While the Truck Series had the weekend off, the Xfinity and Cup Series drivers had a hot and wild time at Texas Motor Speedway where ambient temperatures reached the century mark and much higher inside the cars.
The number 300 was big this past weekend with Ryan Blaney making his 300th career start and car owner Rick Hendrick earning win number 300.
After getting car owner Rick Hendrick his 300th career win, William Byron has a season leading six wins and is the first driver to earn a spot in the next round of the playoffs.
Prior to the start of the race, pole sitter Bubba Wallace sat at the bottom of the playoff list with no bonus points. While he is still below the cut line, at two points behind Kyle Larson, he is now in ninth place with 37 points after leading a good portion of the race, earning his first stage points of the season, and coming in third place at TMS.
Several of the playoff drivers had issues in Texas that put the. Out of the race or to loose points in the standings: Kyle Busch crashed out late in stage one and Kyle Larson saw his day end early after crashing late in the race.
Cup Series Playoff Standings:
William Byron – 3083
Denny Hamlin – 3074
Chris Buescher – 3059
Christopher Bell – 3057
Martin Truex Jr – 3056
Ross Chastain – 3049
Brad Keselowski – 3045
Kyle Larson – 3039
Bubba Wallace – 3037
Tyler Reddick – 3036
Ryan Blaney – 3028
Kyle Busch – 3022
In the Xfinity Series, John Hunter Nemechek earned season win number seven and joins Justin Allgaier with a guaranteed spot in the next round of the playoffs. The win also insures that Nemechek keeps his number one spot in the playoff list.
Xfinity Series Playoff Standings:
John Hunter Nemechek – 2148
Justin Allgaier – 2137
Cole Custer – 2117
Austin Hill – 2098
Chandler Smith – 2086
Sammy Smith – 2072
Sheldon Creed – 2063
Daniel Hemric – 2055
Parker Kligerman – 2054
Jeb Burton – 2036
Josh Berry – 2028
Sam Mayer – 2021