 111 laps to the checkered flag.
Playoff Standings
A fresh round in the Xfinity Series Playoffs see the wins of Noah Gragson and AJ Allmendinger wiped away, but they still lead the pack of eight. Here’s where we stand heading into Vegas:
IN:
- Noah Gragson, JR Motorsports – 3056 points, +34 from cutoff
- AJ Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing – 3044 points, +22 from cutoff
- Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing – 3038 points, +16 from cutoff
- Justin Allgaier, JR Motorsports – 3033 points, +11 from cutoff
——PLAYOFF CUTLINE——-
OUT:
- Josh Berry, JR Motorsports – 3022 points, -11 from cutoff
- Austin Hill, Richard Childress Racing – 3018 points, -15 from cutoff
- Brandon Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing – 3011 points, -22 from cutoff
- Sam Mayer, JR Motorsports – 3005 points, -28 from cutoff
Predictions for Xfinity Series at Las Vegas
Three of the top four in the playoffs are favored ahead of most of the field for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas, with Noah Gragson being a slight favorite over Ty Gibbs, who’s slightly favored over Justin Allgaier. But I look at the other driver in the top four to claim victory in Vegas: AJ Allmendinger.
The ‘Dinger has been on fire lately and has proven when the equipment is under him, he can win at any race track, not just the road courses. I think he comes out on top of what should be a battle of drivers fighting for a spot in the Championship 4 at Phoenix.
I look for Hailie Deegan to impress in her Xfinity Series debut and finish in the top 20. Deegan has looked at her sharpest in Truck Series around the 1.5 milers and a top 20 finish would be an ideal start to her Xfinity Series career.
How To Watch – Alsco Uniforms 302 (all times EST)
- Practice/Qualifying: Friday, October 14 – 8:35 pm – USA
- Alsco Uniforms 302: Saturday, October 15 – 3:00 pm – USA
