Four drivers will be eliminated after Saturday’s cutoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The playoff field will be left with 12 drivers after the race (pre-race coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET Saturday night on USA Network).
NASCAR’s Brad Moran told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that what Trackhouse’s two playoff cars did after the race “caught our radar.”
Austin Cindric holds the final transfer spot. The four drivers behind him are: Austin Dillon (11 points below the cutline), Shane van Gisbergen (-15), Alex Bowman (-35) and Josh Berry (-45).
Alex Bowman will have new tire changers, a new tire carrier and a new jackman after his pit crew struggled in the first two playoff races.
Chase Briscoe (Darlington win) and Denny Hamlin (Gateway win) have already advanced to the second round with their victories.
Xfinity Series
The Xfinity playoffs begin with Friday night’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Connor Zilisch won the regular season title. He is 59 points — nearly a full race — above the cutline.
The four drivers starting the playoffs below the cutline are Carson Kvapil, Sheldon Creed, Harrison Burton and Austin Hill.
Hill was stripped of his playoff points for needing a waiver to be playoff eligible after he was suspended one race for wrecking Aric Almirola at Indianapolis.
Craftsman Truck Series
The Truck playoffs resume Thursday night at Bristol after a weekend off. Corey Heim won the opener at Darlington to move on to the next round.
Jake Garcia holds the final transfer spot with two races left in the round. Chandler Smith is two points below the cutline. Kaden Honeycutt is seven points below the cutline.
Read the full article here
