Close NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff battle wraps up at Kansas
Entering the regular-season finale, the battle for the final NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff spot is down to two drivers separated by one point.
Riley Herbst has a one-point advantage over Parker Kligerman heading into this Saturday at Kansas Speedway.
In 11 of the last 12 races, Kligerman has been in this spot as the first driver not in a provisional playoff spot.
The only exception was after Daytona when he was +20 to the cutline.
At Darlington, Kligerman held on – until a bump from Sam Mayer sent him spinning out of a top-10 spot and back to 24th, one point out.
Thus setting the stage for the upcoming fight at Kansas Speedway.
Kligerman may be only one point out but he is in for a hard fight.
Herbst has outscored him in all but one of the eight non-drafting-dependent oval races this season. Even in that one race, at Darlington in May, Kligerman finished 13th after Herbst wrecked out on lap 29.
Outside of tracks like Talladega and Atlanta, Herbst has kept his car mostly clean – only scoring one other crash DNF.
Herbst will need his crew and car preparation to be solid at Kansas. At Watkins Glen and Daytona, mechanical issues relegated them to finish 35th and 24th and into the spot they’re in now.
Don’t count Kligerman out, though. Since he started flirting with the bubble at Sonoma, he has only finished worse than 11th twice.
Herbst and Kligerman could also lock into a playoff spot if they win at Kansas, just like these drivers:
Brandon Jones, Brett Moffitt, Parker Retzlaff, Kaz Grala, Ryan Sieg, Jeremy Clements, Anthony Alfredo, Josh Williams, Joe Graf Jr.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff field will be set at the conclusion of the Kansas Lottery 300.
The green flag flies this Saturday just after 3:30 p.m. ET (Broadcast: NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90).
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com