CONCORD, N.C. — Three of the Round of 8 Playoff spots already are taken as the NASCAR Xfinity Series heads for Saturday’s Blue Cross NC 250 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
Brandon Jones advanced on the strength of his victory last Saturday at Kansas Speedway. JR Motorsports teammates Connor Zilisch and Justin Allgaier already have clinched Round of 8 berths on points.
Fourth-place Sam Mayer of Haas Factory Team is 43 points above the current cut line entering the elimination race at the 2.28-mile road course, needing to score just 19 points to advance, no matter who wins the race.
Mayer has won the last two Xfinity Series events at the 17-turn circuit.
For the rest of the Playoff field, however, the race for the final four spots in the next round couldn’t be much tighter.
Fifth-place Taylor Gray is 16 points above the elimination line. Twelfth-place Sammy Smith is just 14 points below. Accordingly, performance in Saturday’s race will be a primary governing factor in setting the field for the Round of 8.
Hoping to join teammates Zilisch and Allgaier in the next round, Smith comes to Charlotte with momentum from last weekend’s fourth-place run at Kansas Speedway.
“We ran a solid race all day long at Kansas last weekend, which was what we needed to put us back in the game and have a shot at advancing to the Round of 8,” said Smith, who has finished 11th and 10th in his two starts at the Roval.
“I have full faith that this Pilot Chevrolet team can accomplish just that. This has been our strongest season yet on road courses, so I’m looking forward to this Saturday at the Roval.”
Zilisch is the overwhelming favorite to win at the Charlotte Road Course. Four of his rookie-record nine victories this season have come on tracks that feature right turns as well as lefts.
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