The NASCAR Xfinity Series has reached the halfway point until its version of the Chase begins on Saturday, September 24th at Kentucky Speedway. The first half of the races that have ran this year have been dominated by Joe Gibbs Racing. Between defending Sprint Cup champion Kyle Busch, Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez, the racing juggernaut has won seven of the 13 events. Not only have they been winning races, they also have ten Coors Light pole position awards and two Dash 4 Cash victories.
Let’s examine the drivers who are sitting in the top five Xfinity Series points positions and what they have done to climb to their spots in the standings. The rules in the Xfinity Series mirror that of the Camping World Truck Series. Only full-time drivers can accumulate drivers points throughout the 2016 season. I will not be discussing NASCAR Sprint Cup mainstays such as all-time Xfinity Series winning driver Kyle Busch. Busch has won four of the 13 contests and captured three Coors Light pole position tallies.
Daniel Suarez sits atop the Xfinity Series point standings at the mid-way point through the 2016 season. The Mexican native has one win, which he collected last week at Michigan Speedway. Suarez has driven his #19 Arris sponsored Toyota Camry to five top five’s and another 11 top ten’s.
The Joe Gibbs Racing team has one Coors Light Pole Position Award at Auto Club Speedway. The speedy foreigner has been first in points for eight of the thirteen weeks. Skies the limit for this up-and-comer, and his recent victory has cemented his spot in the Chase this year. Suarez has to be considered a top three pick to win his first NASCAR Xfinity Series title.
The second place points position belongs to Elliott Sadler. The JR Motorsports addition has battled his way to the front since the beginning of the 2016 season. Sadler’s #1 Onemain Financial Chevrolet has taken one checkered flag at Talladega Super speedway, which placed him the Chase.
The veteran has not collected a pole position in 2016 but has a solid 11.5 average starting spot. Sadler has reeled in five top five’s in the 13 contests. He also has another 11 top ten’s to show just how often he has taken his car to the front of the field. If anybody can give Joe Gibbs Racing a run for their collective money, it would be Sadler.
Ty Dillon has raced his way into the third place spot in the Xfinity Series point standings. Dillon, the brother of NASCAR mainstay Austin Dillon, has been very consistent so far this year. The speedster has yet to claim a victory to place him in the Chase but has four top five’s to his credit.
He also has guided his #3 American Ethanol / Kum & Go Chevrolet to eight top ten’s. Dillon has an gaudy average starting position of 6.3 and a 9.6 finishing average. The Richard Childress Racing team could really use a win to get them into the final playoffs so Dillon can be a factor in the end.
The two-time 2016 Dash 4 Cash winner Erik Jones is having a very profitable season. He collected an extra $200,000 dollars for his wins at Bristol International Speedway and Dover. The Joe Gibbs Racing phenom has eight top five’s in the 2016 Xfinity Series season and another eight top 10’s. Jones has been fast in his qualifying efforts as well.
He has guided his #20 Freightliner Toyota Camry to three Coors Light Pole Position Awards. The youngster’s two did not finishes is why he sits in fourth in the points and not first. Jones has to be considered the favorite to put it all together in the Chase and drive on to his first Xfinity Series championship.
Rounding out the top five is Justin Allgaier from JR Motorsports. Allgaier has drove his #7 Brandt sponsored Chevrolet to five top five finishes this year. He has yet to close out a victory which could impact his chances of competing in the Chase if he falls further in the points. The gritty competitor has been very consistent though, recording 10 top 10’s in 2016. Allgaier will need to avoid some on track pitfalls in the second half of the season to continue his success. He has two did not finishes that has impacted him in the points race.
The 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series Point Standings:
1. Daniel Suarez 7 452 0 0 13 1 1 5 11 0 1 0
2. Elliott Sadler 6 434 -18 -18 13 0 1 5 11 0 2 0
3. Ty Dillon 3 416 -36 -18 13 1 0 4 8 0 3 0
4. Erik Jones # 14 397 -55 -19 13 3 2 8 8 2 5 1
5. Justin Allgaier 2 388 -64 -9 13 0 0 5 10 2 7 2
6. Brandon Jones # 2 388 -64 0 13 0 0 0 7 0 6 0
7. Brendan Gaughan 3 386 -66 -2 13 0 0 1 6 0 4 -3
8. Brennan Poole # 2 373 -79 -13 13 0 0 1 5 0 8 0
9. Darrell Wallace Jr 2 340 -112 -33 13 0 0 2 4 1 9 0
10. Ryan Reed 1 301 -151 -39 13 0 0 0 0 1 10 0
11. Blake Koch 1 294 -158 -7 13 0 0 0 2 1 11 0
12. Ryan Sieg 0 292 -160 -2 13 0 0 0 1 0 12 0
13. Ross Chastain 1 276 -176 -16 13 0 0 0 0 0 14 1
14. Jeb Burton 1 260 -192 -16 11 0 0 0 1 1 13 -1
15. Jeremy Clements 1 256 -196 -4 13 0 0 1 1 2 15 0
16. Dakoda Armstrong 0 248 -204 -8 13 0 0 0 0 1 16 0
17. Jj Yeley 1 229 -223 -19 12 0 0 0 0 2 17 0
18. Ryan Preece # 1 226 -226 -3 13 0 0 0 0 2 18 0
19. Garrett Smithley # 0 223 -229 -3 12 0 0 0 0 0 19 0
20. Ray Black Jr # 1 188 -264 -35 13 0 0 0 0 2 20 0
21. Bj McLeod # 0 173 -279 -15 13 0 0 0 0 3 21 0
22. Joey Gase 0 151 -301 -22 13 0 0 0 0 3 22 0
23. Mario Gosselin 0 119 -333 -32 9 0 0 0 0 1 23 0
24. David Starr 0 112 -340 -7 7 0 0 0 0 2 24 0
25. Justin Marks 0 111 -341 -1 6 0 0 0 0 2 25 0
26. Alex Bowman 2 105 -347 -6 3 1 0 1 3 0 29 3
27. Harrison Rhodes 0 93 -359 -12 8 0 0 0 0 3 26 -1
28. Mike Harmon 0 89 -363 -4 11 0 0 0 0 2 27 -1
29. Derrike Cope 0 85 -367 -4 10 0 0 0 0 1 28 -1
30. Corey Lajoie 0 63 -389 -22 3 0 0 0 0 0 30 0
31. Ryan Ellis 0 61 -391 -2 6 0 0 0 0 1 31 0
32. Jeff Green 2 58 -394 -3 11 0 0 0 0 10 33 1
33. Todd Peck 0 55 -397 -3 7 0 0 0 0 2 35 2
34. Drew Herring 0 50 -402 -5 2 0 0 0 0 0 32 -2
35. Martin Roy 0 48 -404 -2 4 0 0 0 0 1 37 2
36. Carl Long 0 46 -406 -2 8 0 0 0 0 6 34 -2
37. Brandon Gdovic 0 38 -414 -8 2 0 0 0 0 0 36 -1
38. Chris Cockrum 0 38 -414 0 4 0 0 0 0 2 41 3
39. Tj Bell 0 37 -415 -1 3 0 0 0 0 0 44 5
40. Cody Ware 0 34 -418 -3 5 0 0 0 0 3 38 -2
