The 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series has finally reached the mid-way point in a battle to compete for the a chance in the Chase on September 12th. Up to this point, the secondary NASCAR series that is used as a spring board for the Sprint Cup Series, has been full of highly contested events. Many young drivers are attempting to make their mark at venues that mimic what they would be facing in the big leagues.
Make no mistake about it, the Xfinity Series is not just for up and coming talent. Seasoned veterans take part in many of the races hoping to gain an edge for their racing teams on Sunday. NASCAR has included bigger prize money to the Xfinity regulars. They introduced the Dash 4 Cash races and the first ever Chase format for the series. Full-timers can collect a $100,000 dollar bonus money for winning the designated cash races and wins are held to a premium with the new Chase format.
Blake Koch sits just out of the top ten in the 11th position. The Kaulig Racing team is in its inaugural year and is impressing the competition. They have teamed up with Richard Childress Racing building engines that have been taking their cars to the front of the field in 2016.
Koch has placed his #11 Leaf Filter Chevrolet inside the top ten on two different occasions. He finished in the 13th spot in the American ethanol 250 last week, five spots above his average. The seasoned driver also took eighth in the Toyota Care 250 on April 23rd. In addition, Koch has tallied two top ten finishes and has failed to finish in only one of the 14 events he has participated in. With some improvement in the qualifying rounds that will help improve his race day track position, Koch could find himself moving into the top ten sooner than later.
The 12th driver in the Xfinity Series point standings is racer Ryan Sieg. In his third campaign in the Xfinity Series the RSS Racing prodigy has reeled in only one top ten performance at the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300. Sieg drove his #39 Smartcell/WJ Plemons Investments Chevrolet to a tenth place finish.
Kevin Starland, Ryan Sieg’s crew chief, has done his best to keep the small family owned racing venture competitive. Without the big money that some of the other well financed teams have, Sieg’s managed to finish 11th in 2015. Whats really helped the speedster is he has finished all of the 14 events in 2016. Not only does it keep him on the brink of the top ten but conserves well-needed money that week to week racing requires.
Ross Chastain finds himself 13th in points in the 2016 Xfinity Series season. Chastain is the top driver in the three JD Motorsports owned teams. He has guided his #4 Shakeys sponsored Chevrolet to the front for only one lap in 2016.
Consistency has been the name of the game for the JD Racing team. Chastain sits 13th in the points without collecting one top five finish or one top ten. First of all, the fact that he keeps his hot-rod out of the garage on race day and on the track for the checkered flag, is why he sits where he is at. Chastain has started and finished every race in 2016. Chastain has had his troubles, and especially in the qualifying rounds before the race. First of all he is averaging a 22.5 starting spot and has spent much of the season having to work his way back into the top 20.
Jeremy Clements resides in the 14th spot in the Xfinity points race. He races for his father Tony Clements and has done him proud so far in the 2016 Xfinity Series season. Clements found ways to finish inside the top five and in the top ten’s at the mid-way point of the circuit.
He tallied his top five at the Sparks Energy 300 at Talladega Super Speedway, so the Spartanburg, South Carloina native knows how to move up front in the draft. Finding some success in the season has been off-set by his did not finishes. The two DNF’s that he has acquired has him falling farther back in the standings than he should be. If he can fix the on track incidents, maybe there is a chance this driver could leap forward in the standings in the second half of the year.
Rounding out the top 15 is Dakota Armstrong. In his third Xfinity campaign he hasn’t managed to grace the top five in any race this year. Furthermore, he hasn’t finished in the top ten or led a lap yet either. Armstrong keeps his car on the track during race time, registering only one did not finish on the year.
His highest finish in 2016 is 14th in the Toyota Care 300 so there is no where to go but up for Armstrong who is in his first year with. JGL Racing team. Last year the resilient driver managed to finish in 12th so there is still hope for the second half of the season.
The 2016 Xfinity Series Point Standings:
1. Daniel Suarez 8 490 0 0 14 1 1 6 12 0 1 0
2. Elliott Sadler 6 469 -21 -21 14 0 1 5 12 0 2 0
3. Ty Dillon 3 455 -35 -14 14 1 0 5 9 0 3 0
4. Justin Allgaier 2 422 -68 -33 14 0 0 5 11 2 5 1
5. Brandon Jones # 2 417 -73 -5 14 0 0 0 7 0 6 1
6. Brendan Gaughan 3 412 -78 -5 14 0 0 1 6 0 7 1
7. Erik Jones # 14 411 -79 -1 14 4 2 8 8 2 4 -3
8. Brennan Poole # 3 407 -83 -4 14 0 0 1 6 0 8 0
9. Darrell Wallace Jr 3 373 -117 -34 14 0 0 2 5 1 9 0
10. Ryan Reed 1 331 -159 -42 14 0 0 0 0 1 10 0
11. Blake Koch 1 322 -168 -9 14 0 0 0 2 1 11 0
12. Ryan Sieg 0 312 -178 -10 14 0 0 0 1 0 12 0
13. Ross Chastain 1 303 -187 -9 14 0 0 0 0 0 13 0
14. Jeremy Clements 1 281 -209 -22 14 0 0 1 1 2 15 1
15. Dakoda Armstrong 0 272 -218 -9 14 0 0 0 0 1 16 1
16. Jeb Burton 1 260 -230 -12 11 0 0 0 1 1 14 -2
17. Jj Yeley 1 250 -240 -10 13 0 0 0 0 2 17 0
18. Garrett Smithley # 0 242 -248 -8 13 0 0 0 0 0 19 1
19. Ryan Preece # 1 235 -255 -7 14 0 0 0 0 3 18 -1
20. Ray Black Jr # 1 199 -291 -36 14 0 0 0 0 2 20 0
21. Bj McLeod # 0 195 -295 -4 14 0 0 0 0 3 21 0
22. Joey Gase 0 167 -323 -28 14 0 0 0 0 3 22 0
23. Alex Bowman 2 141 -349 -26 4 1 0 2 4 0 26 3
24. Mario Gosselin 0 136 -354 -5 10 0 0 0 0 1 23 -1
25. Justin Marks 0 134 -356 -2 7 0 0 0 0 2 25 0
26. David Starr 0 112 -378 -22 7 0 0 0 0 2 24 -2
27. Harrison Rhodes 0 108 -382 -4 9 0 0 0 0 3 27 0
28. Mike Harmon 0 102 -388 -6 12 0 0 0 0 2 28 0
29. Derrike Cope 0 92 -398 -10 11 0 0 0 0 2 29 0
30. Jeff Green 2 66 -424 -26 12 0 0 0 0 11 32 2
31. Corey Lajoie 0 63 -427 -3 3 0 0 0 0 0 30 -1
32. Drew Herring 0 62 -428 -1 3 0 0 0 0 1 34 2
33. Ryan Ellis 0 61 -429 -1 6 0 0 0 0 1 31 -2
34. Todd Peck 0 55 -435 -6 7 0 0 0 0 2 33 -1
35. Carl Long 0 49 -441 -6 9 0 0 0 0 7 36 1
36. Martin Roy 0 48 -442 -1 4 0 0 0 0 1 35 -1
37. Sam Hornish Jr. 5 45 -445 -3 1 0 1 1 1 0 123 86
38. Brandon Gdovic 0 38 -452 -7 2 0 0 0 0 0 37 -1
39. Chris Cockrum 0 38 -452 0 4 0 0 0 0 2 38 -1
40. Morgan Shepherd 1 38 -452 0 10 0 0 0 0 10 41 1
