The 2024 Xfinity Series regular season wraps up this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, where Kiwi star Shane van Gisbergen will compete for the first time.
Eight drivers, including van Gisbergen, qualified for the playoffs through race wins in 2024.
Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Sheldon Creed are all but assured of further racing, given their points accrued over 2024. That leaves Parker Kligerman and Sammy Smith on the bubble’s cusp.
Smith holds a 43-point advantage over Ryan Sieg, who needs a strong weekend at Bristol to qualify for the post-season. A first-time race winner at Bristol will shake things up even more.
While the battle for the final spots will be hotly contested, so will the fight between those who have secured their berth as they look to build a foundation entering the playoffs.
Currently, Austin Hill and van Gisbergen have won three races apiece, while Justin Allgaier looks set to be crowned the regular season champion, which will give him a boost of 15 bonus playoff points.
Van Gisbergen enters the round off the back of a strong outing at Watkins Glen, where he took his sixth top-five Xfinity Series finish of 2024 before finishing second in Sunday’s Cup Series race.
“I’m excited to get to Bristol on Friday (Saturday NZST) and race under the lights,” said the New Zealander.
“I’ve never been to this track, so I’m going to be learning every lap, but that’s what’s fun about it. It’s the last regular-season race of the year, and it’s going to be epic!
“Hoping for another solid weekend with my No. 97 WeatherTech team and looking forward to carrying some big momentum into the playoffs.”
Kaulig Racing has made 22 starts at Bristol Motor Speedway in the NXS, earning one win, four top-fives and 11 top-10 finishes.
That win came courtesy of Allmendinger in 2021, who won the Regular Season Championship as a result. Surprisingly, Allmendinger is yet to win in 2024.
“Bristol in the Xfinity car is a lot of fun. Cars run the bottom, they run the top, and they slide around,” said Allmendinger.
“We’ve had really good speed there in the past, and I have the best memory of winning there, spinning across the line in 2021.
“It’s a track that we know we’ve had success at; Daniel [Hemric] was really close to winning last year in the Xfinity car.
“Our short track program is pretty strong; we can go there and run up front all night. Looking forward to getting back to Bristol and having a great night to give us momentum going into the playoffs and a strong run to go try to win the championship.”
Qualifying for this weekend’s race at Bristol begins at 6.40 am NZST on Saturday, before the race at 11.30 am that morning.
HeaderImage: Sean Gardner/Getty Images (Supplied NASCAR)
