The VisitMyrleBeach.com 300 at Kentucky Speedway gets underway on Saturday, September 24th at 7:30 p.m. ET. the race will be televised on the NBC Sports Network. NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Kyle Busch, won the earlier event at Kentucky from the pole position in July. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Erik Jones starts this weekends race from the front because of his qualifying efforts on Friday.
How the NASCAR Xfinity Chase Works:
The NASCAR Xfinity Series Chase begins at Kentucky Speedway this weekend. It will feature 12 drivers and two elimination rounds. eventually, it will narrow down to two racers that will go all-out at Homestead-Miami Speedway for all the marbles.
The first round, called the Round of 12, consists of the races at Kentucky, Dover and Charlotte Speedway. All the competitors will begin with their points adjusted to 2,000. Furthermore, three additional bonus points are added to their total for each victory in the first 26 regular season contests. When a qualifying Chase driver wins a race in the Round of 12, the speedster automatically moves on to the last second round.
The racers that advance to the next Round of 8 at Kansas, Texas and Phoenix will once again rebooted to 3,000. Drivers who win a race in the Round of 8 automatically advance to the Championship 4. The remaining one through four spots that haven’t been filled will also be set by points accumulated through the three races.
The final four drivers that move into to the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway will have their points reset to 4,000. The highest finishing Championship 4 driver will be crowned the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion.
Kentucky Speedway:
Erik Jones and his #20 Toyota Camry sits atop the Xfinity Series point standings. The youngster clearly has the fastest car at the speedway this weekend. So far this season, Erik Jones has amassed seven poles, which is a Xfinity Series record. He also tallied four wins in 2016.
Furthermore, Jones has 13 top five finishes and 16 other top 10 performances. At Kentucky Speedway, he has two top five’s an average finish of 4.7. The dominating driver is one of three Sunoco rookies to make the playoffs.
JR Motorsport’s Elliott Sadler is the eldest driver in the Xfinity Series. At the ripe old age of 41, he sits second in the point standings before the Xfinity Series Chase begins. In 2016, Sadler has posted two wins in his #1 Chevrolet Camaro. He also has 10 top five’s and 23 top 10’s throughout the season. Sadler has 10 Xfinity Series starts at Kentucky Speedway. In those races, he has four top five’s and seven top 10’s.
Daniel Suarez and his #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry finished the regular season in third. The Mexican born racer has two pole position efforts in 2016. In 26 starts this year he has tallied one win and 12 top five’s. The talented young prospect also has 20 other top ten’s on the season. He has an average finish of 10.0 at Kentucky Speedway.
Ty Dillon didn’t fins a way to capture a win in the regular season but he made it in on his consistency. The North Carolina native has made five starts at Kentucky Speedway. In those starts, he has posted two top five efforts and four more top ten’s. In 2016, he accumulated seven top five’s and 14 more top ten’s. Maybe this weekend will be the race that the Richard Childress Racing driver breaks his losing streak.
JR Motorsport’s Justin Allgaier finds himself in the fifth spot for the start of the Chase at Kentucky Speedway. The savvy driver has chalked-up 11 top five’s and 21 top 10’s throughout the challenging season. Allgaier has made eight series starts at this venue and has posted four top 10’s with an average finish of 13.3.
Kentucky Speedway iss located in Sparta, Kentucky. It has hosted 20 Xfinity Series races since 2001. The track is a 1.5 mile speedway with 14 to 17 degrees of progressive banking in Turns 1 and 2. Finally, it has 14 degrees of banking in Turns 3 and 4 and only one of the 12 Chase drivers has won at Kentucky (Brendan Gaughan-2014)
